The School, led by experienced Headteacher Mr Peter Malcolm, was granted approval by the Department of Education to become and Academy some months ago and Mark went along to see how the process is rolling out in practice.
Advantages of Academy status include much greater financial freedom for the school, more authority for the Headteacher and a greater ability to take decisions in favour of pupils, parents and staff. As part of his visit Mark discussed the Academy process with Mr Malcolm and was also taken on a tour of the school, which continues to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofstead.
Speaking about his visit to Rayleigh Primary School, Mark said:
“Rayleigh Primary School, led by Peter Malcolm, has always been a strong school and provides Rayleigh children with a really good education. I am delighted to see that they have now taken the next step of becoming an Academy as I believe this will further enhance the quality of learning which is available to pupils at this school. I congratulate Mr Malcolm, his Governors, staff and pupils for this important step and I hope that other schools in Rayleigh may follow suit in the future.”