School on the road to progress

SOME Nailsea children will return to a school with a new name and new leader after the Easter break.

Kingshill Primary School in Pound Lane will become an academy on April 1 and from then on will be called Kingshill Church School.

The move follows an Ofsted inspection in April 2012 which resulted in a notice to improve being issued to the school and the Department of Education recommending it become a sponsored academy.

The Diocese of Bath and Wells’ multi academy trust (MAT) has since agreed to take over responsibility for the school on April 1.

A number of changes will be made, including the appointment of Margaret Gwynne as school principal and John Croker as executive principal. New teaching staff will also be brought in and changes will be made to the governing body.

MAT director Tess Gales said: “Mrs Gwynne will lead the school through the next Ofsted inspection that is required by the Department for Education within the first two terms of the opening of a sponsored academy.

“Mr Croker will oversee the long-term vision and strategic direction of the school. He will begin to work with Mrs Gwynne after Easter before taking up his post substantively from September.

“This combination offers a powerful, experienced and successful recipe for leadership to secure the school’s future direction.”

A recent, subsequent inspection carried out by Ofsted noted that some improvements have already been made in teaching since last year’s visit, which was reflected in an upturn in Key Stage Two national test results in 2012.

However, the report did also criticise the governing body and a lack of leadership in raising standards.