The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary, Southwark is a Church of England, one form entry primary school for children aged from 3 to 11 years of age. It is situated in the heart of the city of London, was founded in 1704 for the education of ‘the poor of the parish’ and still has the same mission today. We have a high number of disadvantaged children from very diverse communities – predominantly African – and the school is often described as an oasis of calm in the midst of the chaotic lives of so many students and their families and the challenging nature of the surrounding area. I have been privileged to serve the community as headteacher for the past 12 years.

I am frequently exercised by the concept of what is regarded by others as innovative and feel that nothing we do is exceptional, different or new. However, I have been informed that very few headteachers have been brave enough to enter the territory of the unknown, with such a wide and diverse local community, and using such a process to explore the art of possibility for the future success of the school. It is often said that it takes a whole village to raise a child.

Consultation evening

In a true spirit of openness and consultation with the wider community, we recently hosted a wide consultation process to explore a number of themes and possibilities for the school to develop in the next few years. We actively involved parent representatives, pupils, staff, governors and representatives from the church, the local authority, other local schools and local businesses.

The five themes included the extended school agenda, so much a part of current government education strategy following the announcement of the former Secretary of State for Education in England that all schools will be open to children from 8am to 6pm throughout the year! Other themes involved consideration of expanding the school to two form entry, the expansion of our art academy to an arts centre with a purpose built studio and exhibition space, a nurture group and, finally, establishing an ecumenical centre of education excellence (we share the site with a similar size Roman Catholic school), where resources may be better shared.

An external facilitator led the evening and 60 representatives were placed into five groups, to discuss the themes with time for feedback to the whole group. It was important that the representatives were in mixed groups and that the student voice was actively heard! The facilitators of the groups had the biggest challenge of all, reporting back on the views of all five groups and coming to an overall judgement about the theme and whether or not the school should continue to consider the theme beyond the consultation evening.

The quality of discussion within the groups, the contributions of all, the genuine mutual respect for a wide range of views, the outstanding feedback from facilitators and the buzz and excitement led me to believe that the risk was worthwhile.

Sylvia Morris
Headteacher, Cathedral School of St Saviour & St Mary Overie, London, UK.
sylvia.morris@btconnect.com.