Award-winning Boston-area school wins two more national honours

Colleagues from Kirton Primary School, Education Establishment of the Year, with host comedian Hal Cruttendon.

Kirton Primary School won Education Establishment of the Year and Educational Leadership of the Year (for executive headteacher Nicky Donley) at the 2023 Education and Resources Awards, held recently at Birmingham’s NEC.

These are merely the latest national honours the school has received in the past 12 months.

In December, it was awarded Primary School of the Year, Creative School of the Year, and Headteacher of the Year (for Mrs Donley) in the Education Today School and Supplier Awards 2022.

Executive headteacher Nicky Donley with her Leadership award.

In the same month, it also took home the prize for Creativity and Innovation at the Renaissance Awards.

In June 2022, it was named School of the Year for Staff Wellbeing at this year’s Tes School Awards, the so-called educations ‘Oscars’.

The school says it feels ‘incredibly honoured’ to have been recognised multiple times on the national stage in the last 12 months.

Tomorrow (Friday, June 23), it will feature in this year’s Tes School Awards, having been shortlisted for Primary School of the Year and Curriculum Leader of the Year.

Comments from the 2023 Education and Resources Awards judges ...

For Educational Establishment of the Year:

“With a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for over 20 years Kirton Primary school looks beyond the national curriculum, making the best use of their school building to foster a love of learning, a desire to come to school and a thirst for knowledge.

“Judges liked the all-inclusive free of charge approach to after school activities and the fact the school addresses protection and training of staff, resulting in low staff turnover and the wellbeing of students.

“They constantly aim to put the wellbeing of children and staff at the forefront of strategies and systems which pays dividends – with a positive mantra of ‘nothing else matters’.

For Leadership in Education:

“Nicky Donley has been head teacher for over 20 years and is known for valuing the education of the ‘whole child’.

“Nicky aims to motivate a passion for hard work and learning, while inspiring the children to generate and take control of their own success and her staff recognise how she protects them with highly visible safety nets.

“With a strong commitment to the development of pupils’ understanding of personal finance across the school and fostering a close working relationship with parents and carers, Nicky is a very worthy winner of this category.”