How Teach First helped transform my school
Our school is a one-form entry primary school in one of the most deprived areas of Dudley.
On paper, 43% of our children are eligible for pupil premium. But in reality, almost all our pupils experience deprivation in one way or another.
We have a high proportion of children for whom English is not their first language, and we have the highest proportion of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the whole of Dudley.
I often say, what we lack in size, we make up for in complexity!
In 2019, Ofsted rated our school as 'requires improvement'. And to be honest, I would agree with that assessment. I joined the school as Head in September 2022, and I could see there was lots of work required to get the school to where it needed to be.
Changing mindsets
Low expectations were the culture of the school. ‘That will do’ was the mentality. And I understand why. When you’re a small school with the complexities of ours, it’s easy to feel worn down by the challenges.
I knew that the first thing I had to do was change mindsets.
The children in our school are facing so many barriers that I needed my team to see it’s not about these children getting the same as everyone else, they need even more.
My message to the team was ‘We need to strive to be better than everybody else.’
I knew the impact Teach First could have
Over my career, I’d come into contact with Teach First. I'd worked alongside the first cohort of primary trainees, and my previous school had taken part in Teach First's former Leading Together programme.
When I joined Rufford and found out the school had recently signed up to Leading Together, I knew the impact it could have.
Building time to improve leadership teams
What I loved was how the programme was built for leadership teams to take part in together. That was huge for our team. Investing in them and helping them to see themselves as leaders.
At first, I was a bit cynical. Who has the time for that? It can feel like an indulgence having that time to chat. But it was one of the most beneficial parts of the programme.
Sometimes when you’re a busy leader, you can end up thinking things through when you’re lying in bed at night or driving to school in the morning. But having that dedicated time gave me space to fully refine my skills as a leader.
A very different school
When Ofsted returned in June 2024, they found a very different school and Rufford received an overall good rating.
The report stated 'The school has adopted an ambitious well-sequenced curriculum for all pupils. It sets out the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn for future success' and 'The school has transformed its approach to teaching reading.'
Teach First played a part in building a team to deliver this for our children and our community.
Exceptional support and training
I’m about to begin an NPQEL (National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership) with Teach First.
Everything about the ethos of Teach First speaks to me.
I wanted to train with an organisation that was built on the idea of impacting the most deprived communities. And on top of that, my experience with Teach First has always been that the quality of support and training has been exceptional.
Want to explore how Teach First can support your school? We work in partnership with schools to help develop leadership, strengthen teaching and create better opportunities for pupils facing disadvantage.
Find out more about our schools partnerships and how we can work together.