Wooburn Green Primary is now an Enhancement school in Buckinghamshire's Side by Side scheme, two steps up from Intervention, and will help other schools.
Wooburn Green Primary School has been named an Enhancement school in Buckinghamshire Council’s Side by Side programme, a status that marks it out to help other schools improve. The headteacher says it started in the Intervention category, rose to Prevention and has now reached Enhancement, largely on the back of work on its early years classes.
The school, part of Great Learners Trust, told us about the designation in a press release sent on 9 October.
What Side by Side is
Side by Side is the council’s model for school improvement. According to the school’s release, it lets schools across Buckinghamshire, “regardless of their size, type or funding status”, share expertise and work together on teaching and pupils’ results.
Enhancement schools, in the programme’s own wording, show “strong practice across the inspection framework” and have the “capacity to contribute to wider system improvement”. In practice that means lending their best staff to other schools through peer support, professional discussion and showing what good teaching looks like.
The release credits the designation to sustained work on early years, led by Gemma Saunders, the school’s assistant headteacher and early years lead, with help from the council’s Early Years team. That team’s own strand, Early Years Side by Side: Providers in Partnership, combines specialist training, data analysis, visits to individual schools and sessions where schools share what works.
How the school got there
Sam Kaye, the headteacher, said: “We’re really proud to have been named as an Enhancement school. Buckinghamshire Council’s Early Years team worked closely with us to review our data, provision and day-to-day teaching, and identify strategies to strengthen our practice.
“To move forward we had a different focus each term. We began by improving our learning environments, then focused on high-quality interactions with pupils, making sure every interaction was as purposeful as possible. We also reviewed our long-term plan to ensure our curriculum was bespoke to the children at our school.
“We’ve progressed from the Intervention category, through Prevention, to Enhancement. Having benefited from support ourselves, we’re now in a position to share our strongest practice and help other schools on their improvement journeys. We’re already supporting colleagues through the Trust’s early years network meetings, sharing expertise and learning from one another. We’re continuing to engage with the Side by Side programme this year and exploring how our team can support others more widely.”
A school that has grown by about 50 pupils
The school says it had around 130 pupils when Mr Kaye became headteacher in 2023, and has approximately 180 today.
“We’re very much a close-knit school,” he said. “I can hand on heart say that I know every single child in this school. I’m on the gate every morning, alongside my assistant headteacher team and other middle leaders, greeting our parents and children. Beyond our school gates, we’re also very actively involved in our wider community where we have excellent links and contribute to many community events.”
The school describes itself as “passionate” about mental health and wellbeing. It says Zones of Regulation, a framework that helps children recognise and manage their emotions and energy levels, is used in every classroom; that every year group uses its Forest School site weekly with specially trained teachers; and that one member of staff is trained in Drawing and Talking, a form of pastoral support.
“We want our children to do well academically, but, driven by our school vision and values, we’re also big believers in their personal and social development,” Mr Kaye said. “That’s really crucial for me: making sure they’re ready for the next stage in their education, able to regulate their emotions, contribute to society and be active citizens.”
A bank, a podcast suite and a bucket list
Through the trust, pupils have a School Bank that teaches saving and money management. The school also lists virtual reality sessions for Year 1, a green screen and a podcasting suite.
Its “bucket list” aims to give every pupil around 10 experiences before they leave, including meeting an author and an athlete, watching a scientific explosion and a trip to the seaside.
“I want to make sure children get those opportunities, regardless of their background,” Mr Kaye said. “We want to continue to grow and improve, and we want to be the school of choice in the area. We want people to come and see what we do and how we do things.”
Sarah Baber, chief executive of Great Learners Trust, said: “We’re really pleased that Wooburn Green’s strong practice and capacity to support other schools have been recognised through its Enhancement designation, and the progress the school is making. Its team has valuable early years expertise to share, and this recognition reflects the commitment of staff, children and families at Wooburn Green and across our Trust. We’re pleased to support Buckinghamshire Council’s School Improvement Service and maintain strong, collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships across Buckinghamshire. By continuing to work together, we can help raise pupil attainment across the county.”
What it means for you
- Parents choosing a primary place: the headteacher’s invitation is open: “We want people to come and see what we do.” Contact details and admissions information are on the school’s website.
- Other Buckinghamshire schools: Wooburn Green’s early years team is now one the council can call on for peer support, and the school says it is already sharing its practice through Great Learners Trust’s early years network meetings.
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