Headteacher
Mulgrave Primary School And Children'S Centre, And Ican Centre
Woolwich, South East London
Mulgrave Primary serves an area with one of the highest deprivation rates in London. The school has 500 on roll and operates Children's Centre and Extended Services for 48 weeks a year. It is very culturally diverse, with children speaking 46 different languages. It hit the headlines in May 2013 due to being adjacent to the Lee Rigby incident. This had far reaching implications as the school has children from both army and Muslim families. Since then I have led the school in further developing community cohesion, which has proved very successful. This contributed to the situation in Woolwich remaining calm and remarkably unaffected by the incident despite incitement from extreme groups and being under an intense media spotlight. Since my appointment in September 2011, I have based the school ethos and curriculum on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This has also contributed to community cohesion through its elements of social justice and Global Learning. ESD has widened and deepened the curriculum in order to make it more experiential and integrated, whilst still improving easily measurable attainment. The school received an Ofsted inspection in January 2013 and moved from Satisfactory to Good. This is the highest grading in the school's history. The school continues to be buffeted by the challenges of a typical inner city situation i.e. high pupil mobility and problems of recruiting top-notch staff. However, with the ever improving reputation of the school these are becoming lesser issues. The school has also become more outward looking in terms of developing professional networks of excellence. Recently, Mulgrave became an 'Expert Centre' for the national Global Learning programme. My doctoral background has influenced the way I run the school and has galvanized my belief in values led leadership, despite external pressures.Mulgrave achieved the Eco School Green Flag award April 2015.