Microsoft Flagship - Core Beliefs
As a Microsoft Flagship School, we align our practice to their 12 core beliefs or tenets. Here is how we put these into action.
Strong shared vision
Together, we create, share and live the vision for our school. Learners, staff, parents and the community understand what Bertha Park High School sets out to achieve.
Inclusive & accessible
We meet each of our learners where they are in their social, emotional and academic development. We can support this with our inclusive technologies, ensuring that every young person can access the learning they need to achieve.
Innovative pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment
All of our staff, teaching and non-teaching, undergo training in many disciplines from young people's mental health to technology for education. Our teachers share best practice with other professionals locally and from around the world. The decisions we make about the running of our school are based on research and successes worldwide. Our curriculum is planned, delivered and supported by appropriate technology at the forefront, ensuring the very best learning experiences for our young people.
Process-driven approach to planning, design, and delivery
Our school approach to learning is in alignment with the Microsoft Education Transformation Framework. You can read more about that here. We rely heavily on collaboration with learners and their parents, and indeed the wider community to establish, review and improve our practice.
Prioritisation of learning outcomes
Our teachers clearly define the learning outcomes and ensure that they promote lifelong learning. Our young people experience contextualised, relevant and engaging learning which is empowered and supported by technology. This helps individualise the learning for each pupil and provides the experiences they need on their learner pathway.
Sustainable, innovative design & space
Our school has been designed, from conception, to be an excellent space for teaching and learning. It does not look nor feel like many others. There are numerous flexible open areas for learning, socialising and collaboration, as well as more conventional classrooms. It is energy-efficient and a very welcoming place to learn, work and visit. Our school benefits from the very latest technology to ensure efficient administration and the best learning experiences for our young people.
Secure and safe learning environment
Both the physical and technological aspects of our school are designed and maintained with everyone's safety in mind. An innovative system of cameras and door-controls addresses the physical security, whilst a robust network, managed and maintained by Perth & Kinross Council, ensures that everyone in the building is secure and protected online. The open plan nature of our building minimises the possibility of anyone feeling isolated or vulnerable.
Thoughtful end-to-end use of technology
We push the boundaries of innovation, creation and design and set out to do things a little differently from what might be expected of other schools. Digital creativity is high on our list of priorities and we provide expertise and tools for our learners to explore their creative abilities. Our in-class technology is current, relevant, plentiful and reflects the tools used in industry.
Community Connected
We have key community partners that support us in providing learning experiences for our young people. As our school develops, so too will our partnerships with other education establishments and businesses. We aim to provide our pupils with learning which reflects local, national and international needs for skills.
Happy, confident, motivated learners
As well as an education in academic disciplines and life skills, we are passionate about our young people's health & well-being, both physical and mental. Our pupils are confident individuals, successful learners, effective contributors and responsible citizens. We aim to make Bertha Park High School the place where everyone wants to be. If you are a young person and you don't come here, you wish you did. If you are a teacher or a member of support staff and you don't work here, you wish you did. And if you are a parent and your child doesn't come here, you wish they did.
Data-driven analytics and decision-making
We collect data from our use of technology to inform how our facilities and resources are being used. This information allows decisions to be made around how finances are spent, how to utilise our facilities effectively, how the young people are learning and where we could improve on our delivery.
Empowered leaders and educators
Everyone in Bertha Park High School can be a leader. Every learner and every member of staff can develop or move an initiative forward, have their voice heard, make improvements and inspire others. We all demonstrate our learning: pupils and staff too. Every one of our teaching staff is a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator, and everyone engages in the Microsoft Educator Community to further their knowledge and skills in education technology. We are a solution-focused school with a growth mindset and core set of values that encompass all we do.