Ring out the old ring in the new as Lander looks towards a bright future

As Principal Jeff Taylor retires after 23 years at the King’s Lander Primary Academy, he leaves a school committed to his core values of providing exceptional education, supporting personal development and ensuring every child can thrive regardless of their background.

Having seen the successful and smooth transition to the Trust, Jeff has decided that as the school begins its new chapter, it is time to hand over the baton of leadership to Yvonne Dineley, the current Senior Vice Principal.

He will look back on his time at Lander with pride. It started in 2002 as Deputy Headteacher, teaching maths, history, and DT and we will take many fond memories of the thousands of children he came to know and the staff who supported him in making the school rated “good” by Ofsted as in June 2023.

Proactive MAT search

Jeff was the driving force behind the governors and Senior Leadership Team’s decision to examine the advantages of joining a MAT. The decision came around two years ago, when the last Government published its policy paper to see every school be part of a multi-academy trust (MAT) by 2030.

“If this was going to happen knew that we had to be proactive and look at potential Trust partners rather than simply be placed into one,” said Jeff.

“I’m honest enough to admit I wasn’t keen about joining with a MAT initially; once we started looking into it more, I began to see where there were advantages as the amount of support from the local authority had fallen away due to the growing demands on its resources.”

Initially, consideration was given to joining with other local primaries in the Litherland area to pool their skills and set up their own trust. This was quickly rejected because of the time and work it would take.

Becoming part of an existing trust would allow the team to focus its energy on educational development and administrative and backroom operations could remain unchanged. Approaches were made to the Great Schools Trust and several other Trusts. The staff at Lander knew of the Trust as Hawthornes is a feeder school. “We’d seen great improvements at Hawthornes since the Trust had taken it over and were increasingly recommending it to parents when they ask for our thoughts on secondary schools.”

Blown away

A visit to King’s Warrington was arranged to meet the Trust’s Senior Leadership Team and see the facilities, which, according to Jeff, “blew me away.”

Governors and senior teachers from Lander also visited Warrington, and conversations were held with Hawthornes Principal Peter Gaul. “When we spoke with other trusts, their approach felt very corporate, and the conversations felt more like a sales pitch and business development exercise rather than trying to understand us.

“We quickly agreed that we didn’t want to be part of a large trust, as our duty was to do the best for a school that has been here for 125 years. We want to retain the elements that make this school so special and community-focused. “In the time I have been here, I have taught different generations from the same family, and that continuity is a real strength in the school, and we certainly didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardise the future.

“As Ofsted highlighted in its most recent report, parents and carers recognise the care and support we give students and the many opportunities we create. We certainly did not want to lose that.

“We recognised many of these traits with the Great Schools Trust, and any concerns we had about joining with them were quickly allayed. Our visions and values are similar, and we found an honest and approachable nature among those we spoke to resonated with us.

Easier transition to Hawthornes

The school officially joined the Trust in September. It has 220 children who can start at the school’s nursery at two, and the results at the end of Key Stage 2 align with national averages. Jeff and his staff are proud of the children’s achievements, and it is no barrier to being located in one of the country’s 1% most deprived wards.

“We see our children as the same as children who live anywhere else, which is why we have such a good synergy with the Great Schools Trust.

“Like us, there is a strong emphasis on character and personal development, and the opportunity for students to get involved in the King’s Adventure earlier will be extremely beneficial. We can also take other steps, such as aligning our curriculum with Hawthornes to make their transition easier and ensure our children are as well prepared for success as possible.”

Yvonne moves up

 Having overseen the move, Jeff decided to retire, and Senior Vice Principal Yvonne Dineley takes over in January.

He will support Yvonne in the transition for the first weeks of January before using his free time to travel in term time! His first trip booked was to Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands, with others in the pipeline. Jeff is rightly proud that Yvonne has been appointed his successor as he mentored her when she first joined the school as a newly qualified teacher in 2003.

She knows the school, its students and its community: “We are a high-performing school and want every single child coming to King’s Lander to do well. Helping them reach their full potential, whether academically or skills-based, means they can positively impact our community.”

For Yvonne, joining the Trust provides many positives for staff: “We have always believed in growing our own here, and I am an example. Our biggest challenge is retention, and now we have the added resources of the Trust to support us, which will give us even more opportunities for personal and professional development, encouraging people to stay.

“I know there are plans for other primaries to join the Great Schools Trust, which will give us the potential to share and learn from others.”

Yvonne’s focus is on providing excellent education for all. She is determined that the school will maintain its unique culture and draw on the benefits from now being within the Trust so that King’s Lander continues to bring success to the community it serves.