New principal appointed to turn around Doncaster primary school set to start new role

Louise Stanton will be the new principal at Waverley Primary Academy, in Balby, formerly Waverley Primary School, which was put in special measures in 2015.

If converted to an academy two years ago and is now run by the Astrea Academy Trust, which is working to turn the school around. It has not had any Ofsted reports since re-opening as an academy in 2018.

Mrs Stanton arrives from Hillside Academy, in Denaby Main, another Astrea academy.

She became assistant principal in 2018 and was promoted to Head of Academy at Hillside in 2019.

Bosses at Astrea say her leadership saw Hillside firstly stabilise and then see rapid improvement in children’s results.

Under her leadership, key stage two results showed a 19 per cent improvement, with 69 per cent of children achieving the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths.

In 2019, all year one pupils achieved the expected standard in one key indicator, and behaviour incidents have almost halved.

The school’s latest parent survey indicated all parents felt the school was well led and managed.

Mrs Stanton’s senior roles have also seen her in charge of early years at Hillside, where her pupils have achieved above the national average standard for the last four years.

She said: "I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to take up the position of Principal of Waverley Primary Academy. I am so excited to be a part of Waverley’s journey to providing an excellent education that every one of the children deserve.”

Benedick Ashmore-Short, interim chief executive of Astrea Academy Trust, said: “Under her leadership, Hillside has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with an external peer review recognising the academy as ‘effective’ in leadership, outcomes, and provision. We are so proud of Mrs Stanton’s successes at Hillside.

“I have every confidence that she will lead Waverley in securing a similar upward path for years to come, to deliver an education that inspires beyond measure for every child there.”

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