This programme looks into leadership at Kingsfield Primary, a school amalgamated from two failing schools in the market town of Chatteris in the Fenlands, Cambridgeshire. Here, levels of attainment are well below the national average when children first enter the school and 32 per cent of pupils have Special Educational Needs. Headteacher Susan Dowling has put a range of strategies in place to deal with behaviour and attendance issues, and the particular needs of a proportion of pupils who come from the local community of travellers. Professor John Macbeath, Chair of Educational Leadership at the University of Cambridge, offers his insight into the circumstances of the school and the way problems are being tackled.

Video Series: Leadership In Challenging Circumstances
Release Date 2007