Holy Cross Primary School Achieves Charter Mark

Holy Cross Primary School Achieves Charter Mark Excellence In July 2007, Holy Cross Primary School (local education authority: City of Glasgow) received Charter Mark, the Government's UK-wide standard for excellence in public service. The school decided to apply for certification as part of its improvement programme, and achieving Charter Mark proves the continuous commitment Holy Cross is making to all its partners: pupils, outside agencies and both teaching and non-teaching staff. Achieving Charter Mark status shows that Holy Cross is meeting the needs of its partners in six key ways: 1. By setting standards and performing well 2. Engaging with its customers, partners and staff 3. Being fair and accessible to everyone and promoting choice 4. By continuously developing and improving 5. Using its resources effectively and imaginatively 6. Helping to improve the opportunities and the quality of life in the community it serves In addition to improving policies, practices and procedures achieving Charter Mark has boosted morale and self-esteem amongst staff, pupils and parents. Why Holy Cross chose SGS United Kingdom Ltd to support the certification process Recommendations from other Charter Mark schools - SGS has successfully supported other schools in their accreditation process. Clear and helpful guidance - SGS brought specific understanding of the Charter Mark process in schools. Local perspective and a local representative - SGS operates a global network of offices. As a result, clients enjoy the benefits of local knowledge at every step of their Charter Mark accreditation process. Smooth path to certification Holy Cross began exploratory discussions with an SGS assessment team, and the entire process from enquiry to certification took around 9 months. The assessment team reviewed the documentation and interviewed a cross-section of the school’s partners, which included pupils, parents, outside agencies and both teaching and non-teaching staff. Following visits from the SGS assessor the school enjoyed continuous support, advice, assessment and feedback. Benefits of Charter Mark certification “Achieving Charter Mark has already proved beneficial to us,” says Head Teacher, Kevin Carr. ”It has raised levels of morale amongst staff, pupils and parents, provided another focus for improvement, and ensured the wider community recognises the school’s achievements.” More about Charter Mark Currently aimed at public sector organisations, Charter Mark relies on customer and staff feedback and suggestions to monitor and improve an organisation's customer service and best practice. In short, Charter Mark is a lever for change, a powerful tool to help all the members of an organisation to focus on their own standards of responsiveness to the needs of their customers. In turn they are able to identify and review areas for improvement. Organisations that achieve the standard have the right to display the prestigious Charter Mark logo.

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