“Paid Wellbeing Days Tickled Lots of People’s Fancies” – Meet the Trust Embracing the Idea that Happy Staff Means Happy Students
Willow Bank Primary stands as an oasis of green in a concrete jungle, a symbol of a £1 billion regeneration plan to bring new homes and jobs to the area
When looking for dystopian settings for his film A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick settled on the modernist towers and walkways of Thamesmead, a south London suburb built in the late ’60s to help families escape overcrowded back-to-back Victorian housing in the city.
It’s here that Willow Bank Primary, reopened as a primary school in 2011, stands out as an oasis of green. “Outside the window it is a bit of a concrete jungle,” says Claire Ingrams from the Woodland Academy Trust, which the school belongs to.
“There are lots and lots of plans for regeneration” – housing association Peabody is leading a £1 billion plan to bring new homes and jobs to the area – “which is quite exciting for the school. They’re building a new state of the art library around the corner so that will be great for our children.”
A large portion of Willow Bank’s intake is made up of children whose families are new to the country, as Claire explains: “It’s important for us to think about how we can support those families who may not understand our school system. Lots of our families are bringing their friends and relatives over too. They tell us that back in Nigeria there are even adverts telling people about Thamesmead.”
Name: Willow Bank Primary Headteacher: Brian Simber Location: Thamesmead, London Ofsted rating: Good Size: 400+ Extra info: the school has beehives, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs on site
1 | Finding a niche
Each of the four primary schools in Woodland Academy Trust’s stable has a specialism, and for Willow Bank that is animal husbandry.
The school has beehives, chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits on site, which the children help to look after. Each cohort at the school has recently raised funds to adopt an animal from London Zoo.
“The idea is that each year group will carry on adopting that particular animal so by the time they leave in Y6, they will have learnt all about a range of endangered animals as an additional part of their curriculum,” Claire explains. “Each of our schools has a niche and ultimately that gives the kids extra skills.”
At Northumberland Heath, based in Erith, Kent, the focus is performing arts and pupils have the opportunity to do examinations with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Children at Peareswood, also in Erith, have the chance to participate in outdoor adventure learning and have a climbing wall in the school hall, while the focus at Knockhall in Greenhithe, the newest school in the family, is sports.
Despite their different specialisms, what each school in the trust has in common is a strong focus on training and developing staff, and it’s Claire’s role, as training and development lead, to spearhead this process.
“The real focus for me is supporting our teaching and learning framework, paying particular attention to our NQTs and School Direct students,” she explains.
2 | The engine room
The trust partners with the University of Greenwich and recruits School Direct students to undertake school-based training at the trust. Experienced teachers at the schools act as classroom mentors and also have the chance to get accreditation as mentors via the university.
“The students have a mentor that is working alongside them on a day-to-day basis,” explains Claire, “then my role is as overall mentor across our four schools. Part of my role involves learning walks, lesson observations, catching up with the students and making sure we’re covering all of their needs.”
When it comes to what the trust is interested in when it recruits student teachers, Claire says: “We’re looking for teachers that are committed, that demonstrate that they are passionate about teaching children and are committed to their own professional development. We’re also looking for teachers that are willing to take risks.”
Kieran McKeown, a Y6 teacher at the school, followed the School Direct route, undertaking his placements at other schools in the trust before moving to Willow Bank. “There were five NQTs last year and four of us have stayed,” he says.
Now in his second year of teaching, Kieran has taken on the role of RE lead and is undergoing a term’s worth of in-house training to ready him for this role, delivered by Claire and her colleague Phil Powell, director of education at the trust.
“While we do use external national professional qualifications, we have also set in place other internal CPD opportunities,” explains Claire. “When teachers have passed their NQT year and are in their second year of teaching, it’s such a big learning curve,” she continues.
“They might take on subject leadership, but what does that mean? How is it going to impact on their time? Our ‘engine room’ training is targeted at teachers that are new to subject leadership and covers what it means to be a middle leader and how they can drive the school’s improvement priorities, as well as the nitty gritty such as budgets and observations.”
Teachers who were only last year being observed themselves may now need to go and observe and feed back to others.
“That’s quite a process,” says Claire. “Last session we talked about how to have those difficult conversations, because if you’re only a second year teacher and you’re observing assistant or deputy heads, you need to have the confidence to have those professional conversations with colleagues.”
The course is run once per term so that three different cohorts of teachers have the chance to attend over the course of the year. Subject leaders from across the trust travel to Peareswood Primary, the trust’s most central school, after school to take part.
Claire’s plan is to ‘talent spot’ during the sessions and invite previous participants to deliver the training in the future.
“It’s all about thinking back on your own experiences,” Claire says.
“I can remember as clear as day that transition from NQT to taking on PSHE lead. All of a sudden I was responsible for the school council and things like that. Planning the CPD is exactly the same as planning for a lesson as a teacher. You draft what you want to talk about, but you may go off task if your participants have specific questions.”
Kieran has been attending the sessions and has found them useful. “The course participants includes people who have been subject leaders for a bit longer and are maybe five years into their teaching career, so there’s a good range of experiences to draw on.”
3 | Feeling appreciated
After dedicating time and money on training up staff, the trust is naturally keen to hold onto them. Recently, it hosted its first staff appreciation evening – a meal, disco and drinks at a local football club.
“All staff, regardless of role, were invited,” Claire explains.
“It was great to spend time together and catch up across the trust. Day to day we are obviously based in our own schools, so all four schools coming together created a really positive, exciting atmosphere.”
Emma Russell, a Y3 teacher at Willow Bank, appreciated the gesture: “A teacher that I went to university with works at another of the schools in the trust. Every time we have a meeting we only have the chance to say a quick hello, but at the appreciation evening we could actually have a nice catch-up.”
Following the evening, staff were asked to anonymously vote for a member of staff in their school that they felt demonstrated the trust’s ‘CAIRS’ mission statement: care, aspiration, inspiration, respect and stewardship.
One winner from each school won the chance to take a day off, paid, while the headteacher covered their lessons. “That tickled a lot of people’s fancies,” laughs Claire. “Lots of staff got on board with that.”
Another new initiative, brought in by trust CEO Dan Morrow, is wellbeing days. Any member of staff is entitled to two paid days off that they can take for whatever reason – whether that’s to attend a family wedding, a school sports day or just to relax.
“In other schools you might be able to request that time, but it might be unpaid, so many staff might say they won’t bother doing it,” explains Claire. “Dan met with the finance director and agreed this initiative, which I think has gone a long way for staff. They can now say, ‘Wow, I can go and see my child’s school play’.”
Workload is, as at many schools, another key topic on the agenda at the Woodland Academy Trust. “This year there’s been a real focus on trying to diminish paperwork” explains Claire.
“The feedback framework that we’ve developed really looks at the issue of marking. We are moving away from marking and going completely for feedback within lessons. If you look at the Sutton Trust research, immediate feedback is the most effective way.”
Children are now encouraged to self-assess against success criteria, with the teacher moving around the class to feed back immediately and provide interventions where necessary.
“Not having to mark 30 books gives teachers more time to think about what they will deliver the next day. They can spend far longer on the content of the lessons and what’s going to meet the children’s needs.”
4 | Future plans
There’s always a new acronym to learn in the world of education, and the Woodland Academy Trust’s latest is TIN. That is, of course, trust improvement networks. “Our TINs are organised per year group,” explains Claire.
“Members of staff from each school come together to discuss the pressing needs in their particular year group. So, for example, the Y6 TIN may look at the pressures of being ready for secondary school and SATs preparation. It gives the teachers the opportunity to network and if one of the schools is doing really well in a particular aspect, we can all learn from that.”
The trust also has other TINs based around reading, maths, inclusion, safeguarding, assessment and so on. “Those are led by headteachers and members of the school improvement leadership team and result in decisions about courses of action or changes in policy that are shared across the trust,” Claire explains.
While currently based across all four trust schools, Claire has one eye firmly on the future as she is principal designate for the Woodland Academy Trust’s fifth school – Lime Wood.
This is a free school that is being built as part of a new housing development on the site of a disused quarry in Erith. It is due to open in September 2019 and will cater initially for a Reception cohort, with plans to eventually become three-form entry.
“The best way of describing the new building is like a giant polo mint,” says Claire. “It’s really exciting to be part of the process of designing the school.”
As with the other schools in the trust, Lime Wood will have a specialism.
“It will be science based,” explains Claire, and this focus will be built into the school itself, which will utilise the development’s ‘ecology corridor’ to develop outdoor learning and take part in wildlife charity initiatives. Children will be able to access wildlife on their school’s doorstep and this opportunity will be woven into the school curriculum.
“We want to capitalise on the school’s design and use the surrounding area an extension to the children’s classrooms,” Claire continues.
The benefit of the trust expanding is that as staff develop and complete various CPD qualifications, there is the capacity to move up the career ladder. “It’s all about talent spotting,” says Claire.
“As we expand we’ve got the capacity to say, ‘Actually, that school needs someone like you.’ While most staff are deployed in a particular school, they know that they are working for the Woodland Academy Trust. We are a family of schools, a team.”
Newisrael We get to go to different places and in Y5 we went to the Houses of Parliament. I want to have a career in politics so that was just amazing. We saw Jeremy Corbyn eating his lunch!
Meet the staff
Clare Beresford, assistant head & KS1 phase leader At our appreciation evening, the trustees paid for the venue, food, disco, face painting and photo booth and our CEO Dan Morrow paid for three drinks for everyone. It was a really nice evening. We’re aware that we have a young staff here and they’ve all bonded. I had a ‘proud parent’ moment at the appreciation evening when they were all sat chatting together.
Emma Russell, Y3 teacher & science lead Last year I had an awesome NQT mentor. Claire said to send her an email, no matter what time, if there was anything I needed, or if I wasn’t sure about anything. She really helped me through that year and if I hadn’t had her, I wouldn’t have had a very fun time. If we need to speak to somebody, there’s always someone available.
Polly Mould, Y1 teacher As an NQT you’ve got to learn how to get the work/life balance right. That’s what I’m going through right now – learning how to manage my time. It’s about knowing what the most and least important things you need to do right now are. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived but I feel like I get lots of support and I’m happy.
Joe McGilly, Y2 teacher We used to mark every book but our new marking policy has made things a lot quicker. Using instant feedback in class makes everything a lot easier because the children know what to edit straight away. If you come back to something the next day, the children might have forgotten what they’ve done in their book which makes it harder to explain your point.
She says, “Along with the appreciation evening and the staff awards, it all makes a difference. It makes you feel valued. Ultimately, most people are happy here and you can see that when you walk into the classrooms and when you feel the atmosphere around the school. We work hard and we’re still on a journey, but we’re a good team. We work together for the school and there’s a real team spirit here.”
Pupil voice
Sidney I like this school because there’s lots of people to make friends with and the teachers are very helpful. They teach us lots of good stuff. If people say they can’t do it, the teachers push them further.
Stephanie I’m on the school council. Some children say they don’t enjoy school that much so it is my job to listen to the children and make sure they’re happy and able to learn when they’re at school.
Lilly When I come into school I want to learn. I want the best from myself and I know the school can provide that for me. My friends and teachers can help me achieve what I need to achieve.
Newisrael We get to go to different places and in Y5 we went to the Houses of Parliament. I want to have a career in politics so that was just amazing. We saw Jeremy Corbyn eating his lunch!
Meet the staff
Clare Beresford, assistant head & KS1 phase leader At our appreciation evening, the trustees paid for the venue, food, disco, face painting and photo booth and our CEO Dan Morrow paid for three drinks for everyone. It was a really nice evening. We’re aware that we have a young staff here and they’ve all bonded. I had a ‘proud parent’ moment at the appreciation evening when they were all sat chatting together.
Emma Russell, Y3 teacher & science lead Last year I had an awesome NQT mentor. Claire said to send her an email, no matter what time, if there was anything I needed, or if I wasn’t sure about anything. She really helped me through that year and if I hadn’t had her, I wouldn’t have had a very fun time. If we need to speak to somebody, there’s always someone available.
Polly Mould, Y1 teacher As an NQT you’ve got to learn how to get the work/life balance right. That’s what I’m going through right now – learning how to manage my time. It’s about knowing what the most and least important things you need to do right now are. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived but I feel like I get lots of support and I’m happy.
Joe McGilly, Y2 teacher We used to mark every book but our new marking policy has made things a lot quicker. Using instant feedback in class makes everything a lot easier because the children know what to edit straight away. If you come back to something the next day, the children might have forgotten what they’ve done in their book which makes it harder to explain your point.
Claire continues, “Next year will be about making sure the new school’s policies are all in place, but because we’ve already started making lots of changes this year and I’ve been part of that process, I will be able to take that forward. It’s a wonderful opportunity and exciting times are ahead.”
All about atmosphere
Happy teachers means happy children, and with its appreciation and wellbeing initiatives, the Woodland Academy Trust is working hard to motivate and nurture its teachers. Assistant head Clare Beresford says,
“This is the third school I’ve worked at. I’ve experienced levels of negativity within other settings, but the support and ethos of this trust makes Willow Bank feel completely different. It’s a happier place to work. I know that if there’s an issue, I can go and talk to someone and I’ll get supported.”
Y2 teacher Joe McGilly agrees: “I’ve worked at another school in a contrasting placement and here, the staff are much closer. It just feels like it’s a much more supportive workplace.”
Small gestures, such as allowing staff to apply for paid wellbeing days so that they can attend family events, has gone a long way, according to Clare.
She says, “Along with the appreciation evening and the staff awards, it all makes a difference. It makes you feel valued. Ultimately, most people are happy here and you can see that when you walk into the classrooms and when you feel the atmosphere around the school. We work hard and we’re still on a journey, but we’re a good team. We work together for the school and there’s a real team spirit here.”
Pupil voice
Sidney I like this school because there’s lots of people to make friends with and the teachers are very helpful. They teach us lots of good stuff. If people say they can’t do it, the teachers push them further.
Stephanie I’m on the school council. Some children say they don’t enjoy school that much so it is my job to listen to the children and make sure they’re happy and able to learn when they’re at school.
Lilly When I come into school I want to learn. I want the best from myself and I know the school can provide that for me. My friends and teachers can help me achieve what I need to achieve.
Newisrael We get to go to different places and in Y5 we went to the Houses of Parliament. I want to have a career in politics so that was just amazing. We saw Jeremy Corbyn eating his lunch!
Meet the staff
Clare Beresford, assistant head & KS1 phase leader At our appreciation evening, the trustees paid for the venue, food, disco, face painting and photo booth and our CEO Dan Morrow paid for three drinks for everyone. It was a really nice evening. We’re aware that we have a young staff here and they’ve all bonded. I had a ‘proud parent’ moment at the appreciation evening when they were all sat chatting together.
Emma Russell, Y3 teacher & science lead Last year I had an awesome NQT mentor. Claire said to send her an email, no matter what time, if there was anything I needed, or if I wasn’t sure about anything. She really helped me through that year and if I hadn’t had her, I wouldn’t have had a very fun time. If we need to speak to somebody, there’s always someone available.
Polly Mould, Y1 teacher As an NQT you’ve got to learn how to get the work/life balance right. That’s what I’m going through right now – learning how to manage my time. It’s about knowing what the most and least important things you need to do right now are. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived but I feel like I get lots of support and I’m happy.
Joe McGilly, Y2 teacher We used to mark every book but our new marking policy has made things a lot quicker. Using instant feedback in class makes everything a lot easier because the children know what to edit straight away. If you come back to something the next day, the children might have forgotten what they’ve done in their book which makes it harder to explain your point.
