Goose Green Primary and Nursery School
Interim Headteacher: Mrs Annabelle Birleanu
Tintagel Crescent, East Dulwich, London, SE22 8HG
Tel: 020 8693 3568 Fax: 0845 017 6985
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.goosegreenprimaryschool.org Twitter: @GGPrimarySchool
29th March 2017
Dear Parents and Carers,
New Headteacher and Multi-Academy Trust update
At the meetings we held on 13 March I promised to write to you before Easter to update
you on our recruitment for a new headteacher and our work to explore closer working
with other schools through a ‘Multi-Academy Trust’.
I am delighted to announce that we have appointed Simon Wattam, who is currently cohead of John Donne Primary School (which is located nearby in Peckham), to be our
headteacher from September 2017. The Governing Body has also recommended that we
join with the Communitas Education Trust, of which John Donne Primary School is a part.
We are excited about the potential for both of these decisions to put Goose Green on a
strong footing to move forward: helping us to build on the progress that we have made
this year; fitting well with the values, ethos and character of our school; and providing the
resilience and support that will help us to sustain the positive progress that Goose Green is
making.
We would like to share more details about the process we have been through regarding
joining the Communitas Education Trust and also give you the opportunity to meet Mr
Wattam on:
● Wednesday 3 May at 6.30pm
● Thursday 4 May at 9am
We hope to see you all there. I have provided more information below for parents and
carers who would like more information about the background to these announcements
ahead of the meetings.
We have also been reflecting on the feedback about communication from the recent
meetings and will be providing an update on that in the newsletter later this week.
Kind regards,
Bridie Tooher
Chair of Governors
Goose Green Education Trust
Company No. 08149796
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Headteacher
As I explained at the recent meetings we had a rigorous assessment process for our
headteacher recruitment, which included external support from an independent advisor.
We have a high level of confidence in our appointment, and are further reassured by the
structure for support and accountability that will be provided by Communitas Education
Trust.
We were all impressed by what Simon Wattam will be able to bring to Goose Green. He
has a wealth of fantastic experience, including being part of the team who have led
John Donne’s journey to be an Outstanding school, and he knows Goose Green well from
the work that our schools have carried out together. We are confident that he will work
well with our leadership team and staff across the school to build on the improvements
which have been made this year.
Mr Wattam will be our full-time head from September 2017 and we are making
arrangements for him to spend time at the school during the summer term so that he can
meet with our children, parents / carers and the Goose Green team and be fully up to
speed ready for the autumn term.
Multi-Academy Trusts
When we met I explained the direction that the Government are taking towards ‘MultiAcademy Trusts’ (known as ‘MATs’). These are groups of schools that are designed to
support one another, provide greater resilience than is possible with ‘standalone’
academies and ensure a consistent focus on standards and improvement.
Shortly after Christmas we were approached by our Regional Schools Commissioner (the
civil servant who oversees academies on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education),
who has strongly encouraged us to move into a MAT arrangement. We have been
looking at this carefully and considering how this might work for Goose Green.
MATs come in different shapes and sizes, some are very tightly integrated and operate a
‘corporate’ model (including renaming their schools and adopting a common uniform),
while others take a more devolved approach, emphasising the strengths of working
together while also keeping each school’s individual identity and retaining local control
over the curriculum and other decisions about each school’s direction. We feel strongly
that the right approach for Goose Green is one which is more devolved, retaining our
character and the ability to respond to the needs of our children.
We have assessed the options available to the school, taking advice from the Regional
School Commissioner and considering a range of factors that we think are important for
Goose Green. These include:
Goose Green Education Trust
Goose
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Company No. 08149796
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Quality and robustness of support to improve academic performance
The ability to minimise risk to our current improvement programme
Improved accountability of our Headteacher and Governors
The ability to retain Goose Green’s identity and character
Financial efficiency and sustainability in long term
The ability to sustain Goose Green’s broad offer, including art and music
After careful consideration, the Governing Body has decided to recommend that Goose
Green should join the Communitas Educational Trust (of which John Donne Primary School
is a part). The way the Communitas Education Trust is designed to work fits well with what
we are looking for from a MAT (including keeping our school identity and uniform), and
will enable us to maintain and build on our current improvement programme and bring
further benefits of shared expertise, collaboration and resilience.
This is subject to approval by the Regional School Commissioner, who we expect to
consider this change in April. Following this there will be a formal process of due diligence
and detailed preparations. As part of that process, we will engage with parents, carers
and staff, keeping you up to date with progress, answering your questions, and seeking
your valuable input to help us make sure that we have a successful transition.
Goose Green Education Trust
Goose
Green
Education
Trust
Company No. 08149796