Hackney school wins award

A primary school proves today that being labelled a failure can lead to the most remarkable turnaround.

The Rams Episcopal Primary School in Hackney was one of 17 notorious schools "named and shamed" seven years ago by the incoming Labour government.

Ofsted inspectors had declared it was failing its pupils three years earlier and there were no signs of improvement.

It was given a new start and a new identity, becoming the St John and St James CE Primary School, and today we pay tribute to its astonishing transformation.

It is one of this year's winners of the Evening Standard London School Awards, which salute the best of state education in the capital.

However, it comes on the day that Ofsted reveals a dramatic increase in the number of schools it is now failing.

This year's other winners are Walthamstow School for Girls in Waltham Forest, also recognised for outstanding achievement in difficult circumstances, and two schools that win awards for sheer academic excellence, St James CE Primary School in Haringey and the Coopers Company and Coborn School in Havering.

St John and St James is one of the relatively few outstanding successes of Labour's " freshstart" policy, under which persistently failing schools were closed, then re-opened with a new name, a new head and largely new staff.

Offered the job of turning the school round four years ago, head Sian Davies was reluctant. "I was the head of a successful school in Camden, there had been something like four heads in as many years at Rams Episcopal and it had a very bad reputation."

Then she met the children. "I immediately felt a deep sense of anger," she said. "They weren't monsters, just ordinary children. There was no need for them to be in a school that was failing. It didn't have to be like that."

Ofsted says the school is now "thriving and extremely successful".

The background of the children has not changed. Nearly half come from homes poor enough to qualify for free school meals.

One in five has special educational needs, and many arrive with poor language skills.

What has changed is the teaching success rate, with eight out of 10 children hitting expected standards.

After initial steps to improve discipline, staff instilled new expectations of children's success. The Government's literacy strategy was ditched and in its place an American scheme - Success for All - was adopted. It concentrates on developing language skills and is now being incorporated into official policy.

"We decided this programme had a lot to offer, because it concentrates initially on speaking and self-expression, which is very important for children with poor language skills," said Ms Davies. "They are the precursors to literacy, and the National Literacy Strategy is now taking this on board."