Skinners’ Temple Grove – investing for success

Skinners’ Temple Grove joined our family of schools in September 2024 as our first new state school since 2015. Taking it on was recognised as a risk, given the challenges it faced and the disadvantaged community it serves – well over half of its 180 pupils are on free school meals.

Supporting its development has been a priority for Skinners’ Education Foundation funding. We are grateful for support from individual donors and other schools in our family to transform its facilities, with a new reception play area, ‘zen zone’ and reading garden at the front of the school.

The Foundation has also provided funds to support the head, Rebekah Leeves, on the sustained school improvement journey required to deliver her vision. We have provided an experienced former headteacher to help develop the school’s curriculum, advise on improvements in teaching and offer a strategic sounding board through a period of difficult leadership change. Complementing this, our Director of Professional Development – also funded by SEF – has provided weekly hands-on support and staff coaching.

This support has produced greatly improved academic results this year with significant improvements in all areas on last year’s outcomes. In particular:

• Combined Key Stage 2 SATs outcomes increased to 48%, an improvement of over 10 percentage points on the previous year.
• Phonics outcomes increased from 50% to 75%.

The school’s team are not resting on their laurels: an improved maths curriculum and deeper collaboration with Skinners’ Kent Primary School this year will set pupils up for even greater things in future.