Culture

At Dixons Newall Green Academy, we are taking the best ideas from successful academies within the trust, wider schools, the independent sector and abroad. No individual element of our practice is revolutionary, but the rigour in which we aim to apply our practice is.

We don’t believe in off-the-shelf strategies or practices; there is no silver bullet. It is really about being values driven, having clear vision, focusing relentlessly on results, operating strict routines, doing the simple things well every day, and building strong relationships at all levels.

Our ‘warm-strict’ approach instils strong learning habits ultimately helping students become better qualified, more successful and happier. We expect students to follow homework and equipment rules, wear uniform with pride and always be ‘on task’, fully engaged and ready to learn.

We have no doubt that the achievement-oriented culture at Dixons Newall Green Academy will be the main driver of our success. As Peter Drucker says, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Of course, no school is better than the quality of its teachers; however, there is only so much that even the best teacher can do with students who have poor learning habits. Conversely, create a truly aspirational culture with extremely high expectations and all teachers can secure exceptional outcomes for all students.

What we have learnt from the best schools is the power of a vision-led culture – it is not a means to an end, but an end in itself.

Being wholly committed to our mission is not that intellectually sophisticated, it is just common sense and we, as a team, need to have the persistence and humility to return to it every day; to sustain our routines and live our values over and over – the humility to commit is critical.