New head of Worthing school, Sussex, sets out his vision

“Being born and raised an Eastbourne boy, I spent a lot of my childhood with my family along the south coast,” he explains. “I completed teacher training at Sussex University and spent the first part of my teaching career in St Leonards-on-Sea. I moved a little further inwards to Maidstone, before migrating with my family, (my lovely wife, also a teacher and my two boys, aged 10 and 21) to work in Norfolk, where I have led a school for the past six years, supported by the Bohunt Education Trust (BET).

In my 19 years of teaching, I have worked within the fields of Performing Arts and English, aiming to offer students high-quality opportunities within the classroom, or further opportunities outside of the classroom while on the stage performing - knowing that education should always be about the whole child.

“I first started working for BET in 2017, supporting a highly disadvantaged school and community in Norwich, raising expectations and standards to enable every child to succeed and be the best versions of themselves.

“I wasn’t looking to move from my post in Norfolk, but knew that being part of the Trust that I had been linked to for several years and more localised to my family ties, with an opportunity to make a continued difference to a community which I could relate to, was a great opportunity.

“I was hugely honoured to be offered the role as Headteacher of BSW, knowing the school holds both an important place at the heart of its community and that the school and its staff have already undertaken great steps leading this relatively new school forward, enabling students to gain outstanding results.

Moving forward together

“I strongly believe that when a school changes headteacher it should not just represent the introduction of a new leader with a new vision, but provide an opportunity for all involved in the school to inform that vision, take a breath and reflect on what is done well and where there is room for improvement. I often use the phrase; ‘seek first to understand, then be understood’. Over the last nine weeks of the summer term, I have been undertaking exactly that.

“Strong and effective leadership involves managing change so that it is built on collaborative, motivational goal-setting. Those goals should prioritise the areas which will have the greatest impact, whilst not removing those that already have proven successful.

“As I take over the headship of BSW I want to ensure that the community nature of the school, known for its care and nurture is maintained. I seek to build on its considerable strengths, learn from what is best in the Trust and reach new heights of achievement across all aspects of its educational offer.

Technology for the future

“A key focus of course is on digital learning, as we are a one-to-one iPad school. BSW is currently in the process of reviewing its use of digital technology. We are appointing new roles to further enhance the responsibility and leadership of the next phase of this process. Innovation is a key area of this strategic development and will look to broaden our use of technology, both iPads and additional other relevant technologies to enhance students' learning.

“Remembering what is at the core of a school is key. We are here to educate, teach, encourage, nurture and help our students to achieve their full potential. As we move forward into a world living with the aftermath of the pandemic, in all its forms, I am mindful of the gaps in students' learning as a key priority to our next steps and evolution as a school.

My vision

“BSW is a vibrant and friendly school with some already well established traditions. My vision is to combine our community ethos and student leader culture with the continued alignment to BET’s values of Enjoy Respect Achieve and raise the profile of our school as a highly achieving and academically able school in the community. This will enable us to develop dynamic, high achieving, game-changing and morally driven, confident young people supported by staff who are constantly aspiring to excellence through their passion for education.

As an already established and rapidly growing, Ofsted rated ‘Good’ category school, our next steps are to strive for excellence and be recognised as ‘outstanding’, in all areas of our educational offer for students, being the school of choice in the local community for all. “

In a recent survey of over 60,000; students wellbeing and enjoyment via the ImpactED data survey noted that Bohunt Worthing students rated the school highly for both areas of wellbeing and enjoyment.

Find out more about Bohunt School Worthing at: www.bohuntworthing.com