Twin Sails Infant School & Nursery

Twin Sails is a larger than average infant school with four forms of entry and a maintained nursery resulting in a number on roll of over 400. The large majority of pupils are from white British backgrounds. The school has an average proportion of children with statements and special needs but has learnt to cope with a large number of children entering school ill prepared for learning. The catchment area is mixed but the school has had to proactively manage and combat high numbers of pupil mobility and low levels of aspiration. The school is also recognised as a service school and supports the families from our local Marine base in Poole.

When I arrived at the school over eight years ago the school was suffering from falling standards, was struggling to cope with perceived barriers to education and there was a perception that our children did not have the dispositions or capability to match national levels of expectation. The school had almost institutionally placed a false ceiling on pupil achievement by adopting a negative mind set about the community it served. The teaching delivery was repetitive and planning followed a prescribed historical pattern largely ignoring pupil need.