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Andrew Clowes is the Headteacher of The Hey with Zion Primary School, a primary school with a joint Church of England and Methodist Foundation.
Andrew Clowes is the Headteacher of The Hey with Zion Primary School, a primary school with a joint Church of England and Methodist Foundation. He also supports the Methodist Academies and Schools Trust as a Regional Leader in Education.
Career Overview
Andrew Clowes has overseen a major turnaround for the school since returning to Hey with Zion Primary School in 2006. In the bottom seven percent of schools nationally at that time, it has since established itself as one of the top performing schools in the area. In the most recently published national data it was in the top 20% of the country for three years in succession.
The school has also won various awards: U.C.L. "Excellence in Literacy" (2018), S.I.L. Reading Quality Mark (2022); Geography Association quality mark (2018 and 2021), Historical Association (gold) award (2015, 2016 and 2020), Primary Science quality mark (2016 and 2020), Global Neighbours and Inclusive School awards (2020). It also featured in the 2019 Education Parliamentary Review as a "best practice" representative. Its latest church school inspection judgement (SIAMS, 2019) was "excellent”; it’s latest Ofsted judgement (2022) “good”.
Beyond the curriculum, Hey with Zion Primary School prides itself on providing a wide range of extracurricular activities to fulfil its vision of educating its children to do the best they can for themselves and others and to live life to the full.
In July 2020, Andrew Clowes appeared on a Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland podcast, discussing the school's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of leadership and the role that it has played in his career to date.
He has written various articles on education for the Leaders Council, and these are accessible below.
Education
An ex pupil of Manchester Grammar School, Andrew's further education qualifications include:
B.A. (Hons.) Sociology and English (University of Lancaster)
P.G.C.E. (University of Manchester)
M.A. in Education (Open University)
P.G. Cert in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Family
Articles for the Leaders Council
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/andrew-clowes-this-is-why-we-must-teach-classics-to-our-children (February 2023)
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/ofsted-inspections-should-consider-school-budgets-andrew-clowese-reflects-on-recent-inspection (January 2023)
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/special-reports/The-Levelling-Up-Agenda-A-Special-Report-by-The-Leaders-Council (November 2022)
"Where do I cut?" - Oldham headteacher critiques school budgeting amid cost-of-living troubles | The Leaders Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland (September 2022)
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/do-away-with-the-high-stakes-headteacher-critiques-ofsted-inspections-framework (January 2022)
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/carpe-diem-hey-with-zion-primary-school-head-talks-seizing-the-day(October 2021)
https://www.leaderscouncil.co.uk/news/autumn-lockdown-from-the-perspective-of-a-primary-school-teacher-andrew-clowes-speaks (November 2020)
Listen to Andrew Clowes's Leaders of Great Britain podcast.
In the News
Andrew Clowes: This is why we must teach Classics to our children
News | Published February 23rd 2023, 4:49 pm
Writing exclusively for The Leaders Council, Andrew Clowes, headteacher of Hey with Zion Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire, explains why he is bucking the trend and teaching classics at his state primary school.Read more →
Social difficulties are rising and schools need more pastoral care staff to cope, Oldham headteacher says
News | Published May 24th 2022, 8:56 am
Andrew Clowes, headteacher of Hey with Zion Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire, highlights how small numbers of school pastoral staff are meeting ever growing workloads post-pandemic, meaning that extra staffing is required to meet the need.Read more →
"When the cat is away, the mice play": Andrew Clowes questions whether public sector home-working benefits schools
News | Published March 30th 2022, 12:48 pm
Writing for The Leaders Council, Hey With Zion Primary School headteacher Andrew Clowes explores home-working, calling for a national discussion on whether it truly is a better model for productivity in the public sector.Read more →
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