Mount Tamar School developed an ambitious 3-year development plan from 2015 to 2017 focused on improving culture, curriculum, teaching, and outcomes for students. Key aspects included strengthening partnerships; enhancing technology, facilities, and extracurricular opportunities; increasing specialized support for students' complex needs; developing personalized learning and career pathways; and ensuring high expectations for all through an exceptional, accredited curriculum. The plan aimed to make each student's experience an "adventure" and help all students achieve their potential.

1. Mount Tamar School
Development plan
summary
2015 to 2017

2. Culture and Ethos
‘Aspire to be your best, make each day an
adventure and achieve the impossible’
University option for all
Pupil dream jobs
Most able stretched
Pupil Parliament active
High expectations for all
Reading at heart of
learning
Exceptional curriculum
offer
Personalised Career
pathways
Extremely wide range of
accreditation
Adventure Studies BTEC accredited
All staff TEEP SSAT accredited
Wide range of residential
experiences
Learning outside the classroom
Partnerships with local businesses
and colleges
Modern Technological classroom
learning
School Farm

3. Data
• LAC – 15 pupils
• Free School Meals - 43
• Total pupil numbers 101 – the school was full in December, the earliest ever. There is a waiting list to
come to Mount Tamar.
• Complex needs – Mental Health, autism, emotional difficulties, attachment, ADHD, MLD, Asperger
Trauma and communication difficulties
• The school caters for more complex diagnosis and has an increasing number of pupils returning to
Plymouth from out of county placements.
• Mobility: 30% of pupils at Mount Tamar have not been in school 12 months, 46% of pupils started since
2015
• Offsite pupil numbers increased from 14 to 33. We cater individually for pupil needs
• Increased Aspire Offsite learning centres from 1 to 6
• Pupils from 6 local authorities - Devon, Plymouth, Cornwall, Torbay, Bristol, Somerset

4. LeadershipandManagement
• Improved parents / carers / visitors support and communication
• ‘Drop in Centre’ created March 2017
• New school website, prospectus and newsletters
• Outdoor screen to improve communication with pupils and to communicate key smsc messages
• Improvements to visitor experience and safeguarding through new build
• School Environment improvement
• Increased classroom space, intervention rooms and calming spaces
• Hostel renovation provides excellent environment
• Welcoming school hall created
• Library Gold Room and Study Centre created putting reading and study skills at the heart of the school
• New catering kitchen created giving improved pathway for KS4
• Outdoor learning space developed through new climbing equipment, trampoline and science learning
areas
• Therapy support increased
• Additional Occupational Therapist
• Additional Educational Psychologist
• Additional Councilor
• Therapy suite created
• Impact monitored at SLT termly

5. Leadership
• External grants gained has improve learning experience
• Lottery funded £60 000 for playground climbing equipment and outdoor learning classroom for the
forest
• Children In Need £10 000 for the holiday club ‘Independent skills development’ project
• North Yard Trust £19 000 funded new technology in the classroom
• Residentials funded £3000 from the local Member of Parliament
• £1000 funded from two Local Councilors for outdoor seating and calming areas
• £750 000 to improve Residential facilities from Plymouth Council
• £500 000 to develop KS4 Vocational learning transition Centre
• £5000 gained from Lady and Lord Taverners for a trampoline
• Increased KS4 Pupil pathways
• Computing Partnership with local IT company
• Farming and Horticulture at the school farm and Duchy College
• Work related learning
• New Careers and Pathway coordinator employed
• Governors
• New Chair of Governors
• Increased monitoring visits
• 5 new governors joined with quality skills sets
• Consultant support to ensure quality

6. Stafftraininganddevelopment
• Mount Tamar as a specialist school supporting others
• Assistant Head qualified as TEEP Coach Level 3 allowing us to hold external accredited teacher training
courses
• Head of Computing qualified as CEOPS Ambassador allowing us to lead teacher training courses
• Whole school improvement
• All staff have a Performance Management targets linked to the school development plan
• Increased staff supervision to every 6 weeks to ensure quality of support
• All teachers have a ‘Career Pathway’ supporting their next 5 year’s progression
• Leadership team developed
• Head of ‘Outstanding Residential facility’ now full part of whole school SLT and in responsible for
behaviour and welfare of pupils
• Investment in staff training
• 30 Support staff supported through Level 3 Diploma
• 5 support staff gained Level 4/5 Diploma
• Weekly quality training in school
• Investing in the future – 13 staff on accredited NAML Middle Leaders course
• Coaching and Mentoring for all teachers every 2 weeks
• Staff as learners - Action research groups meet termly
• LOTC, ASC, Attachment, Teaching and Learning, Technology, Mindfulness

7. Staffdevelopment
• Improved staffing develops pupil aspirations
• Subject specialists ensure quality learning in the classroom
• New Heads of English, Maths, Science, Technology and Farm Teacher
• New Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning
• Class groupings appropriate for pupil development
• KS3 pupils in nurture classes supporting their individual needs
• KS4 pupils on individual Pathways linked to their aspirations
• Safeguarding further improved
• School layout changed giving more calming areas
• New fencing improves safeguarding keeping visitors away from pupils
• Two new parent support advisers in place to improve communication and safeguarding

8. 6weeklymonitoring
Subject
reviews
Data
input
Pupil
progress
reviews
moderation
Learning
walks
drop in
observations
Senior Leaders and
Governors Group termly
monitoring

9. Partnerships-forimprovement
• Education Development Partnership cluster, school to school support with 6 local schools
• National Centre for Excellence in teaching of Maths – Singapore Maths and Maths Mastery
• Local Academic Council – moderation and sporting hubs
• Plymouth Teaching School Alliance – Highview Primary School
• West Country Teaching School Alliance – National Middle Leaders Training
• Autism Education Trust – Autism development
• Plymouth Marjons teacher training department
• Plymouth University Psychology department
• Head Teacher currently Chair of SHAP Plymouth special schools association, working with the LA to
develop provision for SEND in Plymouth
• Marine Academy Plymouth Partnership - Beacon Centre for learning recovery

10. Teachingandlearning
• All teaching staff accredited on a three day ‘Teacher Effectiveness and Enhancement Programme’
• Learner behaviour Mount Tamar ‘ROBOTS’ develop pupils’ understanding of learning
• All staff accredited course in TEACCH ASC
• Learning outside the classroom developed
• Forest area renovated and used for social skills learning
• Adventure studies programme develops team work and social skills along with being safe
• Pupil books improved through new marking policy
• yellow box stretch marking creates resilient learners willing to make mistakes
• Massive Technology role out
• All classrooms have smart screen technology
• Google classroom used to share work and give feedback
• All pupils have chrome book to promote home learning
• All teachers have tablets to evidence learning
• Increased intervention
• Accelerated reader, Arrow, Precision teaching
• Classroom environment greatly improved and standardised
• Teacch based schedules
• Learning walls
• Teachers sharing and working together
• Joint Planning with subject coordinator
• Common screen across the school gives pupils consistent approach
• Weekly TEEP sharing briefing
• Pedagogy handbook shared by all staff
• Subject learning mats give key facts for learning

11. CurriculumimprovementsandSMSC
• Wide ranging accreditation and exceptional curriculum offer
• ECDL for all
• Land and Animal studies BTEC Level 2
• Fishing BTEC Level 1
• Adventure Studies BTEC Level 2
• Construction
• Control technology
• Extended schools offer
• Expanded music tuition
• After school learning clubs greatly expanded and high take up
• High number of pupils take up the holiday and weekend activity clubs
• SMSC
• Street Factory dance and culture weekly sessions, annual dance performance at theatre
• Weekly behaviour and welfare sessions from Toby G
• Britishness and extremism working group with LA adviser
• Pupil Parliament actively involved in the school, includes a Cabinet and Prime Minister
• Regular input from local MP and Councilor
• Increased opportunities for pupils to engage in the community
• Charity work with Shekinah Mission and other charities

12. Personaldevelopmentandwelfare
• Mental Health issues supported further
• Weekly Mindfulness sessions on the timetable
• Whole school mental health days
• Calmer supportive environment around the school
• KS4 pupils mostly at offsite Aspire Centres that better meet their individual needs
• Incidents greatly reduced
• Calming areas increased around the school and linked into Pupil Individual Profiles
• Pupils individually supported to to improve behaviour and social skills
• SNAP behaviour and social skills targets base lined and tracked
• Weekly achievement/attendance/behaviour tracking
• Improved system allows staff and SLT to analyse patterns
• Weekly report home to parents carers
• Attendance greatly improved
• Extended school offer
• Holiday and weekend clubs support independent learning skills in and around pupils’ home area.
• Term dates changed for 2017 18 to reduce summer holiday length and autumn term so that pupils
have more consistency across the year

13. Improvedoutcomes
• Risk and Resilience personalised target setting
• LA, Educational Psychologist and Therapy team ratified tool used to set aspirational targets
• Assessment for learning
• Pre and post unit assessments ensure excellent pupil progress
• Updated visual targets in front of pupil books
• Progress
• FSM, LAC, SMEH all achieve at same rate
• ASC pupils achieve higher
• English
• Primary 77% on track to make or exceed target compared to 57% in March 2015
• Secondary 81% on track to meet or exceed target compared to 67% March 2015
• Maths
• Primary 94% on track to make or exceed target compared to 74% in March 2015
• Secondary 83% on track to meet or exceed target compared to 67% March 2015
• Science
• Primary 75% on track to make or exceed target
• Secondary 85% on track to meet or exceed target
• Achievement
• Number of pupils achieving 5 or more qualifications in 2015=0. In 2016=7 and predicted for 2017=8

14. Progress
Subject
Percentage of pupils
making outstanding
plus progress
Percentage of pupils
making outstanding
progress
Percentage of pupils
making good progress
Percentage of pupils
making insufficient
progress
History Primary 0 0 100 0
Geography Secondary 0 44 50 6
PE Whole school 11 58 15 16
Farm 0 100 0 0
Adventure Studies 0 63 31 6
Product Design / ICT 5 60 25 10
Work skills 0 30 30 40
MTLOTCC Whole school 0 94 6 0
MTLOTCC Primary 0 100 0 0
MTLOTCC Secondary 0 80 20 0
Food 0 0 100 0