Schools uniting to raise standards (From Thurrock Gazette)

Schools uniting to raise standards

8:10am Sunday 8th April 2012 in News

TWO outstanding schools have won the right to lead the training and development of teachers across Thurrock.

Treetops School, in Buxton Road, Grays, and William Edwards School, in Stifford Clays, teamed up to apply for special status, desginated by the National College for School Leadership, to become a “teaching school”.

The programme allows outstanding schools to lead and work with other schools in their borough and deliver high quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career.

Only 100 schools in the UK have been awarded the status since the initiative began last year.

In their most recent Ofsted inspections, both schools were graded “outstanding”.

Paul Smith, headteacher at Treetops said: “This is a great result for Thurrock.

“By working with William Edwards School and others, we believe we can help grow and develop teachers and education leaders with the appropriate support right across Thurrock.”

The initiative aims to utilise top teaching talent to drive improvement in schools, with trainees learning from the best.

Cllr Oliver Gerrish, in charge of Thurrock Council’s education, said: “It’s brilliant that we have got the skills and expertise to take a lead in the teaching schools programme and great we have this kind of leadership, which will help improve education in Thurrock.”