Success story of Ronald Ross School in Southfields (From Your Local Guardian)

Success story of Ronald Ross School in Southfields

8:20am Saturday 16th May 2009

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A once struggling primary school in Southfields is now unrecognisable thanks to one very special headteacher. ELEANOR HARDING reports. When headteacher Debbie Hart arrived at Ronald Ross two years ago, she had a big job on her hands.

The buildings were shabby, the children behaved badly and achievement was poor.

Like many primaries in the borough, the school caters for kids from deprived areas and has a high number of children who are still learning English.

However, thanks to Mrs Hart’s hard work, it is now one of the three most improved primaries in Wandsworth for SATs results, and last year Ofsted rated it “good”- and improving.

“We wanted to make a difference,” she says. “I didn’t have the best start in life. Deep down there’s part of me that wants to get down to the roots.

“Sometimes in your career you get a revelation when you’re helping a child.

"You say this is why I’m doing what I’m doing. You maybe see a bit of yourself in them.”

Mrs Hart knows what she’s talking about.

From a humble background in Leicestershire she worked her way up to being successful headteacher at a school in Nottingham.

The school served a deprived area on the edge of the city and one of the biggest problems was getting the children to aspire to anything great for themselves.

After six years’ headship she moved south to take on Ronald Ross in Castlecombe Drive, near the William Willison estate in Southfields.

Turning it around in just a year was hard, but the unyielding support of teachers and parents helped.

“My last school was on a really tough estate,” she explains.

“People say it’s tough around here, but I say you haven’t been to Nottingham.

"The children here are incredibly vibrant. It’s a more balanced area.

“The vocabulary of the children is more developed than the children I’d taught before. They want to learn, and the parents here have been delightful.”

In the last two years, staff raised £60,000 to help refurbish the library, many of the corridors and classrooms and the front offices.

Children can now enjoy an adventure pirate ship outside, or sit down to a good book one of the magically themed reading corners.

I’m often impressed by primary schools, but the effort that has gone into Ronald Ross is on another level.

From the life-size animals in the library to the lovely colour-coordinated rugs and cushions in the upstairs reading room, it really is a nice place to be.

And it shows in the children, who behave politely and are improving fast academically.

Standards are still lower than some other schools, but pupils do well from their starting points.

Now the aim is to raise achievement even further.

Good work or behaviour is rewarded with tokens, which can be collected and saved up to “buy” toys from a school “shop”.

The school is also cultivating a focus on arts, dance and drama, and there are plans to build a stage in the hall when it is redecorated.

Now parents are fighting to get their children into the school, with waiting lists for the lower years.

“We don’t compromise,” says Mrs Hart. “We wanted the school to be beautiful because they deserve it.

“Every child can achieve.

"Every child deserves a chance.

"I place a real emphasis on academic success, but it’s also important for them to want to come to school.

"If you get that right, the rest will follow.”

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