Grades doubled and well behaved pupils – the rise of Denaby primary school

Branded unsatisfactory by Ofsted, only 16 per cent of its pupils were leaving with the GCSE levels the Government expect youngsters to achieve.

But times have changed.

Taken over by an academy group, the school is now under an executive headteacher who has started the process of turning around what is now known as Denaby Main Primary Academy.

Andrew Crossley took over as executive principal last September, having previously turned around Carrfield Primary in Barnsley, , which is now good.

The head of school is Lindsay Dickinson, who is at the school five days a week, while Mr Crossley divides his time between Denaby and Waverley Primary in Balby, another Astrea school where he is now working. He is now longer involved in Carrfield, now classed as good.

A year on from his arrival, Denaby was re-inspected.

It is now described as ‘requires improvement’ – its first step up – and pupils’ behaviour is now rated good.

Exam grades have started to improve too.

Although the pass rate for 12 year olds taking their keys stage two exams was at one stage 16 per cent, last year they had started to move up, doubling to reach 32 per cent.

Mr Crossley is confident they will rise again this summer and is expecting a figure in the region of 50 per cent.

Changes have already been made inside and outside the building

Mr Crossley said: “We are looking at what is right for the children in the area and what we need. For instance, we have spend £10,000 on new books for the library, and a lot of money on a new early years area. We have regenerated that.

“It’s got a water pump, and its a great outside area for the children to learn.

“We looked at beheviour and planning, and made a lot of support available. We also made it very clear what was right and what was wrong, what was expected from the pupils.

“The school was taken over by the Astrea Academy Trust in October 2016, and they have provided a lot of support.”

They have changed the curriculum, and pupils will get trips to London to see the capital city, and visits to the theatre, as part of a curriculum what is expected to expand their horizons.

“We’re looking at providing wider opportunities for the children,” he said. “Denaby is a disadvantaged area and we’re wanting to give the children the absolute best. We are still pushing hard to improve, and that is coming through in the results.”

There have been other signs of success. Year 6 staff member Jen Baldwin was named as the Astrea trust’s primary schools teacher of the year last year. The trust runs 18 primary schools.

She had worked with pupils who were struggling to engage with education and improved their results. They had issues such as high exclusion rates and poor behaviour, but it was recognised that she did not give up on them, and helped them make good progress.

Mr Crossley believes pupil want to do well and need to have some fun during their school day. He is not adverse to the children having water fights in the summer if it makes them happier in school.

“Children want to do their best and to succeed,” he said. “We want to make sure that there is no way they will fail – structure the lessons so that they succeed.”

He has also brought in what he calls ‘tribe time’, when children from different year groups put together in a group of pupils that will learn about things away from the regular curriculum, such as water safety, or safety on railway lines. They also take part in community projects, such as visiting the old people’s home which is located next to the school.

There are plans to increase the work that the children do within the community.

They have already done work to design posters to deter pet owners from allowing their dogs to foul the ground on the children’s park opposite the school. Those posters were displayed on the railings outside the park and the school.

There are plans to bring in more after school clubs, in addition the the breakfast club that is already running.

Mr Crossley would like to see clubs in sport, art, singing music and foreign languages.

He feels a mark of success will be an increase in the number of pupils at Denaby.

“We’re a school that’s not full,” he said. “The school would fit 370, but we have 170.

“I think we’re offering something great here. We’re a happy school and we’re offering a wide range of experiences.

“We are good for behaviour now. We’re classed as requires improvement, but we’re a school that’s on the up now in terms of results and the offer that the children get.”

Mr Crossley saus he has worked on the school community, and is now looking at building links with the wider community. He has planned the trip to London, but there are also international plans – for a pupils’ trip to France.

There are talks with Castle Primary School, another Astrea school, in neighbouring Conisbrough, about a possible joint trip over the channel.

Like many schools in Doncaster, Denaby took a hit from the recent Doncaster floods.

Water did not reach inside the school – but it closed the school for a day because of issues of access.

The floods cut off some of the routes through Mexborough and Conisbrough, making it impossible for some of the staff to get the the site on School Walk, Denaby.