Welcome to Stanley Grove Academy

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to Stanley Grove Academy.

Having worked as a teacher in Wakefield for over 30 years, and as Head Teacher for 18 years, I remain incredibly proud to lead Stanley Grove. What makes our school so special, however, is our team. Every day, I have the privilege of working alongside dedicated, talented and hard-working colleagues who share one clear ambition: to give every child at Stanley Grove the very best possible start in life.

At the heart of our school are our children. We want them to be happy, safe and excited to come to school each day. We want them to love learning, to believe in themselves and to know that they are valued and respected. We empower our children to understand their rights and responsibilities, to develop their own voice and to grow into confident, caring and responsible members of their community.

Our ambition is that every child leaves Stanley Grove ready and equipped for the next stage of their education, but also with memories, experiences, friendships and values that will stay with them for life.

We are very proud of the excellent academic outcomes our children achieve, but we believe that a great primary education is about so much more than results. Alongside a high-quality, engaging and ambitious academic curriculum, our children experience our Stanley Grove ‘Essentials’. These are deliberately woven through school life to give every child experiences that help shape who they become.

We want our children to develop a love of reading and the outdoors; to know how to be competitive while also supporting and celebrating others; to understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe; and to grow into respectful, confident and valued members of society. We believe these experiences, alongside excellent teaching, are part of the magic of a quality primary education.

Learning, sharing and always getting better

One of the things that defines our team at Stanley Grove is that we never stand still. We are proud of what we achieve, but we are always looking outwards, learning from others, reflecting on our practice and asking ourselves what we can do even better for our children.

In July 2026, Stanley Grove Academy was designated by the Department for Education as the lead setting for the Accomplish Early Years Stronger Practice Hub. This gives our team an important role in sharing strong, evidence-informed early years practice with schools and settings across the region and beyond.

We are also extremely proud to be an RWI Phonics Filmed School, with members of our team and our practice captured in training videos used nationally and internationally to support best practice in the teaching of early reading.

Being trusted to share our practice in this way is a privilege, but for us its greatest value is what it brings back to Stanley Grove. Working alongside other talented professionals, engaging with research and evidence, opening our classrooms to others and being part of professional conversations continually challenge us to reflect and improve. Sharing great practice makes us determined to make our own practice even better.

That culture runs throughout our school. We want our children to be curious learners who strive to improve, and we expect exactly the same of ourselves. Our team learns together, supports one another and continually develops so that the children sitting in our classrooms today benefit from the very best teaching and opportunities we can provide.

Our wider partnerships are an important part of this. Through our work with the Jerry Clay English Hub, including my role as an Audit Lead and Trainer, and through the Outwood Together partnership, which I chair, we work alongside schools and colleagues across Wakefield and beyond. We believe strongly that when schools work together, share expertise and learn from each other, children everywhere benefit.

Proud to be part of Accomplish

Stanley Grove became part of Accomplish MAT on 1st October 2023, and we are incredibly proud to be part of Accomplish Trust, led by Tracy Swinburne, OBE. We were the first school to join Jerry Clay Academy in the newly formed Trust.

Being part of Accomplish has strengthened our belief in what can be achieved when great schools work together with a shared commitment to children. We retain the identity, warmth and character that make Stanley Grove special while benefiting from the expertise, challenge, support and opportunities that come from belonging to a wider family of schools.

There is a genuine sense of team at Stanley Grove: children, staff, families, governors, Trust colleagues and our wider partners all working together with the same purpose. We want every child to thrive.

We are enormously proud of our school: proud of our children and their achievements, proud of our staff and their commitment, proud of our broad and holistic curriculum and proud to be part of the Stanley Grove and Accomplish community.

Most importantly, we are ambitious for what comes next. We will continue to learn, share, improve and challenge ourselves to be better and better, because our children deserve nothing less.

I hope our website gives you a sense of the warmth, ambition and joy that you will find at Stanley Grove Academy. Even better, come and see us for yourself. You are always welcome to contact the school to arrange a visit and see our children and team in action.

Mrs Frost
Head Teacher