headteacher Archives - The Stray Ferret

Tributes to visionary headteacher who made Harrogate’s largest primary school ‘outstanding’New headteacher appointed at Harrogate primary school

Western Primary School in Harrogate has appointed a new headteacher to take over at the end of the academic year.

Johanna Slack will take over from current headteacher Tim Broad, who is to retire.

Ms Slack is currently headteacher at Tang Hall Primary School in York and has over 20 years teaching experience.

She will take charge of Western Primary, which more than 500 children aged from two to 11 attend on Cold Bath Road.

Ms Slack said:

“My leadership style is one that is open and nurturing. It is built from developing strong relationships with everyone in the school community which has mutual respect at its core.

Joining Western Primary School will see me starting my third headship and I am looking forward to bringing to my new role a wide range of experiences, skills and knowledge which will support me and the team to continue the improvement journey to ensure all our children are getting the very best we have to offer.”

Ms Slack and Western Primary School

Mr Broad became acting headteacher of Western Primary in January 2020 before his full-time appointment in 2021.

Prior to this, he had worked as a teacher, phase leader and deputy head at the school since September 1999.

Mr Broad said:

“I feel very proud and privileged to have had the opportunity to lead this fantastic school. I have very mixed emotions around the prospect of retirement but feel it is the right time for me, my family and the school.

“I have been lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented colleagues over many years, both at Western and within our Trust, and am grateful for their support and for their sustained contribution to our pursuit of excellence for our pupils and families.”

Western Primary is a member of Red Kite Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust of 14 schools across North and West Yorkshire.

Trust chief executive Richard Sheriff said:

“We are indebted to Tim Broad for leading Western through some of the most challenging years any of us have faced. His constant, reassuring presence at the school during the pandemic was a huge comfort to children and parents.

“He has led his wonderful team with skill and moral purpose, ensuring Western has become even stronger under his tenure.”

Harrogate’s ‘inner-city school’ is improving, says headteacher

When Harrogate High School held its autumn open evening on Thursday, there will have been some parents present who needed to be won over.

After 10 years of being rated ‘satisfactory’ by Ofsted, and then another 10 years rated ‘good’, the school was downgraded earlier this year to ‘requires improvement’ – the third-best out of four ratings.

But speaking to the Stray Ferret ahead of the open evening, headteacher Sukhraj Gill said the thorny subject of the school’s Ofsted report was not one he was going to duck. He said:

“It’s the first thing I talk about on parents’ evenings – it’s not an elephant in the room for me. On paper, we’re ‘requires improvement’, but we are improving.”

Mr Gill arrived at Harrogate High in January 2022 and had been in post little over a year when the Ofsted inspectors came the following spring.

A graduate of the University of Warwick, he completed his teaching qualifications at the University of Cambridge and taught maths for over 20 years in West Yorkshire, including a decade at Bradford Academy (then rated ‘good’), where he was vice principal.

Photo of the headteacher of Harrogate High School, Sukhraj Gill, standing in front of the school.

He said:

“Before I started this job, people said to me ‘Harrogate High? That’s the worst school in Harrogate’. I heard all those descriptions of the school before I even set foot through the door.

“That just tells me that these students need good-quality education, and good-quality people who value them and can help them grow and move on to their next destinations.

“I’m not saying I’m anybody special, but I think I can bring a bit of experience and strategy.”

He came to Harrogate High at a time when the school – like many around the country – was still reeling from the covid pandemic. The school had lost its sixth form, and a lot of students – even those from secure, well-off backgrounds – were displaying the traits of social disadvantage: disorganisation, lack of focus, and persistent absenteeism.

Mr Gill, who is the school’s third headteacher since the last Ofsted inspection in 2017, said:

“At that time, we [already] had some turbulence among the teachers and leadership here. We own that – we’re not going to hide from that. But we’re part of the Northern Star Academies Trust, and they were all over that, hiring a school improvement officer and replacing the senior leaders here. I was the last piece, as the headteacher.”

But the changes didn’t stop at new staff. The Ofsted report highlighted several areas where the school, which has around 750 students, needed to improve, and Mr Gill is introducing best practice strategies to effect the necessary changes.

One criticism of the school was that the implementation of the curriculum in some subjects was not as effective as in others, so he has developed a teacher toolkit, which lays out the different phases that every lesson must feature.

Ofsted also pointed out that some staff didn’t not use the school behaviour policy consistently, so Mr Gill has created scripts for teachers to use in the most common situations.

Another observation was that the personal development curriculum was not planned to the same level as subject curriculum planning, so the school identified its core values under the acronym CARES – courage, aspiration, respect, equality and self-control – which permeate school life.

The watchword is consistency – in expectations, behaviour, lesson structure and planning. Mr Gill said:

“This is an evidence-based approach, and it’s effective for all students, even high attainers. If you have consistency in learning, language, the way teachers teach, it helps students make an impact quicker.”

Beyond the classroom, there is a wide range of extracurricular activities, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards have been reintroduced, there’s a farm twinning project with Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and there are even plans to create an urban farm at the school at some point over the next three years.

For the more academically minded, Mr Gill says the curriculum was built “from the top down” rather than from the bottom up, and is delivered with high expectations.

The overall mission is to be a school for the community which supports every child regardless of background, says Mr Gill:

“My experience of working in inner cities is good for Harrogate High School, because this is effectively an inner-city comprehensive school – even though Harrogate is a town. This is a true comprehensive school. We’ve got affluence and high attainers, and we’ve also got some real disadvantage, and that’s not always appreciated by the wider community.”

The data reinforces the point. Harrogate High School has the highest percentage of children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) of all the mainstream schools in North Yorkshire. Nearly 30% of children receive free school meals, compared with 15% across the county and around 24% nationally. Mr Gill said:

“We’ve got children here who are looked-after children, we’ve got children who are young carers for parents who are drug abusers, we’ve got children who we feed breakfast to, because they can’t get it at home. But we’re an inclusive school. We won’t let any child down.”

Whether Mr Gill is successful in his mission could be measured in various ways, but he says his mindset has never been based around his personal success – it’s always about the students. He said:

“When you make a difference to students who need the difference made, that brings the greatest sense of fulfilment.

“I’m a very spiritual person – I do a lot of meditation – and I’ve always thought we’re chosen to be here, at this point in time.”

The other obvious measure of success will be the next Ofsted inspection – whenever that may come – but that doesn’t seem to faze him. He said:

“We’ve put strategies into place and we’re now starting to see a culture shift. If Ofsted came in a year’s time, I believe we’d have a completely different report.

“But we don’t work just to an Ofsted inspection – it only reflects a point in time. We work for the students. We serve our community. That’s who we’re here for.”

Harrogate headteacher releases book on school leadership

The headteacher of Harrogate’s largest school has released a book about leadership.

Neil Renton, who became head of Harrogate Grammar School in 2019, said New School Leader: What Now? aims to help school leaders daunted by their role.

It examines the challenges new leaders face and how they can be overcome.

Mr Renton, who was previously the school’s deputy head, said “this was the one book I looked for when I became a headteacher that I couldn’t find”.

Based on his own experience, it covers issues such as the weight of responsibility he felt on his appointment, leading through a pandemic and coping with an Ofsted inspection.

Mr Renton said:

“Something happens when you step from being a senior leader to being appointed as headteacher. Everyone tells you it will feel different, but no one can quite explain how.

“I found it helpful to write about my experience and what I was learning as a leader. I then tried to set that learning out in a way that could help other new leaders.

“I wanted to tell a simple, honest and positive story about school leadership.”

He said he wrote 500 words a day in every school holiday for the last three years “until I felt that I had answered the question in the title of the book New School Leader: What Now?”

Critical Publishing, which published the 210-page book, described it as “an uplifting and honest story about how school leaders develop and hone their practice over time to navigate doubt, overcome challenge, and lead well every day”.

The book, which costs £19.99, can be bought here.

Tim Milburn appointed headteacher of Harrogate’s Rossett School

Harrogate Grammar School deputy headteacher Tim Milburn has been appointed headteacher of Rossett School.

Mr Milburn has been at HGS for nine years, initially as assistant headteacher. He previously spent four years as director of personal development at Ilkley Grammar School.

History teacher Mr Milburn is also the designated safeguarding lead for Red Kite Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust with 13 schools. Rossett is expected to be the 14th school to join the trust when final approval processes are completed this year.

The move completes a circle for Mr Milburn, who studied at Rossett and left in the 1990s. More recently he has also been helping to cover acting headteacher Pete Saunders’ paternity leave.

Mr Milburn, who takes up the post immediately, said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed Rossett School’s fifth headteacher and I would like to thank the governing body for entrusting me with this privileged position.

“I have been fortunate to have already spent a lot of time in school, getting to know staff and students, and have been made to feel so welcome. This time in school has allowed me to see, first hand, the dedication, commitment and care of our staff. I have also met many students who embody the best of Rossett. They are responsible, resilient and ambitious to be the best version of themselves.

“This is a truly exciting time for the school. Rossett’s golden jubilee will allow us to celebrate a past where so many families, including my own, have been well served by the school.

“As the new headteacher I look forward to leading the next chapter of Rossett’s history, working in partnership with our families, in our pursuit of ‘success for everyone’.”

Tim Milburn has returned to the school where he studied

Richard Sheriff, chief executive of Red Kite Learning Trust, said:

“We are very proud of Mr Milburn and congratulate him for being appointed to this very exciting and important role. We are excited to be working with him as Rossett integrates into our trust and we know he will do a tremendous job in leading the talented team at Rossett.

“Mr Milburn and his team are ambitious for the school and are determined to ensure it delivers excellence for every child.”

Harrogate head set to move to new role at infant school

The headteacher of Grove Road Primary School is set to move on to a new role in September.

Christopher Harrison is taking up the post of headteacher at Oatlands Infant School, just two miles south of his current school.

The role was advertised after current head Zoe Anderson announced she was planning to move to the Isle of Skye after the end of the academic year.

Mr Harrison said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed as Headteacher at Oatlands Infant School.

“Whilst I have loved being a part of the Grove Road community for the last five years, both as a teacher and leader, I have always wanted to work in an infant school. I started my teaching career in Early Years and Key Stage 1, and the prospect of returning to work with these ages in a brilliant school – with the backing of a superb Multi Academy Trust and a fabulous community – was a tremendously exciting opportunity for me.

“I look forward to hearing about Grove Road’s continued successes, and I can’t wait to be part of Oatlands Infant School’s exciting journey going forward.”

Oatlands deputy headteacher Kathryn Haddon said:

“We are excited to welcome Mr Harrison in September and look forward to working together with him to build on all the existing successes in our nurturing and inspiring school.”

Confirmation that Mr Harrison will move means Grove Road is now seeking its own new headteacher.

In a statement, the governors of Grove Road Primary School said:

“We are sad that Mr Harrison will be leaving us at the end of the summer term, he has been an important figure in the school for the last five years. Although we will miss him, we wish him every success at Oatlands Infant School.

“As a governing body we are now focussed on recruiting our new headteacher for Grove Road Community Primary School.”

Oatlands Infant School has a three-form intake of 90 pupils each year, with up to 270 pupils across reception, year one and year two.

At Grove Road, the annual intake is 40 pupils, with a total of just under 300 on the role in its seven year groups.

Last year, Grove Road was set to be amalgamated with Woodfield Primary School as the latter faced closure following a damning Ofsted report.

However, governors withdrew support for the plans in April 2022 because of the potential risks. They said the consultation period had highlighted potential problems with support for the proposal and the likely number of applications, concluding:

“Ultimately, the governing board have concluded that we must prioritise the future of Grove Road School and so, sadly, we can no longer support the proposed amalgamation.”

Oatlands Infant School is part of the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, alongside St Aidan’s C of E High School and seven primary schools, six of which are in the Harrogate district.

Most of its pupils go on to the nearby Oatlands Junior School, which is part of the Red Kite Learning Trust of 13 primary and secondary schools across North and West Yorkshire.

As part of the recruitment pack for the new headteacher, Oatlands Infant School said an Ofsted inspection was “likely before the end of this academic year”. The last, in 2013, rated the school ‘outstanding’.

It said the new head would lead the response to the outcome of the next inspection.

Harrogate school begins search for new headteacher

Harrogate’s Rossett School has begun its search for a new headteacher.

Its current acting head, Pete Saunders, has been in post since January after the departure of Helen Woodcock, following a second consecutive Ofsted inspection which rated the school ‘requires improvement’.

The school is aiming to appoint a new permanent headteacher to begin in September. Its recruitment pack said:

“Harrogate is changing rapidly, with lots of new housing and a younger population bringing renewed energy into our community.

“There are also new challenges and although a town famous for flowers and cream teas, it also has pockets of significant deprivation and a fair share of the social issues that are prevalent in communities up and down the country.

“Our school also has its challenges and the second requires improvement judgement has accelerated our existing plans to join a multi academy trust.”

Governors have already confirmed they are hoping Rossett will join the Red Kite Learning Trust, which is already home to several local schools. Rossett School was a founding member of the Red Kite Alliance, a partnership of local schools, alongside Harrogate Grammar School.

Pete Saunders, acting headteacher of Rossett School, and Richard Sheriff, CEO of Red Kite Learning Trust

In a letter to prospective applicants for the headteacher post, chair of governors John Hesketh said:

“We have chosen to join a trust that shares our values but will also help accelerate our improvement journey and allow us to deliver success for everyone.

“We have listened carefully to the inspectors and have already made changes that have demonstrated our willingness to embrace change for the benefit of the young people we serve.

“We were delighted that inspectors judged the quality of education to be ‘good’, indeed 3 out of the 5 judgements were ‘good’. We are not complacent however and we know that there is much more to do, we are incredibly ambitious for our school.”

Salary up to £95,000

The school’s advert said it is looking for a new head who is “determined and ambitious for every child”, with the highest ethical standards. Professional generosity and kindness are also required, along with a willingness to pull together and to be creative in finding solutions.

As well as experience as a headteacher or deputy, the application pack said the successful candidate will have an “impressive” record of teaching in the classroom.

In line with national pay scales. the school said the new headteacher can expect a salary between £86,040 and £94,898, though it is open to negotiation. Should the school expand as the local population increases, the application pack said this could increase.

Mr Hesketh’s letter added:

“We can offer you the chance to lead a school at a really exciting time, a period when change is desired and where you can make a real difference as a leader.

“Within the trust you will have the support and opportunities you need to help achieve your goals. The trust describes its role as ‘helping you make our schools brilliant’, they don’t put limits on how high you can fly, they just want you to fly safely and sustainably.

“Support also means looking after your wellbeing and ensuring you can enjoy your leadership role and your life beyond the school gates. You will need time to discover and enjoy our glorious Yorkshire countryside as well as all our town and nearby city of Leeds can offer.”

Headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough leaves after 15 years

Carl Sugden, headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough, will leave tomorrow after 15 years in charge of the secondary school.

Mr Sugden first came to Knaresborough as deputy headteacher aged 33 in April 2000.

He left in 2005 before relinquishing his role as head of Sherburn High School, at Sherburn-in-Elmet to succeed David Hudson as headteacher of King James’s in 2008.

The 1,575-pupil Knaresborough school was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted this year.

Clare Martin, principal of Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, will succeed Mr Sugden as head at the start of the summer term on April 17.

Mr Sugden said he had totted up that he had done about 600 assemblies, 400 staff briefings, 13 founder’s says, 80 prize-givings and 2,500 bus duties, adding:

“And I even managed to keep teaching history until just about the end. That is what I will miss the most, being in the classroom with our young people.”

Mr Sugden said:

“The school is a great community and there is a special history and ethos here, which I have tried to nurture and to maintain.

“I’m immensely proud of what this school has achieved, with the support of many great colleagues, over the past few years. In particular the challenges of the pandemic, and the post pandemic, which stretched us to the limit.

“When you look back at the last three years it is incredible what we all dealt with; lockdown, key workers’ children supervision, online learning, lateral flow tests, bubbles, centre assessed grades, masks and vaccinations.”

He said that for all the challenges, he didn’t regret a moment:

“It has been fulfilling and I am grateful to have worked in such a vibrant education community. I am not retiring, I will continue to work in education, but I plan to have a little more time to do some of the things I enjoy.”

Mr Sugden praised colleagues for “doing a pretty amazing job, going above and beyond to deliver a very high quality of education and enrichment opportunities” despite “extreme funding pressures”.

He wished Ms Martin well.

“Clare and I worked together back in the early 2000s, when she was, like me, a young teacher at King James’s.

“She has a strong track record as a deputy head and headteacher in schools in Leeds and Bradford. I wish her all the very best in the new role.”

Headteacher urges frank discussions in schools about women’s health

A secondary headteacher living with endometriosis is calling for more frank discussions in schools about periods and women’s health.

Emma Lambden, who lives in Ripon and is head of Thirsk School, was diagnosed with the women’s reproductive condition in her early 40s, but says she had had problems with periods since her teens.

She said: “Diagnosis of endometriosis typically takes about seven years, so I just want young girls to have sufficient information that they will go to the doctor early if need be, rather than thinking they ‘just have bad periods’, like I did.”

The headteacher, who was educated at Ripon Grammar School, said discussions with groups of her own pupils had already yielded valuable feedback. Students aged 15 to 17 suggested the introduction of lessons about what periods look like, the emotional impact of periods, and the need to remove the “taboo” from talking about menstrual health.

Ms Lambden has also made sanitary products available on demand at three points in her school – a move that was prompted by some of her own sixth-formers, who wanted to combat “period poverty”.

She is now making that just one plank of a wider approach. She said:

“North Yorkshire County Council has put out guidance around menopause, and the teachers’ unions have created a menopause policy for staff. There’s a lot of talk around the menopause – and rightly so – but I’d also like to see us talk more about the other health issues women can face.

“I wanted to broaden the issue out to include our students, so as a school we’ve created a draft women’s health policy, and we’re looking at drawing up a men’s health policy too.

“This feels like an idea whose time has come. When talking about women’s health, everyone always sticks to the biology and emotions, but we need to talk more about the practicalities of it.

She added:

“It always feels as if periods are the last taboo – we just don’t talk about them. We need to be able to talk about these things without embarrassment.”

Knaresborough head responds to Ofsted report

The headteacher of King James’s School in Knaresborough has responded to the publication of the school’s latest Ofsted report this week.

Government inspectors visited King James’s School for the first time in six years in January and, in a report published on Monday, rated it once again as ‘good’ – a status it has maintained for over 20 years.

Ofsted described the 1,575-pupil school as a “caring environment where pupils learn well” with “a strong focus on ensuring that everyone feels welcome”.

It said the “vast majority of pupils are keen and engage confidently in their learning” and bullying is rare.

Headteacher Carl Sugden said:

“The strong curriculum, the expertise of the teachers and the caring environment are highlighted in the report.”

Mr Sugden also noted that King James’s, in common with other schools, was still dealing with the educational and social impact of the covid pandemic, adding:

“I believe the report reflects the hard work and commitment of the staff at King James’s. It also reflects well on our wonderful pupils, the vast majority of whom work hard, show great resilience and humour and reflect our community values.”

He added the school acknowledged the areas of improvement identified by Ofsted and was already addressing them.

Ofsted said more should be done to provide support for the weakest readers, and more opportunities should be provided for pupils to experience the world of work.

Mr Sugden said:

“We agree with these priorities and had already started working on these before the inspectors arrived.”

King James’s was founded in 1616 by a charter from King James I, and is the Harrogate district’s second-oldest secondary school, after Ripon Grammar School, which was founded in 1555.

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Salary up to £95,000

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