Nicola Noble, Joint Headteacher, Surrey Square Primary School, Southwark
Nicola Noble and Liz Robinson are joint heads of Surrey Square a school with high diversity, high EAL and high levels of special needs. Judged outstanding in December 2016 the heads have set about making the school sustainably outstanding. Previously an Infant and Junior school, the schools merged in January 2011 and the two heads went on maternity leave soon after; on returning they realised the school was not as strong as when they left it. As a new all-through primary school they secured Good at the next inspection but the co-heads knew they wanted the school to be outstanding whether they were there or not. They set out about being outstanding in a on-going, lasting way:
‘Our vision is summed up in our mission - ‘Personal and academic excellence; everyone, every day.’ For us, the ‘and’ is absolutely critical; high attainment in core skills is a pre-requisite for success in secondary school, and beyond. However, just as important are the other skills – the ability to ‘self-manage’, to communicate clearly with others, to know who you are and to have ambition. We define this as ‘personal excellence’ and actively teach our pupils these skills, sing the core values as a framework.’
Nicola will be sharing how she, Liz and their team:
• Ensured both personal and academic excellence are achieved
• Securec values and character development through systems
• How they are using secondary data to track pupils’ progress and develop their primary provision