Headteacher Helen Connor, who is set to step down next week, with Rhyl Primary School pupils

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FOR more than a decade, Helen Connor has kept an eye not only on the children who walk in through the school gates at Rhyl, but acted as an advocate for their families too.

The headteacher steps down next week from leading the Kentish Town primary – and told the New Journal how the school has evolved to champion so much more than teaching young people the three Rs.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child,” she said. “At Rhyl, it’s a community who raise the children.”

Ms Connor joined the school in 2014 from a headship in Haringey.

Under her guidance, Rhyl has gone from a “Good” Ofsted rating to “Outstanding”, incorporated nearby Carlton and guided families through Covid.

She remembers walking into the school for the first time – and the grilling she received.

“I was asked by children in an interview what would I change? I said I would paint the school. I recognised it faced challenges – but I felt most of all it needed stability.”

Her headship has seen the school’s role in families’ lives expand.

“In the past five years particularly I have seen how the school brings a community together,” she said.

“Education is the core purpose but it is so much more than that.

“Some of our families have hard housing situations. Some have very little – but families do well for their children despite that. But they need support and it can be difficult to find.”

It was under Ms Connor’s stewardship that Rhyl faced Covid. It gave the school new roles to play.

“Families were isolated, they were frightened, they did not have enough to eat,” she recalls.

“We set up a food bank, offered access to clothing and much more.”

Helping families navigate everything from education and work through to housing is another strand of Rhyl’s work.

“We have 31 languages spoken at Rhyl – and that is fairly typical in Camden,” she said.

It brings strength to the student body, she added.

“It is a massive advantage – we live in a multilingual, multicultural society. London has many cultures and Rhyl represents that.”

Challenges outside the school gates have impacted.

“Camden is one of the worst-hit boroughs for falling rolls because of the cost of housing,” she adds.

“We have families who are hotel hopping, families in hostels – and we know they will not be rehoused in Camden.”

The school is currently 12 per cent under-subscribed. For September, the new intake currently has approximately half of its 60 places in Reception down as a first choice.

Ms Connor has seen the impact the housing crisis has had as she dealt with the closure of nearby Carlton.
She said: “There were 124 children all starting on the same day in September.”

Rhyl integrated pupils by starting all classes afresh.

“There was a lot of concern and anxiety,” she recalls. “Carlton were brilliant – we worked closely and we did not just add children to classes: we mixed them up and created new ones.”

Rhyl has a pupil intake that sees 60 per cent eligible for Pupil Premium funding – a special grant for pupils with extra needs.

It is against this backdrop that Ms Connor has raised standards via a holistic approach to families and education, with pre-school services such as health visits offered alongside courses in first aid, CV writing  and more.

“It means we can start engaging with families early on,” she added.

Giving pupils access to the world outside the school gate is vital, said Ms Connor.

Rhyl has links with employers – staff from the Ritz have joined Google and Mercedes at the school.

“It is cultural capital,” she adds. “It helps to develop a wider understanding of the world.”

But above all, it’s the staff she has worked with that makes Rhyl outstanding, she said.

“They all go above and beyond,” she added.

“There is not a single person here who doesn’t go the extra mile.”

She will miss the children, most of all.

“You are never bored,” she adds. “I say if you are having a bad day, spend 30 minutes in the nursery. It helps with everything.”

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