Clarendon Primary School

Clarendon Primary is a two form, larger than average Primary School, serving a diverse community with children speaking over 30 languages. The proportion of children with EAL is 75% and the school has admitted a growing number of children who are International New Arrivals and have little English.

Over the past five years there have been significant changes that have had impact on the direction of the school. I was appointed, after a terms secondment, in 2014 having a firm understanding of the turbulent couple of years that the staff and children had had due to a vacuum in leadership. The Local Authority had been heavily involved with the school, recognising that the school was in a vulnerable position. Regular collaborative meetings, between the LA and stakeholders, were held to discuss the schools position and to form strategic action plans. The lack of direction was heightened by the fact that the school had had no fewer than five temporary Headteachers within a two year period.