FEATURE: VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
Two become one
East Twerton School (1878) and South Twerton School (1893) and share a distinct history that ties in with the development of Bath as a whole. In the 1990s both schools were renamed Oldfield Park Infant and Junior Schools respectively to reflect the community that they served. Both schools share similar contexts of being often oversubscribed, above average FSM and PP, average EAL and, over the past couple of years, as per other schools, encountered a notable increase in SEN. Needless to say, we have increased the numbers of support staff to support our children as well as continue with our priorities of enhancing our curriculum offer, fostering further primary alignment and, moreover, providing the very best for our great and wonderful children.
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n the first of two View from the classroom features this month, we meet Dave Goucher, Executive Headteacher across Oldfield Park Infant School and Oldfield Park Junior School, who explains how the two schools merged under the aegis of the Palladian Academy Trust.
Tell us about your schools
Oldfield Park Infants (OPI) and Oldfield Park Juniors (OPJ) are located on the fringes of Bath city centre in the suburb/area of Oldfield Park. Both schools were founded in the 19th century as
Why, what and when were changes made to the structure of the schools?
Until recently, both OPI and OPJ have been operated as separate schools, but have always worked closely given that, on average, 98% of each cohort transfer from the infants to the juniors. This close bond has served the community well and was further reinforced when both schools became founding members of the Palladian Academy Trust. This enhanced the links between the schools as both Head Teachers came together in their joint decision-making process and the successful shift towards academisation in 2016.
Over the past five years both schools have continued to work together as part of the Trust and as part of their own
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initiatives (i.e. improving transition, attendance policies, CPD, sharing resources). This collaboration became further apparent in the sharing of a School Business Manager as well as a newly created Health and Safety Compliance Officer two years ago. This laid the foundation for what happened next.
In September 2022 the Head Teacher of OPI was seconded to Trust Central and I was offered the privileged opportunity to be Exec Head Teacher over both schools. It was an opportunity that seemed the logical next step for both schools and, given my affinity with the great community of OP, one I couldn’t turn down. This new structure made sense due to the closeness of both schools, the tight-knit OP community and that 98% of the children enjoy the ‘Oldfield Park Schools’ journey. Furthermore, the opportunity to enhance primary alignment, share resources (ever important as we encounter budgetary pressures) and enhance provision were significant drivers.
In terms of structure, two Assistant HTs were promoted at OPJ to support the leadership capacity and a non-teaching deputy installed at OPI. This structure is undergoing a slight tweak ahead of the next academic year; however, it has proved to be successful and allowed me to have that strategic view of the OPSs. Consequently, being able to see the ‘bigger’ picture, as well as prioritising my ‘on the ground’ time has been invaluable for me and complemented my own professional development with my NPQEL course.
May 2023
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