Investing in Success – Lauren’s Career Story

My plan was to volunteer as a TA and get some work experience – but once I started at Waterloo Lodge School, I absolutely loved the job. Although I was interested in working with children out of mainstream education, I hadn’t previously considered being a teacher – which seems ironic now.

I was encouraged to join the Graduate Teacher Programme, funded by OFG, and in 2010 I qualified as a secondary-level English teacher. Soon I was Head of English and whole school literacy. Working in smaller schools means you rapidly develop a skillset as the only subject teacher for a particular discipline or as part of a small departmental team.

My career continued to progress, and five years later I became deputy head. I enrolled in SENCO training, and a year later, completed my Masters in Education – once again, my qualifications were sponsored by OFG.

In 2018, a headship became available at Crookhey Hall School, in Lancaster, and I applied. It was my greatest challenge yet. The beautiful old building was extremely undersubscribed with around 45 pupils, and the school had an Ofsted inspection looming.

I secured an early release from Waterloo Lodge and started at Crookhey in July. Luckily the inspection was delayed which gave us some breathing space, and when the inspectors came in January, we were rated ‘Good’. With changes in place, developments to the curriculum and discussions with local authorities, the school went from strength to strength. We quickly reached capacity and had to create new classrooms. The whole building is used now, and the school caters for around 110 pupils.

About eighteen months later, a position as a Regional Director for the West Midlands became available. As I hadn’t been a head teacher for that long, I didn’t think that I would get the job, but it would be good experience to go through the interview process, so I applied – and was very happily surprised when I was appointed.

Over the following four years, the region grew at a tremendous pace, and I ended up with 10 schools. To manage these, I developed the structure within the region, which was very successful and allowed for wider professional development opportunities for my team.

I was then approached to take on my current position as Operations Director for Acorn Education, which I really enjoy – it uses all the knowledge and skills I’ve built throughout my career. I’m given autonomy and the scope to develop ideas and be innovative and creative.

OFG offers stepping stones along the career path and a supportive network for every step. Colleagues want you to succeed, we are all working towards the same goal. There’s a shared vision – it’s what we all believe, and everybody gets on with it. The organisation has grown at an incredible rate and maintained high-quality provision with 99% of our schools rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted – which we’re all proud of. It highlights the fact that this approach to career progression works as people grow with the company.

At Outcomes First Group, if you have a real appetite, if you’re keen and you’ve got a direction, know what you want to do, and can show you’ve got the aptitude for it, you’re provided with the opportunity. Every time I’ve been ready for my next move, there’s been another role to work towards, and the Group has really supported me in that progression, providing the right training and support.