I write to you as we approach the end of what has been a very different year; we have seen many changes in the way that we have worked and have been provided with opportunities to reflect on our learning and how best we can move forward. Over the last 16 years and 2 terms I have had the privileged position of leading Kingfisher Special School on its journey of improvement. I took up post as Headteacher of what was ‘the Kingfisher Community Special School’ in January 2005 and then with the establishment of Kingfisher Learning Trust in September 2016, became Executive Principal of ‘Kingfisher Special School’.
When I started working at Kingfisher – one of the first things the staff said to me was that the curriculum wasn’t serving the needs of the children, and they wanted me as Headteacher to tell them what we should do. What they didn’t know is that this is not how I work – I firmly believe we all have the answers within us and that it is my job to help people look inside themselves for what can be achieved and how. The first thing we thought about was how we could ensure the children were ready for learning and our aspirations for the children – clarifying our vision and the values that underpin our work. This has since ensured that we successfully work together as a team and that we constantly aim to get it right for every child – whatever challenges they face.
Staff were given “permission” to think differently – not to feel straight-jacketed by schemes of work or following existing curriculum models, but by looking to what skills and knowledge each child needs to learn and then planning the best ways in which to help them engage in their learning. That’s really how it all began – the Kingfisher creative approach to learning – and the children have blossomed and achieved so much in the safe and happy environment of Kingfisher. As Albert Einstein said:
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
It has been rewarding to have our work acknowledged over the years with four outstanding judgements from Ofsted in 2007, 2010, 2014 and more recently in 2019. Our practice has also been shared through our status as a Teaching School and National Support School, where we have been able to enhance learning opportunities for children beyond our own school.
The school has continued to grow over the years – when I first became Headteacher we had 97 pupils on role from across a number of Local Authorities with a wide range of learning needs. However, over the years our numbers have increased to 202 with the vast majority of children now coming from Oldham. To accommodate growing pupil numbers and an increasing variety of learning need we decided to apply to open a Free School and to enable us to do this, we had to become a Multi-Academy Trust, resulting in us setting up Kingfisher Learning Trust in 2016.
Initially the Trust was going to be a 2 school Trust with me taking on the role of CEO as well as Executive Principal of both schools. However, over time the ambition of the Trust has developed; we now intend to grow and provide a greater number of innovative organisations that enable children to access a high quality education in inclusive and barrier-free schools. A design principle of the Trust is to bring together the best practice from the special and mainstream school elements – addressing the rising SEND provision issues both locally and nationally and providing a high quality mainstream and specialist education. I am delighted to share with you that Halcyon Way (our new Special Free School) is on track for opening in January 2022.
To ensure that we can move forwards successfully, we have made some changes to leadership arrangements. From September 2021 I will no longer be the Headteacher (Executive Principal) of Kingfisher Special School and my role will solely be the CEO of the Trust. In addition, the school’s School Business Manager, Michael Unsworth will become the Trust’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Our Deputy CEO, Lisa Needham, who is also Executive Principal for Primary, will have specific time to support the CEO role.
I will be passing the mantle of Headship into the safe hands of our existing Head of School, Sue Caine who will take on the reigns of Executive Principal over Kingfisher Special School and Halcyon Way School. Sue will be ably supported by our Strategic Leadership Team of Directors across both schools.
Rather than having ‘Central Services’, we will have a Collaborative Support Model that draws on expertise from a range of practitioners across the Trust with staff being located across Trust schools. We now have two Strategic Leadership Teams for special and primary led by an Executive Principal with access to support from the Collaborative Support Teams across the Trust.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the families of Kingfisher Special School for their continuing support and partnership working over the many years whilst I have been Headteacher. I am delighted that I will not be saying ‘goodbye’ to Kingfisher Special School as it has been such a big part of my life for so many years. Moving forward, I will still be leading the Trust and ensuring that we continue to work as a values-led family of schools that puts each child’s needs at the centre of everything we do.
All the best
Anne Redmond
