I have been the Head Teacher here at Hill West for two decades, having fallen in love with the school on appointment in 2004.  Before taking up appointment at Hill West I worked in other Birmingham schools, one located in Kingstanding and the other in Aston and gained a wealth of knowledge and experience working with the children and families in those communities.  Teaching has been a vocation for me and I began to study for my Masters Degree in 2000 which I was awarded in 2003. Passionate about education and improving the life chances of all children, once appointed as Head Teacher at Hill West I began to study for my Doctorate in Education which was finally awarded in 2012. Having studied for a number of years I then decided it was time to start my own family.  Nine years ago we were blessed with our wonderful daughter who has broadened my perspective on education and allowed me to develop a philosophy not just as an educator but as a parent too.

I know that it is essential that our children are secure in the knowledge that their teacher loves and appreciates them and believes they can achieve. I also know that great teaching underpinned by ambitious intentions and excellent teacher subject knowledge leads to great learning; helping learners remember in the long term the content they have been taught and enabling them to transfer this knowledge across many subject disciplines. Leaders’ at Hill West have taken enormous care to organise pupils’ learning so that they gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be successful in life. Our curriculum design is underpinned by our commitment to ensure every child can read fluently by the age of 7. Our mission here is to ensure that our children are always…

ACE; ambitious, curious and ever-respectful

To do this we have focused on ensuring our curriculum, underpinned by the national curriculum, is exciting and challenging. Building a curriculum that is relevant, enjoyable and suitably challenging for all of our pupils has been an exciting journey. It has meant that our pupils enjoy their lessons and make exceptionally good progress. Our end of Key Stage results mean that children leave Hill West very well prepared for the opportunities and challenges they will face in secondary school. We have very high expectations for all of our pupils irrespective of their starting points, recognising that they will be entering a highly competitive global marketplace in unprecedented times. Our staff are dedicated and hard-working, committed to an ethos of on-going professional learning. We understand that an excellent school needs excellent staff.

Additionally we are a GOLD Rights Respecting School. Gold: Rights Respecting is the highest level of the Award and is granted to schools that have fully embedded the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into their ethos and curriculum.  We have found that as a result of participation in the Rights Respecting Schools Award our children;

• Know about rights
• Can exercise their rights
• Feel valued
• Can recognise the rights of others

Knowledge of rights is central to these aspects since they not only set standards that children can expect, but also empower children to challenge when these standards are not met. The Gold Award at Hill West has meant that our children; learn about their rights, can exercise their rights (their voices are heard and valued), understand and appreciate our core value of respect, are actively engaged (sharing a sense of community and belonging), take their right to an education seriously, understand that they are global citizens.

We are innovative and creative and embraced the opportunity to form a learning partnership through academy status with other schools. Our multi-academy trust (also known as the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership) is a respected cross phase (primary and secondary) partnership between schools in a number of local authorities all based in the West Midlands.  We work together to ensure excellence. We all share a similar philosophy of education which puts the child at the heart of everything we do thereby ensuring that our children are better placed to meet the changing demands of the 21st Century. The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership’s academies are home to thousands of children and over a thousand staff. The partnership has a strong moral purpose to improve education standards and achievements for all children in the community. By working in partnership, the ATLP can share resources, expertise and deliver quality education to make an even greater difference where it matters most.

Hill West is a vibrant school where children really love to learn. Our school is truly inclusive and every opportunity is taken to teach pupils how to value and respect each other and develop a positive self-image and the belief that with hard work, determination and commitment anything can be achieved. If you would like to visit our school please don’t hesitate to contact our school office and I will be only too happy to give you a guided tour.

Dr Beth Clarke
Head Teacher