December 2024 / Issue 7
WELCOME TO OUR WINTER
ISSUE
Dear Families
I’m delighted to welcome you to the autumn edition of Spotlight, our Trust newsletter. Its aim, as ever, is to give you a flavour of the many things that our young people have been involved in over the course of this ter m. I hope that you find it engaging. A reminder that you can see more of what the students have been up to via the ‘twitter’ (known now as X) feeds for each school. I’d be interested to hear your views about whether we should stay with ‘twitter’ given the concerns raised about the platform and its behaviours under (now not so) new ownership. This is something for us to review in 2025.
I continue to be impressed and inspired by the wide range of opportunities that our schools offer to our young people, both academic and social. Arts, sports and outdoor learning compete with subject-related events to engage students’ attention. Before and after school as well at weekends, our staff go above and beyond what’s expected to enrich the main school offer. This term has been topped off with winter fairs, seasonal music concerts, carol singing and, of course, delightful early years nativity performances.
The headteachers have had discussions with parents who support the ‘stick to bricks’ campaign for mobile phones. This campaign encourages families to delay getting their children a smartphone until they are old enough to manage the consequences of having one (age 14+). There is a clear sense that primary aged children and younger teenagers don’t need a smartphone; a cheaper ‘brick’ phone allows them to call and text to keep in touch without the hazards that can come with having an internet-connected device. The recent documentary series ‘Swiped - the school that banned smartphones’ highlighted the real benefits of children going without a device. A summary of the findings is here. Better sleep and a more positive frame of mind seem a good trade-off for simply using phones less often.
It seems appropriate to remember we’re in the season of giving. So, I’d like to thank those who give their time and expertise to our schools as governors and trustees. And to those parents who give their active support to school events such as the ones described above. These things make more difference than you might know. Above all, to our staff teams who give, day in and day out, to ensure that our children have the best possible education and the best chance to develop as fine young people.
With all good wishes for a happy, restful and safe Christmas break.
David Boyle CBE CEO
A Chance to Shine
This term, the whole school has enjoyed being taught by qualified cricket coaches through the ‘Chance to Shine’ initiative. Chance to Shine believes that cricket can help to develop the personal, social and physical skills of children. Pupils have been taught key cricket, physical and life skills. Each session was adapted to the needs of the children to help them become capable cricketers and more confident people.
“We want all young people to have the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket. We want them to learn a love of the game and to find a sense of belonging through the sport; developing their wider wellbeing and life skills to help fulfil their potential.” Chance to Shine
The children have thoroughly enjoyed these sessions! Thank you Chance to Shine!
The Secretary of State will see you now…
Dunraven School was delighted to host a visit from the Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE, the Member of Parliament for Streatham and Croydon North and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It was a flying visit but Steve found the time to speak to Ms Christian, Mr Boyle and Mr Maidment about the things which matter to our school, students and community.
Steve also met with a group of Sixth Form Government and Politics students and explained his pathway from growing up in St Albans to becoming Council Leader in Lambeth to sitting around the cabinet table with the current Prime Minister. He gave a sense of the challenges that lay ahead, with a particular emphasis on water in this country and took questions from students on a range of issues from prisons to housing to his own private members bill ‘Seni’s Law’ which reformed the use of force in mental health units.
It is fair to say that while not every student sees themselves as a future Member of Parliament, it may be that we have some candidates in waiting. Steve was impressed by our students, saying, ‘These talented young people are the future and I know they’re going to achieve great things.’
Our students valued the opportunity. Bessie in Year 12 summed up the experience, ‘it was very informative to be able to speak to Steve Reed; being able to inquire about issues I find important with my local representative, and seeing how I can get involved to help tackle them. It was rewarding and showed that we as young people can make a difference by getting involved and having our voices heard. I hope to be able to do so in the future’
A big thank you to Steve for the visit; we look forward to seeing him again soon.
Goldfinch Choir
Carol Concert
On 5 December the Goldfinch choir were invited to perform at the 15th Place2Be Carol Concert at the Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Square. Two children in Year 6 opened the concert with a solo of Once in Royal David’s City. The audience enjoyed the choir performing two songs. A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman and Somewhere in my Memory from Home Alone where they were joined by Laura Wright, singer, presenter and composer. There was not a dry eye in the church!
The Head Teacher Emilie Haston, made a speech about the impact of Place2Be. It was a star studded event and over £100k was raised for the charity. It was an absolute honour for Goldfinch to have been a part of this event.
TRUST TERM DATES
Mon 23 - Fri 3 Jan
Christmas Holiday
Spring Term 2025
Monday 6 January
Trust Development Day (no students in school)
Tuesday 7 January
All Students return.
Friday 14 February
Last day of half term
Mon 17 – Fri 21 Feb
Half Term Holiday
Monday 24 February
All Students Return
Friday 4 April
Last Day of Term
Mon 7 – Mon 21 April
Easter Holiday 18 April Good Friday/21 April
Easter Monday)
The dates for summer term and for 2025-26 can be found on the Trust website: www.det.org.uk
Hidden Histories
Each class marked Black History Month by researching outstanding achievement, from sports stars to politicians, to scientists to broadcasters. Pupils then displayed all this information on their classroom door and all the children went on a ‘hidden history walk’ around the school finding out interesting facts, amazing achievements and contributions from these inspiring individuals. All year groups were treated to a live storytelling assembly by storyteller Kulcha Lee from the organisation African Activities. Children enjoyed listening to him playing a range of percussion instruments and they participated in games, singing and storytelling in a performance that celebrated diversity.
National Nurturing Award for Van Gogh Primary
Children learn in different ways
Staff at Van Gogh have been working hard to ensure inclusive provision for all children as it continues to create excellence for all. The school was delighted to be awarded the National Nurturing Award in recognition of the school’s application of the 6 Nurturing Principles:
The classroom offers a safe base Nurture is important for the development of self-esteem
Language is understood as a vital means of communication
All behaviour is communication
Transitions are significant in the lives of children
The feedback from staff, families and children on the initiative has been very positive. One parent said “There is a unique atmosphere in school - I don’t know what it is but it’s wonderful!”
A teacher explained “We have high expectations - we push for the best progress for each child. There is not one single child we don’t believe in”. One pupil said “someone might have disabilities that are hidden, so we need to be patient and help them when they need it”.
Van Gogh was also awarded the Platinum OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) award. This has provided the children with creative play opportunities which in turn has extended their learning opportunities. Local MP and Chair of the Housing Select Committee (and old girl!) Florence Eshalomi joined us in our celebrations of this prestigious award. Here she is with headteacher Nadine Bernard, assistant headteacher Segolene Mathurin, CEO David Boyle and OPAL lead for London, Neil Coleman.
Phoenix on Fire
Lettings are very important for schools both to provide a range of enrichment activities and to raise additional funds to support our young people. As the year comes to a close, we would like to say a big thank you to the school communities for their active engagement and participation in the activities provided by external clubs and organisations outside of school hours.
Your commitment helps us to make schools accessible during evenings and weekends and equally the income generated from lettings financially benefit the schools. These activities include multisports, performing arts, music, lego clubs, dance, gymnastics and more! Please keep an eye out for leaflets and banners at participating schools. If you would like to enquire or know someone who might be interested in hiring our facilities, please do get in touch via our website contact us page.
For all Phoenix Lettings enquiries please visit www.phoenixfs.org.uk
Art inspired exploration
The Art and English departments at The Elmgreen School joined forces to work on an amazing cross curricular ‘Inspire’ project with the Southbank Centre. Back in July, a group of KS3 students visited the Hayward Gallery to see the exhibition, ‘There is Light Somewhere’ by multi-disciplinary artist Tavares Strachan. Students were able to see the way he brought together installation work, collage and sculptures to help tell the story of unsung explorers and cultural pioneers whose contributions have been wrongly overlooked.
Students attended four workshops, with the goal to create a collaborative ‘zine’ that showcases their poetry, visual art and digital drawing skills. The first workshops centred around creating poems based on people that our students admired (with an array of choices from family members to Elmgreen’s own Mr Nadarajah!) that were then illustrated, cut up and collaged, supported by poet Arji Manuelpillai and digital artist Maryam Huq.
The third session was at the Southbank Centre, where the focus for poems shifted onto household objects; fridges, sofas, beds. Students wrote more incredible poems, visited the wonderful poetry library, and spent an afternoon engrossed in producing digital illustrations. More recently, students have designed their ‘zine’ pages and decided on a working title, ‘Almost like swimming through sky’.
In the New Year, these works will be printed and students will get to visit the Southbank Centre once again, to celebrate the publication with other schools that have taken part. Until then, this is the blurb that the students have written to accompany their ‘zine.’
‘Almost like swimming through sky’ is the encyclopedia of us, depicting the complexities of what is important to us as a group. A beautiful array of poems and portraits that reflect our cultures, identities and personalities. It is a compilation of what makes us who we are.
Thanks go to Ms Rayney (Head of Art) and Ms Guard (Head of English) for their dedicated support of this project.
Best job in the world!
The Trust’s work with initial teacher training (ITT), through our Sharing Excellence Partnership, is long standing and very well respected. Working with a range of primary and secondary partner schools, supported by the University of Roehampton, we have launched the careers of many very successful teachers and now leaders over time. Here, Billy Kwong, writes about his experience of training with us at Van Gogh Primary last year.
I’ve had a fantastic experience as a teacher apprentice. I have been very well supported by the network of people around me, from my class teacher mentor and school based mentor at Van Gogh, to DET staff, to Roehampton University staff. This network has enabled me to thrive and take in all of the expertise around me. This route into teaching has given me huge amounts of in class experience: I have been at school four days a week, which enabled me to develop a strong relationship with my class of learners, as well as with my class teacher mentor and teaching assistant. It also enabled me to fully embed myself within the school community and take on the ethos and principles of Van Gogh, for example the nurturing approach to teaching and learning. Alongside this, I went to Roehampton every Friday for academic learning, and was able to immediately apply this theory to practice as I returned to school the next working day. My mentors and I checked in very regularly, including a weekly review meeting where we reflected on my practice and set targets for continued development. I have been able to grow significantly as a teacher this year because of the excellent support I have received. I feel both excited and nervous to take on my very own class for the first time but I know that I am going into it with the best possible starting point after a great year as an apprentice. I would highly recommend this route into teaching!
Spotlight
If you’d like to find out more about training to be a teacher, please contact our ITT lead Joanne Clipsham or visit our site to find out more:
www.sharingexcellence.org.uk
Schools need great governors for a number of reasons. Not least of which is to help make sure that we are doing the very best we can on behalf of our children and young people. Governance is a key part of our quality assurance process. We are always on the lookout for individuals who have the commitment and knowledge to help us to do all required for our students to thrive at school.
We welcomed a number of new governors to our schools’ local governing boards this term: Ashley McFarlane, Dunraven School; Tara Moore, Rosendale; Leo Franco and Vanessa McLeod, The Elmgreen School; Angel Boateng, Murray Hawthorne, Eleanor Jubb and Sandra Biltoo, Van Gogh. We are very pleased that this group represents the wide diversity of our school communities. We are also proud to welcome former students of Dunraven (Ashley and Leo) to the world of governance.
Mark Riddaway has taken over the role of Chair at Dunraven School and Wil Thursfield is the new Chair at The Elmgreen School. We also welcomed Aisha Sanusi, Ali Malsher and Annabel Scarfe as Trustees to the DET Trust Board.
We would also like to take this opportunity to note our thanks to governors who have moved on from their boards, or will be doing so at the end of this term: Nick Woodward and Marsha Richards, The Elmgreen School; Matt Ellis and Lulu Luckock, Rosendale; Nina Paul, Dunraven School. We also recognise and would like to note special thanks to Paul Thomas, who will be standing down from Dunraven School’s board at the end of this term. Paul has been connected with the school for many years, firstly as a parent and then as a governor and laterly Chair of the board. We are always very grateful to individuals like Paul who give so readily of their time to support our schools and community. You can find out more information about each of the boards under the ‘governance’ section on the school and Trust websites.
We are always interested to hear from anyone who would like to know more about becoming involved in governance with our Trust. You do not need to have experience in education or governance, but a keen interest in our schools and community and be prepared to commit the time needed. If you’d like to find out more, please contact Kylie Burgess, Governance & Compliance Manager for an informal conversation at