Widewell Primary School
Background
Widewell Primary School, on the outskirts of Plymouth, has
places for just over 200 pupils from age seven to eleven, drawing
half of its intake from armed forces families and a large
proportion from local social housing. There is high proportion
(30%) of mobility among pupils. The school has good resources and
facilities. As the school is some distance from local
secondary school provision, the decision was taken for Widewell
Primary School to form a single school trust; Widewell School
Educational Trust. Initially a ‘pathfinder’ school, the trust
opened on 1 September 2007 and is the first single primary school
trust in the country.
Vision
Widewell Primary School had already developed strong community
links and wanted to become the ‘hub’ of activities in the local
community, providing a broad range of activities where
opportunities are currently limited. There was a clear vision for
the school to be a ‘learning village’ where children and adults
could work and learn together. Trust status has given the school
the freedom and flexibility it needed to fully exploit its
significant resources in areas such as outdoor education, art and
sport through extended school provision, and the Ark Community
Project Charity serves the wider community from its base at the
school.
External partners
Widewell Primary School has taken the approach to identify
partners by focusing on the areas it needs to develop from its
geographical location as well as addressing
areas highlighted through Ofsted. The governing body has
appointed three external and autonomous trustees with
responsibility for outdoor education, community learning and
children from armed forces families. These trustees were all local
and known to the school for their expertise, with two of them
having a background in education and the third in the armed forces
working in family and educational support. A fourth trustee has
come from the organisation Dyslexia Action, with whom there were
already strong links. This process has already resulted in a close
working relationship between the governors and the trustees.
Partners are keen to work with the Trust and are enthusiastic to
promote a greater range of activity in the school. They all have a
philosophy of education, which incorporates ‘learning for life’ and
educational opportunities for the whole family using the school as
a base for out-of-school learning.
The benefits of Trust status
- The added autonomy, independence and flexibility that Trust and
Foundation status has given the school have meant it is better able
to look at the use of its resources and take charge of its own
destiny. The school is already considering incorporating nursery
provision, along the lines of a children’s centre, providing
parents and the wider community with greater access to the school’s
facilities
- There have already been direct benefits to pupils since Trust
status was established. The training of a member of staff by
Dyslexia Action has increased personalised, one-to-one teaching
opportunities. There has also been a greater focus on outdoor
education opportunities for pupils, such as participation in a
Primary Ten Tors Programme and mapping the school grounds for
orienteering
- Owning the school’s land and facilities has meant the Trust has
been able to make facilities available for use by the local
community for sports activities, extended schools service, outdoor
education, subsidised music tuition and dance and drama taught to
exam standard
Trust status has also had a positive impact on governors and
teachers: ‘The governing body has become more visionary and
imaginative in its thinking about the future and there is a
phenomenal sense of common purpose and teamwork amongst staff. When
trustees meet I would say that they are more ‘future-thinking’ as
they do not have to deal with everyday stuff that governors grapple
with.’ Barbara Young, Headteacher, Widewell Primary School
Challenges
- With the vision for the school clear, the challenge now is not
to ‘coast’ but to focus on the numerous practical issues that need
to be worked through
- A new housing development of around 500 homes is soon to be
built close to the school and this will put pressure on the school.
The school will need to react quickly to the changing community and
carefully consider how it copes with increased numbers of local
children and the affect this will have on its admissions policy.
Being a Trust school gives it the flexibility to do this
Top tips
- The headteacher initially needs to allocate time to communicate
with all stakeholders - ahead of the informal consultation -
seeking their views. This helps unify governors, teachers and
parents in their understanding and therefore support for the change
of status
- In order to successfully bring stakeholders on board, you need
to have a clear vision, and be transparent and open
‘Develop what you do best – work on your strengths and use
partners to help you with your weaknesses’, Barbara Young,
Headteacher, Widewell Primary School.