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A Journey of Community & Collaboration

School is all about community and family - wanting the best for everyone and working hard to achieve it. Sometimes though the first big hurdle is knowing exactly where you are at that moment and understanding how to get on the path to success. How do you start the journey and most importantly, know you are on the right path and stay on the right path?  

Westgate Primary School is a single form entry Primary School in the centre of Warwick. Matthew Watson joined the school as Head Teacher five years ago. He inherited a school that he knew had the potential to be a high-performing centre of learning.  The school had too many behavioural disruptions, was not outward looking and it was clear that the children’s learning was not where it should have been.  

The school is in the centre of Warwick and has access to heritage and enrichment on its doorstep. Upon joining the school, he realised that local opportunities were not grasped and there was no sign up to a clear vision for the school. He wanted the whole school community to see where he wanted to take their school.  

Matthew knew he needed an experienced partner to join him on the journey, one who would be an honest friend – telling the good and bad - and an expert guiding hand. He wanted a partner who would be clear, structured, tell it as it is and most of all want the best for his school too. He was recommended to contact ECM Education Consultants.  

John Evans, a director of ECM, joined Matthew as his Leadership Partner and set about putting Matthew and his school on the path he knew they needed to be on. Matthew says “John came in and identified the gaps immediately; he knew what we needed to do and how we should do it. His expertise in just where to start was greatly appreciated; the reassurance of knowing we had someone like John onboard to get us off the ground running was what we needed.

The no fuss approach was what was needed; John’s experience and expertise showed from the outset. The hardest part on any journey is the first step and John guided the team at Westgate and advised on how to see immediate improvements, and then exactly what was needed to turn the school around and become the school it is today. “There has always been a detailed understanding of the starting point for the school and the steps that still need to be taken to reach the goal.” Mathew recalls. “Five years ago, at the start of our working relationship, the steps that were needed were significant and these became more focused and shorter in timescale as we gained pace with our improvements.”

The biggest impact was on the children. The needs of every child were not being met and behaviour was challenging “We are proud of what we do now to be a truly inclusive school; five years ago, the picture was overwhelming.” Behaviour was a real challenge five years ago and yet pleasingly, in July 2023, OFSTED found that “relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and built on trust. There are clear rules and routines and a positive atmosphere and pupils who find it difficult to manage their behaviour are very well supported. Classrooms are calm and well organised spaces. Staff are skilled in helping pupils to manage their emotions.” The transformation has led to a situation where there have been no suspensions in the last three years. All of the work that happened around ‘Getting the job done’ with ECM and helping all staff to sign up to the vision has paid off. 

“My Headteacher Performance Management has been carried out by ECM and has always been focused, clear and tightly tied to the overall aims of the school. The cascading of these targets to teaching staff has meant that we have all been focused on the same objectives - a real team effort.” Development of all staff has been a priority and Matthew talks with clear pride on all his team’s achievements – support staff, lunchtime supervisors, teachers, middle leaders, and the senior team – he has praise for all of them! “We work well as a team, and it was pleasing that this was recognised in our OFSTED inspection where the following statements were made: Leaders take workload and staff well-being into account when new initiatives are consulted upon’ and ‘staff feel that they are well supported.”

CPD had been a challenge and Matthew now uses ECM for his CPD and his team are all benefitting from high quality training in areas that have been identified - targeted training to ensure maximum impact. Staff can clearly see what is working and know the direction that the school is going in. The clarity of the ECM proformas used and the useful way in which they link together is a huge benefit to Matthew and his team of subject leaders. John Evans and Tim Nelson (a Leadership Partner with ECM who took over the support for Westgate from John in September 2022) have worked closely with subject leaders as part of their school improvement role and it was pleasing that OFSTED recognised that ‘subject leaders have created an ambitious and well sequenced curriculum that enables all pupils to achieve well.’

Both ECM consultants have worked with subject leaders on developing the Westgate curriculum, the use of knowledge organisers and floor books and establishing best practice in assessment. OFSTED recognised this work and stated that ‘planning shows what has already been taught and teachers remind pupils of this before moving on to new learning, so pupils can see that their knowledge is gradually building.’ The extensive work that has been undertaken to develop assessment measures at Westgate with ECM guidance was also recognised in the school’s most recent report with the following statement: ‘leaders have put detailed assessments in place so that teachers know what has been learned and leaders can see how well pupils are doing This enables teachers to identify gaps in learning or to correct any errors.’

One of the highlights and changes in the direction of the whole school community, was when the school opened its doors after COVID, the cheers from the children could be heard streets away. The children were so excited to be back in class learning. Five years ago, Westgate was not the first-choice school for many, but that has changed now, and children are proud to come to Westgate and parents can see how the school supports and develops their children.  

“The whole school team now is a community; we care for each other and want everyone to succeed.” The positive ethos of the school is apparent in every word that Matthew says. In fact, in the lead up to the Inspection when the team were talking about not wanting to let anyone down because they knew how hard everyone had worked over the previous five years. When OFSTED did call, the whole team felt prepared and Matthew remarks that the subject specific work that John and Tim carried out with us helped tremendously. “Staff were confident with their deep dives and their knowledge of their subjects, the sharing of knowledge organisers and their highly effective data analysis in foundation subjects were all impressive.” The subject leaders chosen to undertake deep dives drew on their experience of having gone through preparation work with John a year earlier. They referenced the impact that John had in giving them confidence in their own abilities to present their subject, and Westgate, in the best possible light.   Everyone knew what to expect and had confidence in their work – so there was no panic and everyone felt truly prepared to have the conversations.

When asked what surprised you about ECM, Matthew’s response is immediate, “It is very bespoke. All resources are high quality and John and Tim are extremely knowledgeable about current educational policy; they have a wealth of examples to share to highlight best practice. The school has moved significantly during the time that we have been working with ECM and we will continue to gain from this relationship in the future. "

Matthew is rightly very proud of his recent OFSTED inspection and the school now aims to be Outstanding in all areas. OFSTED praised the school and said ‘Leaders have high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers are supported to deliver lessons that pupils enjoy. Teachers do this by making lessons active, and pupils talk about their lessons being ‘fun’. Planning shows what has already been taught, and teachers remind pupils of this before moving on to new learning, so pupils can see that their knowledge is gradually building. There are robust assessment procedures in place so that any additional needs can be identified quickly. Leaders have developed effective relationships with external agencies to ensure that specialist support or advice are available when needed. In lessons, pupils with SEND are well supported to work alongside their friends.’ The key phrase that Matthew is most proud of is ‘leaders ensure that the needs of all learners are met.’ The OFSTED inspector was able to make this comment following five years of hard work and high-quality collaboration. For 2022-23, Westgate appeared in the top 10% of schools nationally for progress in reading and in the top 5% for writing and maths. The systems in place are clearly effective and having a positive impact. The time saved in getting to this point with the support and expertise of John Evans and Tim Nelson is greatly appreciated by the staff and governors at Westgate. 

Matthew and his team have worked hard to create a school that children flourish in, and the impact of the curriculum is clearly seen. The community have noticed the difference and Westgate Primary along with ECM continue to be a partnership that has one clear goal – that the children receive the best education possible.