A NEW head teacher has been appointed to the top job at a York school.

As The Press reported back in January, St Oswald's CE School in Fulford was looking to fill their top job with a salary of £59,558 – £69,022 a year.

The school has 315 pupils has now found the woman for the job in current deputy head, Jemma Dunne, who will take over the helm in September, as Sue Bland, is set to retire.

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The hunt is on for a new deputy head and Claire Sinclair, chair of governors, says they are looking for an "inspirational and charismatic leader who will uphold and further enrich the values-based ethos while continuously seeking to strengthen outcomes for all children through a sustained focus on whole school improvement".

The school celebrated its 250th birthday in 2021 and was rated 'good' by Ofsted when it was last inspected in 2019.

At that time the report found pupils 'behave exceptionally well', praising them as 'highly self-confident, respectful and caring individuals', and said they were “now making stronger progress than in previous years”.

Inspectors also praised the quality of teaching as “strong”, following “ swift and effective action to improve the teaching of writing and mathematics”.

York Press: St Oswald's CE School pupils celebrating thier good Ofsted with head teacher Sue Bland St Oswald's CE School pupils celebrating thier good Ofsted with head teacher Sue Bland (Image: Frank Dwyer)

The report said: “Teachers know their pupils very well and have high expectations of them. They ask questions that tackle pupils’ misconceptions. As a result, pupils are challenged well and so they are focused and work hard.”

The inspectors praised the “drive, determination and commitment” of head teacher Sue Bland and her deputy and staff, who have “led to rapid improvement in teaching and outcomes".

Mrs Bland said at the time she was “very proud of everyone in the school”.

The report also said the school could improve in several ways, it could benefit from ensuring the work set by teachers “challenges and stretches all groups of pupils, including the most able pupils”, and said some work should be done to improve progress for children in Key Stage 2, particularly in writing and maths.

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed for anyone considering the deputy head role and will be led by Ms Dunne.

They can be arranged by contacting the school office on 01904 555421 or stoswalds.primary@york.gov.uk