New leaders at worst-performing school say the future is ‘exciting’
PUPILS, PARENTS AND STAFF TO BE CONSULTED
NEW leaders at the East Riding’s worstperforming school have revealed their plans for change, in their first public statement since taking over.
Two incoming heads recently took charge at Beverley’s Longcroft School, where headteacher Ian O’donnell is on a period of extended absence due to illness.
The move came after East Riding Council helped broker support from multi-academy trust Wolds Learning Partnership, based at Pocklington’s Woldgate School.
The trust’s CEO, Jonathan Britton, is now acting as executive head at Longcroft, with Woldgate deputy head Irie Grant taking the role of head of school at the Beverley secondary.
In a statement issued to the Mail, the heads say the school must change and that pupils, parents and staff will be involved in consultation.
They said: “As with any community, our children, parents and colleagues are aware that our school must change.
“We are acting upon the recommendations following the last Ofsted report, speaking to pupils, parents and staff to ensure the school can act quickly to address the concerns raised, to rebuild the reputation of our community.
“The future, we believe, for Longcroft School is an exciting one; an opportunity to recognise the many achievements of the school to date, but also to create a new shared vision to ensure Longcroft is firmly established as one of the very best secondary schools in the area.
“We will be shortly starting a consultation process with pupils, parents and staff in school.
“It is important to us that we listen and learn from the past, while at the same time identifying and celebrating the many unique talents of our children and their individual achievements.
“We are very fortunate to have such exceptional children under our care and we will work hard to ensure they receive the very best education.”
They say the welcome from pupils, parents and colleagues has been “very warm” and that they have received many letters wishing the school and our community the very best for the future. The heads said: “With the support of pupils, parents and the Mail, we are excited by what we can achieve together and we are especially looking forward to recognising our brilliant pupils and their many achievements.
“We are fortunate to have a very experienced team supporting the school and already changes are underway as you would expect, but it is important that we also listen and learn as we want to do the very best for this community and school.
“Our focus is on our children and ensuring they receive the very best pastoral care, teaching and are supported and challenged to do their very best and to achieve academically in a calm and purposeful environment.
“We love teaching and we’re looking forward to working with colleagues to share some of the very best practice we have already seen in school – this will, therefore, be our initial focus.”
The heads outlined their priorities for making Longcroft a good school.
They said: “We believe a good school is one where every child is known and cared for as an individual.
“It is a school with a positive, welcoming, warm atmosphere, in which pupils are able to take pride in their achievements, and in which children and staff work together with mutual respect, courtesy and consideration for others; a school that places a great emphasis on a disciplined and ordered environment in which pupils can feel secure and give of their best, where we ensure each individual pupil achieves academically through consistently good teaching.
“These are our priorities now and will remain so in the future.”
Performance league tables, published in January, saw Longcroft ranked worst for Progress 8, the measure of progress between the end of primary and end of secondary school.