New Plantsbrook School headteacher Kerensa Neal says she feels privileged to lead the school – and is determined to live up to its motto of ‘be the best you can be’.
Mrs Neal took over at the start of the new academic year at the Sutton Coldfield school, which is part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust.
The mum-of-three has joined from Holte School in Lozells, where she was Deputy Headteacher after working her way through a variety of roles.
Mrs Neal said she had been ‘really impressed’ by what she has seen since taking the helm at Plantsbrook
She said: “Following my appointment, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to come into Plantsbrook a few times to get to know the school, to meet people and get to look around the fantastic facilities we have here, and I was really impressed.
“Now, after a couple of weeks of being in the job, those first impressions have been cemented further.
“Most of all, I’ve been struck by just how friendly the place is, how caring and polite the pupils are and just how invested the staff are in getting the best for pupils. The staff have a huge breadth of ‘Plantsbrook’ knowledge aswell as professional expertise, and I’ll certainly be harnessing that.
“That’s a great foundation to build on as a headteacher, and I feel privileged to have the opportunity.”
“I’ve come with a firm belief that it’s very important to have high expectations, backed by high levels of support, and the team are completely on board with that approach. Most importantly, that ambition is already here – with a very supportive environment for the pupils and staff that really care about them.”
Students welcome new Plantsbrook School headteacher
The students have also been welcoming of their new headteacher too.
She said: “Not only am I new to headship, but I’m also new to this school, so it’s a big learning curve with a lot of new places and people to get to know, but everyone’s been incredibly helpful.
“This morning was on my way to do the Year 13 assembly, and in the corridor, I said to a Sixth Former ‘are you on your way to assembly, because if you are I’m going to follow you! And he said: ‘let’s go!’”
The students are at the centre of everything the Broadleaf Partnership Trust does, and Mrs Neal is determined to ensure every child gets the support they need.
She said: “I think it’s really important that every single student finds success. That has to be our ambition. Of course, that success may look different for different students, because they are all individuals with their own strengths and talents. What we have to do, as a school, is to have the bar raised high for our students and then help them to come up to it, in a way that is matched to their needs.
“I think it’s really important that every single student finds success. That has to be our ambition.”
kerensa neal
“When students come to the end of their time here at Plantsbrook, and are leaving us, we want them to be in a position to do whatever it is they want to do next. That’s our role – to prepare them for the next stages of their life and give them the confidence to go for it.”
Mrs Neal, who is originally from Great Barr, has also been impressed by Plantsbrook’s established place in the community in Sutton Coldfield.
She said: “The staff are clearly proud of the school’s community connections. I’ve come from a school which was completely focussed on the community it was based in, and when I was looking for headship, I wanted to find that again because that’s important to me.
“It’s very obvious that at Plantsbrook, being in and of the community is part of the school’s identity.”
She has also been welcomed by the Royal Town’s education community.
“I had only been in the building for maybe an hour before the other Headteachers started reaching out to me to show their support,” she said, “It is so important that we have that wider network to support each other, and it’s obvious the schools in Sutton Coldfield all work very closely together.”
Plantsbrook also benefits from being part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust, a small but ambitious family of schools.
“I’ve come with a firm belief that it’s very important to have high expectations, backed by high levels of support.”
Mrs Neal said: “Broadleaf is an incredibly supportive trust. It may be small compared to others but has a great approach to how it works with its schools. You get to retain your own school’s community feel but with a broader support network of specialists and I think again that their approach – of being a family of schools – really was what I was looking for.”
Claire Pritchard, Chief Executive Officer of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust, said: “On behalf of the entire school community, we extend a warm welcome to Mrs Neal.
“Mrs Neal joins us from Holte School in Birmingham, where she has made significant contributions to education in the local community. Her extensive experience makes her an ideal fit for Plantsbrook, and we are confident that her appointment will positively contribute to our school’s vision of providing high quality education to our students that enables them to achieve their full potential and to become the best version of themselves.”
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New Plantsbrook School headteacher Kerensa Neal says she feels privileged to lead the school.