Cranford Review 2021

schools and society learn to live alongside Covid-19,
doing some things a little differently but doing them,
and most importantly doing them together – ‘together
as one – together as ‘Cranford’.
We have been brought even closer together with
our wider community and partners; to overcome
adversity together, to work together to find creative
solutions to new problems, to care for and help others
in unprecedented need, and to join forces to magnify
impact. It is inspiring and heart-warming.
Cranford and its community have hardly skipped a
heartbeat during the pandemic. We have quickly adapted
to the challenges of teaching, learning and assessment
‘at a distance’, including making over 600 virtually
immediate loans of ICT and connectivity equipment for
those in need. We developed safeguarding, pastoral and
communication provision in spite of obstacles.
We have taken practical steps to ensure that no-one
goes unfed or unnoticed, to ensure that community
mental health and emotional well-being have not been
overlooked and we have connected people together so
that we all know that we are not alone, especially those
feeling most vulnerable.
We have weathered this storm well and we have
renewed optimism in the future. We have been blessed
as a community and we are grateful.
It is not just one storm, though, that helps a tree grow
deeper and stronger where it stands. It is several storms
over time, a series of torrents and gusts. All of this
rooting and growing in the face of heavy weather
protects a tree from simply blowing over. And, it
prepares a tree for the storms yet to come.
We are learning from the challenges, developing new
skills, innovating and we are incredibly optimistic
about the good things that will come from our resilient
response to adversity, including the potential to
develop positive, transformational and quantum shifts
in social mobility and community cohesion as well as
new approaches to teaching and learning.
If there are further storms ahead, we will learn more,
seek to do things better and be ever better prepared. We
value learning and its powerful benefits, and we have
ensured that every child has continued to get a full,
proper and broad education throughout. Over 90% of
our KS4 students have been able to maintain the full
EBACC range of subjects this year too.
This review of the year celebrates our values and our
curriculum. It celebrates excellence, and it celebrates
our community. It celebrates the importance that
technology has played in the continuing success of
our unique academy, and the enormous breadth of
curricular and extra-curricular provision, which is
virtually unrivalled in the state and private sectors.
At Cranford, we learn from the best in the world.
We also know that summer 2021 has been another
record-breaking year at A level, GCSE, Vocational and
Technical in terms of examination success and student
progress.
A truly special and huge thank you is owed to the
teachers and support staff who have rallied and worked
incredibly hard and diligently to, almost instantly, offer
a full-service virtual school or school for the whole of
the pandemic to date, alongside some on-site provision
and the enormous task of grading GCSE, A-level,
vocational and technical qualifications. The dedication
of Cranford staff and the high level of engagement of
students is an indicator of why the children who attend
Cranford make such excellent progress and accomplish
so much.
As an academy, we have used the time strategically
too, heavily and urgently investing in adaptations and
safety improvements to our site and premises so that
we can all be as safe at school and work as we could
possibly be, including going forward.
In addition to our commitment to all round excellence,
a key theme of Cranford’s identity has been our longterm
commitment to transforming the community.
As founding members of First Story and more recently
Hounslow’s Promise, Hounslow Education Partnership
and Heston West Big Local, partner organisations that
also focus on improving the life chances of our young
people through exciting community development
programmes, we continue to take a holistic approach
to community development, school improvement,
cultural capital and social mobility.
The astonishing range of wider curriculum opportunities
also includes specific projects that deepen and enhance
students’ learning experience through performances,
challenges, masterclasses, debates, conferences and
competitions as well as clubs, trips, visits and lectures.
A particularly relevant achievement has been to
work with the University of Oxford from September
2017 to July 2021 on the Myriad research project
to help schools prepare young people to manage
their emotional health and improve resilience to the
challenges of adolescence.
As a result, we have happy, well-educated, wellqualified,
well-rounded, well-behaved, well-motivated
and well-prepared contributors to society, good citizens
who value education, are able to enjoy it, succeed in
life and thrive in a wide range of social contexts.
Kevin Prunty
Executive Headteacher
National Leader of Education
EDITORIAL
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