SW100/3—Primary @ Angel Oak Academy
🚌 London School Visits 2023
Angel Oak Academy is a 2FE primary school located in south London. Since joining the STEP Academy Trust in 2015, Angel Oak has been one of the top-performing schools in the country in terms of children’s academic progress and, in 2017, was recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
But here’s Jon Hutchinson on why we were so keen to visit:
“I first became aware of Angel Oak Academy when Catherine Hewitt was headteacher, offering funded masters for 11 teachers to ensure that the school taught in line with the latest evidence on effective instruction. Back then, it bucked the trend in primary with the use of explicit instruction, a knowledge-rich curriculum and rigorous academic expectations.
“Step Academy Trust has continued to lead the conversation on primary education in so many ways from their collaboration with complete maths to their forensic approach to phonics and early reading”
Our visit was nothing short of inspiring.
There was much to see and do and it’s really very tricky to tidy everyone’s rich and varied reflections away into discrete boxes—but here’s a summary of our three big takeaways…
1️⃣ A serene yet vibrant environment
There’s a palpable sense of purpose, consistency and authenticity that runs through Angel Oak. From the youngest pupils to the oldest, the commitment to a purposeful learning environment is unmistakable. Behavioural expectations are high, clear and kind. The school’s vision is sharply defined and referenced regularly. A serene (yet vibrant!) atmosphere runs throughout the school.
The ‘what’ here sounds great. For many, that sounds like close-to-ideal operating conditions for staff and students to thrive. What we wanted to explore during our visit was the ‘how’—i.e. how is this environment being sustained? What are school leaders doing, specifically, to secure these conditions over the long term?
2️⃣ State your intent
Of course, there are many possible answers to the question posed above. There’s certainly no silver bullet. The creation of a stable culture is multifactorial. But committing to a clear why is foundational—particularly today.
Children’s lives are profoundly complex and schools are necessarily complicated organisations—filled to the brim with determined, hopeful, adaptable people. We know that the most effective school leaders are acutely aware of the rapidly evolving needs within their own communities, yet, budgets are typically fixed on an annual basis.
This presents an interesting leadership challenge in schools: the need to proclaim an authentic, clear and completable intent to focus people’s will, attention and resources. The power of doing this—and doing it well—came through strongly at Angel Oak, exemplified by the reflection below:
3️⃣ ‘Less is more’
While foundational, a clear vision alone is not enough because it’s not always clear how the why should be served. Operationalising that is hard work.
The context we’ve laid out above will likely sound familiar to school leaders. It can be overwhelming. Schools have shown in recent years how remarkably creative and adaptable they are. Which is great. But it can also blur the lines between what schools could, should and/or will do in response to emerging needs (because so much is possible!).
With that in mind, our visitors were impressed and energised by the manner in which Angel Oak’s leaders were able to contain the school’s current priorities—to clearly articulate what they will willingly struggle for:
In a nutshell
Getting that combination right—setting an aspirational vision that calls people to action while ‘shaping the path’ so the work feels achievable—and leading the mission with authenticity, openness and unwavering commitment is simple to describe but difficult to do. But if the purposeful unity we experienced at Angel Oak is anything to go by, it’s a struggle worth enduring.