THREE new senior leaders have been appointed to accelerate improvements at a Sunderland school.
The trio have vast experience in improving schools and their impact is already being felt at Venerable Bede CE Academy.
Head of School Tracey Burgess explained: “We’ve appointed two new deputy heads and an assistant head and although they’ve not been in post long, the improvements they’ve made so quickly are already benefitting our students.”
Gemma Hawley joined Venerable Bede as a Deputy Head in April, while Emma McAnaney joined at the same time as an Assistant Head. Rachael Meek joined the team as a third Deputy Head in June.
Tracey added: “Each of them have a proven record in school improvement and we’ve purposely overstaffed at senior level to address the challenges we know we need to tackle.”
An Ofsted inspection carried out in January of this year deemed the Academy was providing an inadequate quality of education to its pupils – but the inspectors recognised that improvements had been made after the school was taken over by Northern Lights Learning Trust in 2023.
Tracey added: “Things have certainly improved since we joined Northern Lights and we felt a recent monitoring visit from the Department of Education went well. Joining the Trust has enabled us to invest in our estate as well as in our team, with the appointments of Gemma, Emma and Rachael evidence of this.”
Gemma’s new role as a Deputy Head is to improve behaviours and culture at the Academy. She explained: “One of the first things we’ve done is to look at how students enter school to make sure they’re in the right frame of mind for learning.
“So every student is welcomed by members of the team as they come into school. We’re checking they have the right equipment and uniform – but also ensuring they’re in the right place mentally. If they don’t have what they need for the day we provide them, removing barriers to learning.
“By the time they reach their classrooms, students will have been welcomed by up to ten members of staff, emphasising positivity and readiness. This approach is already working, with a noticeable improvement in students’ confidence and preparedness.”
Emma’s focus as Assistant Head (Quality of Education) is on improving teaching and the curriculum at Venerable Bede. “My priority is looking at the curriculum and how it is delivered – with a real focus on the quality of teaching.
“Another focus is on personal development with particular reference to British values, tolerance and connecting to Christian values. As part of our programme of improvements, students recently went to see Hamilton at the Sunderland Empire.
“We’re building a sense of pride and belonging and creating a culture where our students really want to come to school.”
As Deputy Head (Education, Behaviour and Culture) Rachael is responsible for developing a vision to improve outcomes for every pupil.
Another priority for Rachael is reading. “We’re working to embed a love of reading and our new strategy has our brilliant new reading room at its heart. Our clear action plan involves reading workshops – writer Dan Smith is leading one next term – and aims to close the gap between where we are now and where we want to be.
Tracey added: “It’s been great to see how Gemma, Emma and Rachael have gelled with our wider leadership team, with a common goal and with a total focus on improvement. Through meetings with students, the feedback we’re getting has been really positive so far. The student body has noticed improvements and welcomed them.”