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Caroline Haynes

Caroline Haynes

Areas of Interest

Education

Honorary Award

Honorary Doctor of Education, 2015

Biography

Caroline is the Principal of Tendring Technology College. She joined in September 2004 having previously been Headteacher at Sir Charles Lucas Arts College in Colchester. She left Sir Charles Lucas after seven years as Head, when it had achieved its best examination results and was oversubscribed.

Since joining Tendring Technology College, the examination results have improved every year and the College has enjoyed three successful Ofsted inspections, the most recent was in September 2013 when TTC was judged to be "Outstanding" in every category. 

In 2007 Caroline was the Eastern Region winner and National finalist for the Headteacher of the Year Award. She believes passionately in leading a College where students and staff can thrive and flourish together in the pursuit of outstanding achievement supported by strong values that are underpinned by Respect, Honesty and Responsibility.

Caroline has been Vice Chair and Chair of ASHE (Association of Secondary Heads in Essex). In this role she has worked with and supported other Headteacher colleagues, liaised with the Director of Education and Learning for Essex and worked tirelessly for the improvement of education for all children in Essex.
In August 2011, TTC became an Academy as part of the Academies Enterprise Trust. AET is an academy chain that prides itself on striving to provide a good education for every child in every school and seeks to improve the life chances for all students in its care, from the brightest to the most vulnerable. It is the strong educational values that Caroline wished to align TTC to.

This year has seen the launch of the Tendring Teaching School Alliance and Caroline has become a National Leader of Education as well as an elected member of the Eastern Region Headteachers Board.

Caroline is an inspirational leader and role model.  As honoured by the Daily Telegraph in December 2008, she is a ‘Great Briton.’

Outside of education, Caroline likes to spend time with her own adult children (both of whom were TTC students), walking her dogs and going to watch horse eventing competitions.




Citation

Caroline Haynes is Principal of Tendring Technology College in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex (TTC).  In 2001, when she first arrived at TTC just 48% of pupils were achieving grades A to C at GCSE level and discipline was poor, with classes plagued by unruly behaviour.  

Convinced that disruptive pupils were jeopardising the chances of others, Caroline’s response was to adopt a zero tolerance approach, with significant sanctions for pupils who failed to behave in an appropriate manner.  Any pupil disrupting a class twice in the same day receives a one-day suspension, and any pupil who swears at a teacher is sent home for five days.  For minor disruptive behaviour, pupils are given extra work and detention, and if their poor behaviour continues, they are suspended.  For more serious offences, pupils may be immediately suspended or excluded.

In the academic year 2007 to 2008, Caroline’s policy resulted in 478 exclusions – approximately 25% of the total student population of TTC.  Yet the most startling statistic was the college’s GCSE pass rate, which had rocketed from 48% to 74%.  It came as no surprise that Caroline’s methods and her results began to attract the attention of the media, and for a period during 2008 Caroline was the subject of numerous features in the national press.

Caroline’s efforts at TTC have continued to bear fruit.  Examination results have improved every year since 2004 and the college has now enjoyed three successful Ofsted inspections, the most recent in 2013 resulting in an ‘outstanding’ in every category.  It is evident that TTC has gone from strength to strength under Caroline’s leadership.  In August 2011, the college became an Academy, part of the Academies Enterprise Trust – the largest multi-sponsor of academies in the UK, and one that strives to improve the life chances for all students in its care.  

Caroline’s success has also been recognised in other quarters too.  In 2007 she was the Eastern Region Winner and National Finalist in the Headteacher of the Year Award.  And then in 2008 she was honoured with a ‘Great Briton’ award by the Daily Telegraph. 

Caroline’s stand against poor discipline has been a brave one in the face of political pressure to reward lower exclusion rates with higher Ofsted ratings.  Yet she has stood firm, and has been an outspoken critic of this element of government policy.  

This year has seen the launch of the Tendring Teaching School Alliance, and Caroline has become a National Leader of Education as well as an elected member of the Eastern Region Headteachers Board.  Caroline has been Vice Chair and Chair of the Association of Secondary Heads in Essex, working with and supporting other headteachers, liaising with the Director of Education, and working tirelessly for the improvement of education for all children in Essex.

Caroline believes passionately in leading a college where students and staff can thrive and flourish together in the pursuit of outstanding achievement, supported by the values of respect, honesty and responsibility.