Any lack of ambition – whether from pupils or those who guide them – can hinder success. That’s why we must challenge conventional thinking and embrace innovative approaches to education. Together, we will ensure that every learner is supported, inspired, and given the right to succeed.

By the very nature of ‘traditional’ target setting approaches, some pupils are placed in a position where we accept that they may never achieve national standards of attainment, and they then naturally become part of the group of pupils who do not then go on to meet expected standards. Sometimes, as educators, this decision can be made very early in a pupil’s educational journey and any lack of Ambition (real or perceived) has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy for students of any age. Low expectations, coupled with the unconscious belief that a pupil may not have the ability to achieve, inevitably leads to a low growth mindset and poor academic outcomes. Today, we have the power to change the educational offer and outcome for every pupil in our care to guarantee future success.

To help focus schools towards achieving true ambition for all, educationally focused discussions will now centre around what needs to happen next for the pupils who are deemed to not be yet on track. Focus will be given to explore how they will be part of our ambition for 100% of students to achieve in line with and beyond national expectations. To facilitate this, every school will be set an ambitious academic goal in all key performance indicators, agreed in conjunction with leaders, which will also consider progress and context.  

If we act in this way, from this point forward, and remain true to our values around education as leverage for social justice, alongside our commitment to an equity-based offer, we ensure everyone feels the benefit of our ‘We See You’ belief and our vision is therefore enacted for every pupil, every lesson, every day across LAAT.