Rossett School in Harrogate has announced the resignation of its headteacher.

Helen Woodcock had been headteacher since September 2014 but had been on leave since Christmas. An Ofsted report published in January this year said the school “required improvement”. 

The developments were announced in a letter to parents from chair of governors John Hesketh, who said acting headteacher Pete Saunders will take over for the rest of the academic year.

The school has also stated its intention to join the Red Kite Learning Trust, a multi-academy trust that includes Harrogate Grammar School.

Thanking Ms Woodcock for her contribution to the school, Mr Saunders said:

“I am proud to be leading Rossett during this time of change as we work towards our aim of providing the very best education and excellent outcomes for all our students.”

Mr Saunders added that the school was excited about its plans to join the Red Kite Learning Trust — Rossett School was one of the founder members of the Red Kite Alliance nearly 14 years ago, which was the starting point for the trust.

Mr Saunders said:

“We look forward to being part of such a strong family of schools to share our resources and expertise, and create fantastic opportunities for our students and our staff. We have no doubt that this will be a great match for both our school and the trust that will support us to achieve the excellence we strive for.”

Acting headteacher Pete Saunders

Mr Saunders will be supported in his role by Richard Sheriff and Matthew West from the Red Kite Learning Trust.

Mr Sheriff is a National Leader of Education and chief executive of the RKLT, and Mr West is an Ofsted inspector and principal of Temple Moor High School in Leeds.

Read more:

• Fundraising appeals set up for Rossett students injured in Harrogate crash
• Harrogate’s Rossett School still ‘requires improvement’, says Ofsted

The letter to parents included a statement from Ms Woodcock in which she described Rossett as “a very special place”.

She said:

“It is a truly inclusive comprehensive school which supports all students to realise their potential, regardless of their background or the challenges in the personal lives.

“I have been privileged over the years to lead a committed and professional body of staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure that each and every student receives the highest quality of teaching and support through some of the most challenging years we have seen in education nationally.”

Mr Hesketh added: “This is only the start of our journey to being recognised as a truly outstanding school.”

Mr Renton said Department for Education guidance stated schools should prioritise students taking exams and therefore pupils in years 11 and 13 would attend school as normal and either have lessons when teachers were not striking or undertake private study.

Other schools set for ‘unavoidable impact’

Harrogate Grammar School is part of Red Kite Learning Trust, which also manages Oatlands Junior School, Coppice Valley Primary School, Rossett Acre Primary School, Western Primary School in the Harrogate district.

Richard Sheriff

Red Kite chief executive Richard Sheriff sent a letter alongside Mr Renton’s saying “a very significant number of our teachers” are members of the NEU and “sadly it is unavoidable that this will have an impact on the provision we offer across our schools on the strike days”. He added:

“The impact will vary considerably from school to school, depending on the number of staff who are members of the union concerned and who decide to support the action.

“Red Kite Learning Trust is the employer for all our teachers and staff in schools, and we have received some information from the National Education Union (NEU) about how many members are in each of our schools. This information does not give us the full picture, however, as we do not know which teachers will choose to actually be on strike on the days concerned. Headteachers/principals will therefore have to cope with a high degree of uncertainty, as they plan for the strike days.”

He added:

There cannot be many families in the UK with two members whose work has been recognised by the monarch.

There may be none, so far, with two certificates signed by two different monarchs.

That rare privilege will belong to Richard Sheriff and his wife Janet, who have both now been made OBEs in recognition of their services to education.

Mr Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT) – a family of 13 schools including Harrogate Grammar School, where he was formerly head – has been included in the King’s first New Year Honours list.

He said:

“I was surprised and really delighted. I’m not one of those people that’s cynical about these things – it’s an absolute privilege.”

Though Mr Sheriff shared the news with his wife, he had not told their two sons until last night, as the list was about to be published.

A quiet toast at home with family was the planned celebration, before his schools reopen on Tuesday and normal work resumes.

However, he said, his new status has given him a change in attitude:

“You feel even more so you need to do something for it, make it look like you’re worth it. There’s a moral pressure there.

“There’s an element of embarrassment. I know so many people who are deserving of awards.

“Our chair of trustees Chris Tulley and all the trustees – they give up their time for nothing to help young people in our schools. The classroom teachers and teaching assistants, and the young people.

“The greatest thing in my job is bumping into kids I’ve taught and they tell you what they’ve been doing – and they’ve really done well. It’s just fantastic.”

Read more:

• Five Harrogate district recipients on King’s first honours list
• Harrogate Grammar School rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted

Mr Sheriff, who is the first person to have been president of the Association of School and College Leaders twice, said being able to give his time to the organisation and to other groups he has been a part of was a reflection of the support of the team around him throughout his career.

He described leading the RKLT as a privilege, bringing together people with “the same ethics and professional generosity” to ensure they delivered the best possible education.

He said:

“I’m an advocate for teaching and our profession. Anything that can put a positive light on a service that’s often seen in a dim light – a positive story about education.

“Working with young people is just brilliant and I don’t regret for a second 30-odd years of service to education.”

Awaiting a date for his investiture, Mr Sheriff reflected on attending Windsor Castle with his wife as she was awarded her honour by Princess Anne.

Mrs Sheriff – a headteacher at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley who was made an OBE two years ago – now has her certificate on display at home.

Mr Sheriff  said:

“I took in my wife’s certificate and at the top of it, it’s signed in her own hand, ‘Elizabeth’. I looked and thought, ‘that’s a piece of history’.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. I was a huge admirer of the public service of the Queen. To have that in her own hand is very special.

“Now, alongside it, might be one signed ‘Charles’.  That’s something to pass down to our sons and then perhaps to our grandchildren. It’s quite special.

“I do appreciate it, I do feel very humbled by it, and I want to honour the honour by doing good with the time I’ve got to do it.”

Years of dedication in their fields have brought recognition for people from the Harrogate district.

The first New Year Honours List published in the reign of King Charles III features five residents from the area, each for different reasons.

Richard Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT), has been made an OBE for services to education.

The former headteacher was made head of the trust in 2018 after 11 years at Harrogate Grammar School.

RKLT now comprises 13 primary and secondary schools, including the grammar school. It became one of the first teaching school hubs in the country, while Mr Sheriff was the first person to serve two terms as president of the Association of School and College Leaders.

He remains chairman of the ASCL’s trust leaders advisory board as well as a member of the national STEM advisory board and a trustee of the professional teaching institute.

There are three recipients of MBEs in the Harrogate district.

Cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who grew up in Otley and now calls Harrogate home, appears on the list after many years of achievements.

Photograph: Trek Segafredo

She represented Team GB at two Olympic Games, winning silver in the women’s road race in London in 2012. She has triumphed in the women’s Tour de France and the UCI Women’s Road World Cup on two occasions each, and in other races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de Yorkshire.

The 34-year-old is now back in training after having her second child in September, and is expected to be racing for Trek-Segafredo again in 2023.

Read more:

• Harrogate district MP in line for peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours
• Harrogate drum teacher recognised in New Year Honours

Knaresborough resident Julia Skelton has been recognised for her services to charity and to the community in Bradford, through her role as executive director of Mind the Gap.

The theatre company offers training courses and live performance for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Dementia Forward CEO Jill Quinn has also been made an MBE, in recognition of her services to people with dementia across the Harrogate district.

She founded the charity in April 2012, supporting people with dementia and those caring for them. It has gone on to expand across North Yorkshire, offering an advice line, specialist dementia nursing services, and community events and groups for people with dementia and their families and carers.

The BEM has been awarded to Killinghall resident Anne Holdsworth, chair of the parish council and long-standing active volunteer in the community.

As well as almost 50 years on Killinghall Parish Council, Mrs Holdsworth has served on the village hall committee, as a governor at Killinghall Primary School, and as a member of the health authority. She has also represented the parish council at borough and county councils.

Want to know more about our local recipients of the King’s New Year Honours? Keep an eye on the Stray Ferret’s website and social media for in-depth stories and interviews tomorrow.

Harrogate Grammar School has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

The Harrogate district’s largest school announced last night it had retained its outstanding verdict in its first full assessment for 15 years.

Ofsted has yet to publish the report but the school said in a statement that government inspectors had judged the school to be outstanding overall and in all five areas assessed: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and sixth form provision.

Inspectors described the school as “an extremely rewarding place to learn” with “an exceptional curriculum”. They added:

“Effective teaching and assessment enable pupils to learn well. This depth of knowledge is sustained from key stage 3 to the sixth form.

“Through sports, outdoor pursuits and performance opportunities, pupils develop their skills and self-confidence. Pupils are articulate and polite. They are keen to engage in discussion and debate. Teachers make sure that pupils’ views are heard.”

Ofsted described the sixth form curriculum as “exceptional”, offering students “an extensive range of subjects”. It added:

“The headteacher has built a very strong team of leaders at all levels. Leaders demonstrate clear moral purpose in their actions.

“Leaders maintain a constant focus on the safety and well-being of pupils. Pupils feel safe because of the supportive environment built by staff.”

Read more:

• Ripon Grammar boarding school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted
• St Aidan’s school in Harrogate rated’ inadequate’ by Ofsted
• Ofsted indicates Boroughbridge High School’s ‘good’ grade under threat

Headteacher ‘very proud’

Neil Renton

Headteacher Neil Renton praised students, parents, staff, governors and colleagues at Red Kite Learning Trust, which the school is a member of, for the outcome. He added:

“It makes us very proud to see the exceptional commitment that we experience every day from our community, being recognised in this way.”

Six inspectors visited Harrogate Grammar over two days last month.

Tougher regime

Ofsted’s assessment regime has become tougher since inspections resumed after covid in September 2021. Only 50% per cent of schools have maintained their outstanding judgement since then.

In January, Harrogate’s St Aidan’s Church of England High School, which was previously rated ‘outstanding’, was assessed as ‘inadequate’.

Christopher Russell, Ofsted’s national director of education, said:

“There’s no doubt that under the current education inspection framework, outstanding is a challenging and exacting judgement to achieve.”

Paul Cotton, chair of governors at Harrogate Grammar, said,

“The Ofsted report captures so clearly what takes place each and every day at the school. Harrogate Grammar School is indeed an extremely rewarding place to learn.”

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

“Students benefit from an exceptional curriculum at Harrogate Grammar School.”

Neil Renton, the headteacher at Harrogate Grammar School, was in Marks & Spencer in Leeds on his wedding anniversary one weekend recently when his phone rang.

He was told a student on a coach trip to Flamingo Land had tested positive for covid and a decision had to be made on which children should isolate the next day.

He called Dr Dora Machaira, a health improvement officer in North Yorkshire County Council‘s public health team, who has been the go-to woman for schools needing advice on covid, and, after numerous calls, made the necessary arrangements.

The episode sums up what life has been like running a school during the last 16 months. Face masks, lateral flow tests, bubbles, test and trace and isolate have become as much a part of the lexicon of education as maths, English and science.

The lowest point came just before Christmas: the second wave was taking off and the school received news of more infections, which meant closing an entire year group. Mr Renton recalls:

“On a Sunday night I was wondering ‘how are we going to tell 290 students that they are not coming in tomorrow?’ There’s nothing more painful than having to go to parents and say, ‘your child will have to isolate’.”

At the same time Kirsty Moat, the associate headteacher who Mr Renton describes as “my co-pilot”, tested positive and about 50 other staff, some of whom were badly affected by the disease, were also absent.

Attendance fell to 47 per cent

Mr Renton thinks about the current academic year in covid phases rather than terms.

During phase one, in September and October, case numbers were low.

“There was a feeling of confidence that we had reopened and things were back to normal.”

November to January was the second and most difficult phase. At one point pupil attendance fell to 47 per cent as more and more children isolated. All of years 11 and 13, which have about 300 students each, were closed at some points.

The January lockdown that followed, which was the third phase, was almost a relief because the school had learned from previous remote learning and felt confident it could cope, especially as every student has an iPad.

The return-to-school fourth phase in March was relatively smooth, with low case numbers. But the fifth phase since half-term has been almost as tough as pre-Christmas. He says:

“We haven’t had any year group closures in the latest phase but today we have 159 students isolating.”

‘Pushed to the limit’

Mr Renton is fulsome in his praise for North Yorkshire County Council’s public health team; but less so for the Department for Education, which he says has “pushed headteachers to the limits” with last minute, complex guidance and U-turns.

“We hear the PM announce something then guidance comes out two days later.”

Read more:

• Record number of Oxbridge offers at Harrogate Grammar School
• Thirty-one Harrogate schools take part in ‘walk to school day’;

Harrogate Grammar, which is one of 13 schools in north and west Yorkshire belonging to Red Kite Learning Trust, is one of the largest schools in the north of England with 2,018 pupils.

Its size means it has been better able to assimilate the financial cost of covid than some smaller schools. It has employed extra cleaners, had to cover for absent teachers and even put up a marquee to improve social distancing.

The remarkable generation

Throughout it all not one child has been seriously ill. Mr Renton mentions several times during the interview how selfless and mature pupils have been in responding to a pandemic that doesn’t predominantly affect their generation.

“We should call them the remarkable generation, not the covid generation.”

He acknowledges, however, there is a “growing sense of frustration” among young people at the sacrifices they’re making, especially when they watch packed crowds at football matches.

Terms ends on Friday and, with covid infections rocketing, he admits the school is “limping” towards the finishing line.

He’s looking forward to a week away during the six-week holiday and, hopefully, a quieter 2021/22 school year when the NHS will assume responsibility from the school for pupil test and trace.

Mr Renton, who hasn’t had covid although his son in year 10 at the school had to isolate for 10 days, started as headteacher in September 2019 in what now seems like a golden bygone pre-covid era.

He chuckles at the memory of an early planning meeting to discuss arrangements for the Tour de Yorkshire.

“Now we look back at that time and laugh because every week we are dealing with much bigger and more complex logistical problems.

“My first two years of being a headteacher has been a crash course in leading through crisis and changing circumstances.”

The owner of an Apple repair shop in Harrogate has launched an appeal for faulty iPads that will be refurbished and given to local school children.

Tom James, owner of Howard Conrad on Leeds Road, was spurred to act after reading news reports about parents not having the technology for children to study from home during lockdown.

Mr James told the Stray Ferret:

“You see it in the news with children learning from home. Some don’t have access to what they need. We repair iPads and thought we could help the children of Harrogate”

The shop has an agreement to donate iPads to Red Kite Learning Trust, a charity that operates several schools in the district, including Harrogate Grammar School, Western Primary School and Rossett Acre Primary School.

Read more:

• ‘We won’t abandon children’ on exams, says Harrogate headteacher

• Teachers call for tighter key worker rules as schools under pressure

Mr James said old iPads tucked away in a drawer could be refurbished, as could ones that have had their screens smashed or simply broken down.

Howard Conrad is only able to accept Apple iPads rather than other types of tablet.

The iPads need to be running the operating system iOS 11 or newer to be compatible with the learning apps and must have the linked iCloud account removed.

The company is able to accept the following models:

12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation)
12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)
iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
iPad Air 2
iPad Air
iPad (6th generation)
iPad (5th generation)
iPad mini 4
iPad mini 3
iPad mini 2

To donate an iPad, click here.

A schools leader in Harrogate has called for greater clarity on lockdown rules and guidance on who qualifies as a key worker as demand for classroom places remains high.

Richard Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT), said primary schools in particular have seen far more pupils attending in person than was the case in the first lockdown last year.

While he sympathised with parents trying to balance home schooling with work, he said the pressure on schools was significant – and could mean lockdown measures would not achieve the results needed for restrictions to be eased.

“There’s a big difference between what’s happening in secondary and primary schools. Although there’s some rise in secondary, it’s nothing like the increase in primary. This indicates it’s about the ability of parents to cope with younger children at home and carry on working, or going to work.”

The RKLT is a group of 13 schools, including five in the Harrogate district. As well as Harrogate Grammar School, there are four primaries: Coppice Valley, Oatlands Junior, Rossett Acre and Western. Other schools outside the group have also reported much higher attendance in the current lockdown than last year.

Mr Sheriff said headteachers generally knew which parents were key workers such as doctors, nurses, care workers and others. However, he said the government’s extensive list of jobs which qualify for key worker status meant many people could ask for their child to be given a place at school.

With most children being taught from home, he said teachers needed to spend significant time supporting online learning. However, the number of pupils in schools and the need to keep them in small bubbles was placing extra pressure on staff.

‘Goodwill of parents’

In some cases, headteachers have spoken to parents who had requested a place and found a way for the child to be kept at home. Mr Sheriff said:

“We’re managing with the goodwill of parents in not utilising that place. It’s parents’ goodwill towards schools that’s allowing us to continue to function.

“The pressure on primary teachers at the moment is really significant.”

He added:

“We have managed to talk to parents in a way that has got demand to a level we can meet. If there was significant change, if everybody sent children who could, it would be impossible. We would be swamped.”

Richard Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust

Mr Sheriff said a review of what qualified as key worker status would help to ease the pressure, and would also help with enforcing lockdown measures. With so many children still in school, nurseries still open and cars on the roads, he said mixed messages were being sent, unlike in the first lockdown.

“This feels very different – almost that the schools are a signal to people about the level of activity. If schools were closed, the indication would be we lock up and stay home. Schools staying open is an indication, ‘it’s OK to be out and while I’m out, I’ll pop in to see so and so or have a chat at the school gates’.”

As well as reducing the number of jobs which qualified as key workers, Mr Sheriff said it would be helpful to have clearer guidance on the number of pupils who should be in schools. After the last lockdown, the government said 20% of students should be in at any one time, allowing schools to place limits on the number of pupils in their classrooms.

The RKLT, meanwhile, has prepared ways in which it could prioritise places in schools if needed. However, Mr Sheriff said with continued cooperation from parents and better guidance from the government, he hoped it would not be needed.

Read more:

• 300 more Harrogate children receiving free school meals since pandemic
• Schools to be banned from releasing helium balloons and sky lanterns