New appointment: Director of Primary Improvement to support family of schools

We are delighted to announce that Our Lady Catholic Primary School’s Executive Headteacher has been promoted to Director of Primary Improvement for Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust (DoWAT).

Ciara Nicholson will play a key role in our Trust’s future as our family of schools grows and continues to establish itself as the top performing Catholic multi-academy trust in the country.

We are very excited to welcome Ciara, who brings a wealth of experience with her from her time as Executive Headteacher of Our Lady Catholic Primary School, where she helped to lead the school from strength-to-strength.

Over the last six years, Ciara has demonstrated a commitment to the flourishing of our children and has led our teaching teams to implement improvements - creating an environment where children achieve excellence in the service of the Gospel, to build a better world.

She will now bring our family of primary schools together to collaborate and share skills and opportunities, ensuring all of our primaries share the same high standards.

Establishing a Director of Primary Improvement is a key element of our ambitions to create a Cathedral of Education for our young people. We are committed to working together in a trusting and collaborative manner, with integrity and transparency, and we are very much looking forward to Ciara beginning her new role, which allows us to take another step towards this.

Patrick Murden, Chief Executive of DoWAT said:

“I am pleased that Ciara Nicholson is joining the leadership team at DoWAT as our new Director of Primary Improvement. I have had the privilege to work closely with Ciara during her time as Executive Headteacher at Our Lady Catholic Primary School, where her leadership and guidance has helped the school to thrive. Her combination of outstanding experience and demonstrable commitment to our values and Mission, will help us to continue to build on our success as a top performing Trust. With Christ at the centre of our Mission, and children at the centre of our schools, we have a deep commitment to delivering exceptional 21st century education and build upon traditional Catholic values.”
 

Ciara Nicholson, Director of Primary Improvement said:

“I am looking forward to working across our family of schools to make sure that all children experience countless opportunities to build a better world. We strive to foster a love of learning through an inclusive approach that enables everyone, from our youngest to oldest, to flourish and succeed both now and in the future. 

“Our teams care deeply for their school communities - I have seen firsthand the dedication of every colleague - and I am looking forward to collaborating to give young people every opportunity. Together, we will continue to work hard to help our children achieve excellence in the service of the Gospel. The collective knowledge and experience from across our family of schools, combined with the Trust’s support and guidance, means we can provide every child with the education they deserve.”