Canon Lee looks to bright new future

Canon Lee School in Clifton was put into special measures by Ofsted a year ago and is in the process of becoming Vale of York Academy under principal Helen Dowds, who took charge in September.

The school has had two monitoring inspections both showed they are making good progress and the latest said they are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

Mrs Dowds said the school has had a change of status on the performance tables effectively wiping the slate clean because they are in the process of becoming an academy.

Government policy says schools in special measures should rapidly become sponsored academies and they are set to join the Hope Learning Trust early next year.

Mrs Dowds said: “As soon as we become an academy we have three years where we are inspection free.”

She said that this new status will give the school a chance to improve and allow them to fulfill her ambition of making it an outstanding school. She said: "In my interview I said I won’t stop until we become outstanding. I have worked at an outstanding school for seven years so I know what outstanding looks like.

“That was Archbishop Holgate's and there former head John Harris took it from the bottom of the tables to the top and Andrew Daly has taken it beyond outstanding. I’m taking on a school that’s been in a precarious position with falling rolls and I’m coming onboard to take us to where Archbishop’s got to. It’s not going to be a quick fix, it took John Harris 12 years, but we will get there.”

She said the school, which has 524 pupils, has capacity for 900 and the Year 7 intake is growing - it’s 126 this year and they want 150 for next year.

Before Canon Lee, Mrs Dowds worked as a maths teacher for 22 years in five secondary schools and for the last 12 years has held senior leaderships positions, first at Joseph Rowntree School and since 2009 at Archbishop Holgate’s.

Hope Learning Trust consists of Manor CE Academy, Poppleton Ousebank, Forest of Galtres and Burton Green.

Part of the school’s conversion to academy status means there will be planned curriculum changes which would not come in until September 2017 and there will be a new uniform.

Mrs Dowds said the idea behind that is to smarten things up and make students proud of their image.

The existing black blazer is staying, but there will be a new tie and tank top and girls have the option of a Tartan kilt in the school colours - all free to parents.