Interim Board members for Audlem school

Cheshire East Council has announced the new interim board members for Audlem St James Church of England Controlled Primary School. Cheshire East say: 

"Four education specialists with proven track records of bringing about excellence in troubled schools have been appointed to govern Audlem St James' Primary School. 

"The Secretary of State for Education has agreed that Cheshire East Council can introduce an Interim Executive Board (IEB) at the Heathfield Road school, after overwhelming parental support for the move. 

"The IEB will replace the existing governing body and strive to implement improvements and encourage children to succeed. 

"The new board was established on September 1st and its first meeting will be on September 9th. 

"The local authority appointed chair is Derek Barnes, who has worked as a senior education advisor at Warrington Borough Council between 2001 and 2009 and had been a headteacher at two schools in Worcestershire for more than a decade before that. 

"As well as being an Ofsted inspector, he has conducted various courses for school staff and developed successful teaching and learning strategies. 

Councillor Hilda Gaddum, Cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said: “All of the board members for the IEB at Audlem St James Primary School are highly distinguished individuals with proven records of turning under-performing schools around. 

“As a Council, our primary aim is to work with the school to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and their families.” 

"Janet Broadley, an independent education consultant, has had 36 years experience in education, has been a headteacher in three primary schools and has vigorously tackled underperformance as a monitoring and interventions officer. 

"She has worked intensively with schools identified as ‘schools causing concern’, challenging and supporting leaders and governors to ensure effective support and that improvement is maintained. 

"David Littlewood was headteacher of a successful Church of England primary school for 24 years and was also loaned to a school as headteacher after it went into special measures. 

"Following his headship, he has worked as a consultant for school improvement, an advisor in a North West authority and a school improvement partner (SIP) in three local authorities as a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

"Meanwhile, Bill Bales has spent more than 30 years working in education and children’s services. 

"In that time, he has supported programmes involving changes such as this, and worked with heads and governors in a variety of situations, including school finance,  in order to provide best value for pupils and teachers. 

"Ofsted judged Audlem St James to be satisfactory during a recent inspection, but found that many children are underachieving. The Council’s action has been supported by the Chester Diocese."

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