The man at the helm of a Carlisle primary school taken over after it was judged to be inadequate says “it is moving forward rapidly”.

Yewdale School, in the west of the city, was put into special measures two years ago when it failed an Ofsted inspection. It continued to struggle before it was taken over last September by the Brampton-based William Howard Trust.

New headteacher Rob Lakin has revealed some of the steps taken to drive up standards at Yewdale School since his arrival last autumn. He also wants to raise aspirations among the school’s 250 pupils.

Mr Lakin, speaking at the start of this week’s summer term – his first interview since becoming head of Yewdale School – said: “We’re doing the basics well and I’ve got really high expectations for the school. This time next year we will be good.

“We’re in a position of strength and we’re moving forward rapidly. When I was appointed I said I wanted rapid and sustained improvement. I think the progress we’ve made is good.”

He added: “We’ve come a long way from the days of the [Ofsted] reports.”

Inspectors are not expected to return to a school for at least 18 months following a take over to give a new regime time to make improvements.

There were several staffing changes at Yewdale School last summer before the trust took over, Mr Lakin said. More are expected by the end of the school year. Jill Simpson, former headteacher of Lees Hill School near Brampton, is serving as deputy headteacher but will be moving on. A new deputy headteacher is being appointed.

There has also been a shake-up of existing support staff structure in school to increase teaching assistant provision.

A new curriculum was also introduced in January to bring a fresh approach to children’s learning at the Yewdale Road school.

“We’ve bought into the International Primary Curriculum. It doesn’t impact on English and maths and we started that in January,” said Mr Lakin. “It enables children to be outward looking and independent learners. We have to remember that we’re working with nine, 10, 11-year-olds who in 10 years time will be in a different world to the one we are in today.

“It is about helping them to be worldly wise and giving them opportunities to explore that.”


Rob Lakin Mr Lakin has also introduced the ‘Big Write’ initiative to improve levels of attainment.

There has also been an overhaul of the school’s assessment procedures and new extra curricular activities launched.

New clubs, ground rules, rewards and behaviour systems have also been introduced with input from pupils. Investment will see new technology installed in every classroom in the coming months.

The school’s nursery will also be going full-time from September in readiness for the government’s introduction of 30 hours a week free nursery entitlement from September 2017. Longer term, it will also help increase the numbers on the school roll.

Mr Lakin believes consistency during the course of the school year has contributed to improvements.

Mr Lakin said: “We’re in a transition. We will not repair the reputation of the school in a year however parents say they can see a difference.

“We know behaviour is better and children are talking about their learning at home and the new curriculum.”

He added: “We’re on a journey to being the best we can be. We have our three Rs here – Respect, Responsibility and Resilience – and I want the children to be independent learners, have a broad and balanced curriculum and importantly have a love of learning.”

Mr Lakin, an Ofsted inspector, holds a dual role with the William Howard Trust as its first director of primary education.

The trust runs William Howard School in Brampton and Workington Academy. Yewdale School is the first primary in its family.

Mr Lakin, a former rugby player, says the city school is his first priority for now.

He said: “I want this to be the school of choice for parents. Families have stuck with the school and have been hugely supportive of us and they’ve said they’re really happy.

“We want to consolidate what we’re doing here at Yewdale.

“We don’t want to run before we can walk. Good trusts are built on firm foundations, not pipe dreams and sands.”