Welcome

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We end the Spring Term with the days getting longer and hopeful promises of warmer and brighter days coming just around the corner. I can’t help but make a connection to the blooming flowers and trees I pass every morning on my way to school through St James’ Park and Green Park to what is happening at Eaton Square Senior and Sixth Form. Indeed, there is a palpable sense of positivity, vivacity and general verve around both sites that hints towards greatness in the future. This energy could be felt during recent events such as our drama play, Fairy Tale Courtroom, our whole school Cross Country Race on Monday, and the general vibe around the school both inside and outside of lessons. Indeed, it is a joy to be around the students and staff and to know we are heading in a positive direction together.

In this newsletter I would like to highlight some of my observations that I have made as I come to the end of my first term as Head, outline some of my key strategic priorities going forwards, and communicate some new initiatives for the Summer Term. As I outlined in my Head’s Welcome a few weeks ago, in which I reflected on my first 65 days as Head of ESS, I want to express what I love about the school and where I see room for improvement.

On the positive side, I believe the pastoral care at the school is outstanding. The pastoral team, led by Mrs Lobo and her Heads of Section and Form Tutors do a splendid job in structuring a robust programme of support that enables all of our children to feel both physically and psychologically safe. This is complemented by a deeper level of pastoral care, however, namely the intrinsic care and compassion that all of our staff, both teaching staff and those on the central team, give to your children on a daily basis. The relationships between the staff and students are special and this is the aspect of ESS that I love the most. The number of staff that came out to support the drama play is a prime indication of this and I look forward to forging more opportunities for our community to come together to celebrate not only the children’s successes, but the positive sense of community that is fostered when everyone comes together.

On the theme of community, I am so proud to lead such a culturally diverse school. Having students from 41 different countries studying the British curriculum based on British values provides us with such enriching learning opportunities. The exposure to other cultures, ideologies, religions, and perspectives empowers our students to become Global Citizens within our school walls. Indeed, I see ESS as a microcosm of what our students will experience when they leave school, especially if they remain in a cosmopolitan international city such as London. We are truly global on a local scale. It is for this reason that we will apply for the British Council’s International School Award and I am confident they will be impressed with our application.

Another aspect of ESS that I love so much is our location on Piccadilly. We can honestly say that London is our classroom and canvas as we are in walking distance to so many museums, galleries, theatres and historic sites. We will continue to utilise this when we think about enriching our curriculum. It is not only about location, however. Designed by the esteemed 18th Century architect Robert Adams, our Grade I listed building is an architectural treasure. That it is inhabited by the ghost of Lady Coventry, that it was the temporary home of Ian Fleming during which time he penned Goldfinger, not to mention many other exciting historical facts, ESS has much to boast about in terms of its history. Indeed, the building exudes a sense of antiquity and scholarship juxtaposed with the modern and this combination entails that the building embodies a space for positive learning. We are about to publish a short history of 106 Piccadilly and will send you an electronic copy.

There is so much more about the school that I love and I am certain I will have the opportunity to communicate this in the months and years to come. However, there are also areas in which I recognise we need to improve. Foremostly, this has to do with driving academic rigour at the school, something I have mentioned on numerous occasions in my newsletters. I firmly believe we are doing a fantastic job at the moment in terms of Value-Added, ensuring that every student is the school is achieving higher than their baseline predictions. This is a direct result of the excellent teaching and learning that goes on in the classroom and the general atmosphere of purposeful study in the school. It is clear from the data that we are extremely successful in this regard. That said, I want to continue to improve and not rest on our laurels. This improvement begins with establishing an even better teaching and learning environment in the school. It means that we need to go back to basics in some areas, such as discipline, and ensure that every student is engaged and focused and prepared to learn. It means ensuring that we continue with a robust internal and external continual professional development programme (CPD) with our staff so that every teacher is aware of the latest pedagogical strategies and techniques and knows how to implement them in the classroom. This is happening every Wednesday in our after-school CPD sessions and many of our staff engage with courses outside of school.

Driving academic rigour also means continuing to recruit outstanding teachers and I am delighted to have recently appointed some incredible staff who will be joining our team in September. I will send a separate letter about all of our new joiners next term. I will also communicate next term how our timetable will change in September. We have been working hard thinking about how we can design the school day to optimise academic rigour and to be able to provide a more enriching co-curricular experience. More information to follow but I am certain these structural changes will have an immense impact on school culture.

The other area that I want to see us build on is our sense of community, and this strategic priority is two-pronged. I would like us to do much more in terms of community service, volunteering and giving back to those less fortunate than us (with privilege comes responsibility), but I also want us to develop our own internal community and culture. A main part of this is parental engagement. I have thoroughly enjoyed my meetings with the “Friends of ESS” and we are devising ways we can get the parent body more involved in the school. Our first initiatives will begin next term with a fortnightly evening programme in which all parents (and students) will be invited. On these evenings we will have guest lectures, musical events, and on one evening we will have a Family Quiz. I look forward to sharing the dates with you right at the beginning of the Summer Term. Please watch this space!

Ultimately, I have loved my first term as Head of Eaton Square Senior and Sixth Form. I have extremely high expectations for the school. However, I know I can achieve our strategic objectives because I am surrounded by so many talented and knowledgeable people who are committed to the same goal, namely that we provide an outstanding education so your children can flourish and be the best they can be.

I wish you and your families a wonderful Easter break and look forward to seeing you in the Summer Term.

Dr Adrian Rainbow