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Northmead Junior School

Northmead Junior School

Letter from Learning Partners Trust and Chair of Governors

We are writing to inform you of some news for the Stoughton and Northmead school communities. 

As you may be aware Debbie Brown, the long-standing Headteacher of Northmead Junior School, is retiring at the end of this academic year. 

As a result, Learning Partners Academy Trust, along with the governing bodies of both schools, began to explore the possibility of an Executive Headteacher serving both Northmead Junior School and Stoughton Infant School. 

Following a robust interview process on Monday 6th March, we are delighted to announce that Sarah Carrington, the current Headteacher of Stoughton Infant School, will be the Executive Headteacher of both the infant and junior school from September 2023.

In the meantime, Sarah Carrington will be working closely with both school teams to ensure that any resulting change is purposeful and supports all children and staff across both schools.

We feel that this is a great opportunity for both schools to collaborate and align further, serving the same community. 

There will be an opportunity in the summer term for parents to hear from Sarah Carrington.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s school.   

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sarah Carrington and offer our support in making every success of her new role.

Kindest regards,

Konstanze Hild (Chair of Governors Northmead)

Rob Edwards (Chair of Governor Stoughton)

Jack Mayhew (CEO Learning Partners Trust)

Frequently Asked Questions:

We have put together some FAQs which we hope will aid your understanding about how this new leadership model will work.

  • What is an Executive Headteacher?

An Executive Headteacher is a headteacher who is responsible for more than one school. They provide support and leadership to all schools that they are responsible for.

  • Will the schools merge to become one primary school over two sites? 

No, there are no plans to do this. The schools will retain their individual identity and operate as two schools.

  • What are some of the benefits and opportunities of this new leadership model?

There are many benefits to Stoughton and Northmead working more closely together. The schools have already started on this approach in recent years for mutual benefit. In particular, the change allows for greater continuity within the curriculum, sharing of best practice, alignment of approaches to communications, and policies providing consistency for parents. The changes also allow for development within the staff teams at both schools so that we can retain and develop our people.

  • Stoughton and Northmead are used to the Headteachers being there full-time.  How will this gap be filled?

Part of Sarah Carrington’s role as the leader of both schools is to ensure that the structure of the leadership teams are adjusted to meet the needs of each school and the children within them.