West Lakes Academy new headteacher shares vision after 'turbulence'

David Dennis took over as interim headteacher at West Lakes Academy in Egremont on September 2, after retiring as chief executive officer of a group of nine schools in Sheffield.

An Ofsted inspection carried out in 2023 hinted that the academy, which is part of the Changing Lives Learning Trust, may not have kept its ‘outstanding’ rating if the inspection had been graded.

Mr Dennis said: “I was brought in to strengthen and stabilise leadership following a period of turbulence in leadership over the last year and a half.

“I met the trust through an agency in the summer, came up for a day’s visit and was hooked. I liked the mission in terms of changing lives and I really liked the kids.

“I also saw the vulnerability of West Lakes.

“The biggest vulnerability is the turbulence in leadership over the last four years, particularly just after Covid. Linked to that, is the change in chief executive officer of the trust.

“It seemed to me they needed some stabilisation and quick fix solutions. When you’ve got a significant leadership challenge, the school can start to drift.

“The Ofsted of 2023 indicates that.”

Abby Deeks, the former principal of the academy has moved into a role with One Cumbria Teaching School Hub.

Amanda Fraser has also been brought in as interim deputy head teacher and Jill Sunter, an English specialist and digital lead, has been added as another member of the leadership team.

Judith Schafer became the new CEO of the Changing Lives Learning Trust in September, following the retirement of Jonathan Johnson OBE.

David Dennis has introduced a new curriculum and made a number of changes since taking over as interim headteacher (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Dennis has this week introduced a new ‘curriculum for success’ and there have also been changes in terms of how the academy groups children with a move to mixed ability banding and the form tutor playing a more significant pastoral role.

“The learner is at the heart of everything,” Mr Dennis said. “The three things we are focused on are high expectations, learner agency – giving kids more choices, especially in Key Stage Four -and the third one, which is probably the biggest, is a sense of safeness and wellbeing, underpinned by positive regard.

“I know what we have now put in place will allow children to succeed across a broad range of subjects, particularly in English and maths.

“But within it, I want the kids to be able to fly in the things that they love.

“I think the drift over the last period has allowed us to lose some of the high expectations you would normally have. A few too many learners have not been in lessons regularly. We have had a challenge to persuade them in a positive way that lessons are where they should be.

“When you have the degree of churn that there’s been at leadership, it’s a hard one. Trust has to be earned, not presumed.”

When asked if the safeguarding of students was a priority at the academy, Mr Dennis replied, ‘always’.

“There’s only one thing that stops me sleeping at night - that’s my responsibility for safeguarding,” he said. “The responsibility that parents and carers place in us to look after their children is my highest priority. I have a strong safeguarding team.”

Mr Dennis also highlighted the pressures of social media and the effect is has on some students’ mental health.

He said: “Social media and the pressures that places upon youngsters is immense. It creates self-image challenges for some of them. It opens them up to exploitation.

“We put that training in place for our staff but I think we feel like technology is slightly in front of where we are.

“We do a lot of work on enabling children to be more resilient - how they deal with things that are challenging to them.

“We have got a number of safe spaces for learners to go to when they are feeling overwhelmed. Social media is corrosive to some children’s mental health.”

Mr Dennis added that he was also keen for students to broaden their horizons and ‘see the world beyond west Cumbria’.

He said: “Success doesn’t come down to a set of GCSEs, it comes down to what the person is like and what they have engaged in.

“They have got to dream bigger than where they are. Sellafield contributes positively to this area but the world outlook needs to be bigger than just west Cumbria. They need to see a bigger world. Education is also about broadening horizons.

“They should be able to pursue their own passion and dreams. We need to do more to open up a whole world of opportunities for youngsters here.”