Here - Lowther Primary School

Notable successes
There have been many successes this year, some that have stood out are:
Handwriting — this has been an area of focus, with daily handwriting sessions going on across the school and a
new display area to showcase children’s work. This alongside spelling will be an area of focus in 2012/13.
Behaviour targets — Alison has refreshed and invigorated the weekly behaviour targets with challenges that are
child centred and focused on improving school life for all. The results for the year show the positive effect they
have had on the school community.
Provision for more able pupils — the work of Kathy Moore-Stanley has been fundamental to driving this. We
have had children entering into Maths challenges, Level 6 study support and more. As our intake changes we
would like Millie and Kathy to continue to drive these changes.
Enrichment opportunities — with an average of 8 trips per class, numerous visitors and speakers, events galore
the enrichment that takes place at Lowther underpins the school ethos of happy, enthusiastic learners. This will
continue as we expand.
New staff meeting format and staff CPD — our old Monday staff meeting time was handed over to being focused
on staff professional development this year. The staff meeting is now in a much shorter, slicker slot on a
Friday morning. The benefit of this has been a greater opportunity to deliver quality CPD for staff. This will continue
next year.
Managing growth to 2 form-entry — we are pleased with how we are gradually adapting practice and evolving
with the increasing number of pupils at Lowther. The way this change is managed has been smooth and will continue
to be a priority as the school has 4 more years of expansion left.
Staffing and Leadership
Developing a new team — our new team are exactly that—a team. We have
been delighted with the way everyone (parents, pupils and staff) have gelled and
settled into being a new school family. Teachers have been totally committed
and enthusiastic. To support our sense of team we have introduced regular staff
social events this year.
Targets in Key stage 1 — Hong King Phooey targets were introduced to KS1
this year. Teachers have supported this well (especially in Year1 ) where learners
have delighted in telling us they've smashed a target.
We have been delighted with the way the new team have gelled. There is a great sense
of camaraderie amongst the team. Governors support last year in helping recruit and
select so many new staff was instrumental to this. Kathy Jenkins, Sally Taylor, Emily
Blaxland, Sarah Tennant, Emily Treble, Alison Colenso, Paul Nelson, Jim Pritchard and
Kathy Moore-Stanley have all added something extra to Lowther and have become key
parts of the team. Our staff are varied in personality and skill — and this is something we
need to tap into more. Our new leadership structure for 2012/13 should support this. Alison,
Carol and Wendy form an experienced, supportive and highly skilled leadership
team who will continue to develop and nurture future leaders.
The wider team
We now have nearly 50 staff. The shared enthusiasm, skill and commitment is outstanding.
The understanding and belief in the Lowther School Family is evident every single
day.
Our team going forward will be settled for next year with no-one moving on. We have 2
NQTs starting as Alison moves out of the classroom and our expansion continues. This
should create some stability, but also allow us to really move our staff focus on as the team are settled in their
roles.
Focus for the future
We need to raise expectations for all teachers so that classroom practice is consistently good or better. Each of
our staff have the skill and passion to be excellent teachers. We must look at strategies that allow our very best
teachers to share their skills and expertise with the wider team.