Salisbury School Strengthens Leadership Team

Wednesday, 10th December, 2008

Colchester, UK. 16th April, 2007 - Salisbury School in Edmonton has appointed a new Headteacher and two additional leadership specialists in a move to boost the school's capacity to raise achievement. Trevor Averre-Beeson is appointed Headteacher, and will be assisted by Principal Senior Leaders Angela Gartland and Jessica Ward from the beginning of the 2007 summer term. The three-year contract to provide the leadership team is the first of its kind in Britain, and was awarded to Edison Schools.

"We are delighted that the Edison team is able to start work at the beginning of the summer term," said Martin Cocks, the Chair of the Governing Body of Salisbury School. "We are looking forward to the start of a new relationship that will continue the tremendous progress made under the leadership of the outgoing Headeacher, Martin Rainsford. With the early availability of Trevor and his colleagues, leadership continuity can be maintained and our ambitions for the School can be achieved even more quickly."

Peter Lewis, Enfield's Director of Education, Children's Services and Leisure said "I'm delighted to be embarking on this ground-breaking initiative which brings the best of Local Authority practice together with the open market to provide a new and exciting phase of development for Salisbury School. Salisbury will be the focus of a range of plans that will see a £8.8m building programme to consolidate the school onto one site and new and dynamic leadership by Trevor Averre-Beeson and Edison. This is a real opportunity to deliver a new school improvement approach that has the needs of the students at its core."

Salisbury School is a mixed ten-form entry 11-18 secondary school situated in the London Borough of Enfield. It is currently located on two sites just under half a mile apart. The school will be re-housed on one site as a six-form entry secondary school by September 2011 and there is currently a significant building programme planned for this site in preparation for the move.

Student attainment on entry to the school is very low and the areas from which many students are recruited are associated with high levels of social and economic disadvantage. Students come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and many are at an early stage of learning English. More than one third of the students are entitled to free school meals and the school identifies 25% of students as having special educational needs.

"Angela, Jessica and I are very excited to be working with the staff and governors of Salisbury School, and with Enfield Authority," said Trevor Averre-Beeson. "Salisbury School has made steady progress over recent years, and the extra resources this team brings to the school will help the staff and students consolidate and build on those achievements through the next stages of its development."

Mr Averre-Beeson and his team helped lead Islington Green School out of Special Measures status to an OFSTED rating as a 'Good School', before joining Edison Schools in 2007. "Edison's sensible and practical programme will help the school put in place the framework for further improvements, with an emphasis on providing a positive learning environment, continuing professional development for staff, creating a strong ethos of personal responsibility and self-discipline, and an effective support network for students and their families," Mr Averre-Beeson added. "All these strands and many more, implemented as a coherent whole, will provide the firm footing for raising achievement and making Salisbury School a place students, staff and parents can be proud of."

"We are very pleased to be providing a proven, successful leadership team to help Salisbury School continue its progress," said Mark Logan, Edison Schools' Managing Director. "The contract offers the school an opportunity to bring about significant and lasting improvement by providing extra resources to implement Edison's programme, which gives coherent, systematic and sustained support for the whole school community, and has delivered great benefits in more than 50 UK schools to date."

Mr Averre-Beeson, 47, is married, with three children. He is a Londoner and has been teaching for 25 years. Angela Gartland is married and has taught in London schools for sixteen years, with seven years at Islington Green. Jessica Ward has taught in London schools for ten years and was a member of the senior leadership team at Islington Green.

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