Second school scoops academy status
Published 22 Jan 2012 09:30
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DATCHET St Mary's School has become the second primary academy in the Royal Borough.
Following the switch in status at the beginning of the year, the school in The Green has changed its name to Datchet St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy.
Reverend Peter Wyard, chairman of governors, said: "Over the last few years, Datchet St Mary's has been judged 'outstanding' by Ofsted and we felt that academy status would be the next step for us as a school.
"We believe that becoming an academy will provide a challenge and stimulation to governors, staff and the whole school community, and we are excited about the additional freedom, responsibility and flexibility it will bring.
"Being fully responsible for running our own show will help to generate even more pride, commitment and enthusiasm, and provide professional development opportunities for staff."
The new status means the school is now independent of local authority control, allowing it to enjoy more freedom in areas such as school decision-making, use of suppliers and the opportunity to adapt the curriculum to pupils' specific needs.
Headteacher Jean Pinkerton said: "Our academy status will enable us to offer a more flexible, innovative curriculum and we will be able to focus the school budget where it will best suit our pupils - whether additional resources for the classroom or developing the outside 'quiet area' into an outdoor learning environment."
The school is asking pupils to design a new logo and the winning design will be announced in the spring term.
This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 20 Jan 12
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