2009 Award Finalists
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FINALIST: Public Sector Janet Hayward, headteacher, Barry Island Primary School |
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| Barry Island Community Primary School has 190 children and operates in one of the Vale of Glamorgan’s most deprived areas. Janet has initiated a mini revolution in teaching, transforming Barry Island Primary School into a beacon of excellence in south Wales. Thanks to her inspiring leadership, pupils at Barry Island Primary consistently achieve high standards no matter what their social background. When Janet joined the school, she faced a challenge in turning the school around. She restructured the school management team, bringing in new teachers and focusing their work on driving up standards. Barry Island is a relatively small school, and in many ways fairly unexceptional. However it has created a buzz in the community and amongst educational professionals: a stream of visitors from schools across south Wales now come to see at first hand the teaching practice initiated by Janet. The Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Jane Hutt AM, has identified the school as being "at forefront of excellence in teaching and learning in Wales" and it achieved seven of the highest possible ‘Grade 1’ standards in a recent Estyn inspection. The inspectors confirmed that the school’s vision ‘Together, learning and being our best’ was realised. Janet’s leadership style doesn’t shirk away from challenges. She tackles change not by following the path of least resistance, but by confronting weaknesses. One example of this was the creation of a community garden on scrubland adjacent to the school. The children and community have a piece of green space where they had none previously. Janet refuses to accept mediocrity and challenges others on to strive for more, whilst never losing site of her ultimate goal – giving the children of Barry Island School the best possible education. |
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