E-ACT Annual Highlights 2022 - 2023

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Contents

8

Welcome

3

Reflection on the year, from our CEO

4

A year we can be proud of, from our Chair - Lord Jim Knight

5

MAT of the Year 2023!

6

Our trust in numbers

8

2022-2023 snapshot of our year

14

10 Our academy’s social highlights 14 Our strategy 15 Operations update 16 Primary and Secondary update 18 Ofsted highlights

22

20 Ambassador spotlight 21 Our Trustees 22 E-ACT Ideas Conferences 24 National Pupil Celebration Event 2023 26 Supporting our local communities

2

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

24

Reflections on the year... from our CEO, Tom Campbell

O

ur 2022 - 2023 academic year at E-ACT ranks as arguably our most successful ever. The sector remains challenging, both in terms of directly supporting the complex needs of our young people and families, and in operating a large trust with the pressures of budgets, buildings and balancing national disputes with government.

Despite this context, I am incredibly proud of

through our third E-ACT Ideas Conference in

everything that E-ACT and our 28 academies

partnership with Tes – on the topic of SEND

have achieved. That our trust going from

and inclusion. We had a line-up of incredible

strength to strength is down to the amazing

speakers including Andre Imich – SEN and

work of our incredible staff and pupils. This led

disability professional advisor at DfE.

to E-ACT being awarded MAT of the Year 2023 at the MAT Excellence Awards, a testament to the whole team. The award recognised the incredible impact our academies are making in their communities and that whilst a national MAT, E-ACT is immersed in and deeply committed to local context.

We have emerged from the pandemic era with above national standards in KS2 SATS, and significant improvement in GCSE attainment, particularly in English and in maths. More young people than ever before are progressing into university, apprenticeships and meaningful

The year also involved an in-depth review of our trust strategy ‘Opening Minds, Opening Doors’, an external review of governance with CST and a transition to our new national operating model for services to our academies.

E-ACT continues to move forward with incredible momentum.

As a trust, we have shown our resilience in a tough year across the sector and we are fortunate to have such strong teams in place to serve our children, parents and communities the best way and achieve excellent outcomes.

employment.

There remains much to do but we look

E-ACT academies continue to perform strongly

and excitement, particularly as we have the

under inspection. Our Ofsted profile remains

opportunity of growth.

the highest in the sector with 93% of our academies rated good or outstanding.

100% of academies are rated as good or

forward to next year with a sense of optimism

Thank you to our trustees, staff, pupils and parents for their tremendous support.

outstanding for leadership and for the personal development of children. Testament to the strong foundation the trust provides for our academies and their pupils.

We continue to be a thought leader around inclusion, engaging the wider system

CEO, Tom Campbell

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

3

A year we can all be proud of... from our Chair – Lord Jim Knight

T

here have been so many amazing initiatives and achievements to be proud of over the last academic year. Firstly, winning the MAT of the Year Award in June 2023.

This day and subsequent work have helped us to shape and refine our organisational strategy around the priorities of: people first, advocacy and inclusion, and pupil destinations and outcomes.

I have every confidence that the leadership team and wider staff will continue to deliver incredible things for our children and young people and thank you all for your commitment and hard work.

I’m also delighted to see some of our individual academies shortlisted for their work, including E-ACT Nechells Academy

Chair of the Board of Trustees,

who were shortlisted for the EYFS setting

Lord Jim Knight

of the year and E-ACT Blackley Academy’s community hub being highly commended in the Tes Awards.

I was delighted to meet so many colleagues at the Strategy Day held in May, that brought together staff from all areas of the country and all professional groups to talk about the priorities for E-ACT and how we can best achieve our vision - to transform the lives of young people through outstanding education.

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

E-ACT awarded MAT of the Year 2023!

E-ACT won the award for MAT of the Year at the MAT Excellence Awards on Thursday 29 June at the Park Plaza Hotel, London!

The judges were impressed not only by E-ACT’s academic record but our significant diversity, and the breadth and depth of our offer: >

>

Community Hubs to support families

>

Thought leadership on mental health and

in some of the most deprived parts of

SEND through E-ACT Ideas Conferences

the country.

in partnership with TES.

Partnering with sector leading organisations like James Dyson

>

Training over 1,800 staff in Mental Health First Aid.

Foundation and Dulwich College to provide outstanding opportunities in STEM and Languages.

>

Delivering innovative alternative provision at E-ACT Parker Plus, alongside mainstream to aid reintroduction for students with anxiety-based school avoidance.

r A big thank you to all of ou dedicated staff and pupils!

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

5

Our trust in numbers E-ACT is one of the highest performing national trusts in the country!

93%

academies good or outstanding

100%

of academies have leadership and management good or outstanding

>

Above national performance in Primary

>

Faster than national improvement in Secondary

> >

Financially secure

28

18,270

academies

pupils

2,462

1,110 Teachers & 1,352 Non-teaching staff

staff, of which:

6

Strong, externally reviewed governance

42.9%

17.4%

33.4%

Pupil Premium

SEND Pupils

EAL Pupils

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

ACADEMY

JOINED E-ACT

PUPILS

OFSTED GRADE

E-ACT Badock’s Wood Academy P

01/09/2018

227

Good

E-ACT Blackley Academy P

01/01/2012

433

Good

E-ACT Bourne End Academy S

01/09/2018

816

Good

E-ACT Braintcroft Academy P

01/04/2018

675

Good

E-ACT Chalfont Valley Academy P

01/09/2012

176

Good

E-ACT City Heights Academy S

01/09/2013

588

Good

E-ACT Crest Academy S

01/09/2009

1199

Good

E-ACT Denham Green Academy P

01/09/2013

227

Good

E-ACT DSLV Academy P S

01/04/2012

1032

Good

E-ACT Greenfield Academy P

01/09/2012

362

Good

E-ACT Hareclive Academy P

01/09/2016

355

Outstanding

E-ACT Heartlands Academy S

01/09/2009

803

Outstanding

E-ACT Ilminster Avenue Academy P

01/01/2012

310

Good

E-ACT Mansfield Green Academy P

01/01/2013

419

Outstanding

E-ACT Merritts Brook Academy P

01/01/2013

207

Good

E-ACT Nechells Academy P

01/09/2012

208

Good

E-ACT North Birmingham Academy S

04/01/2010

1028

Good

E-ACT Parker Academy S

01/09/2012

1231

Good

E-ACT Parkwood Academy S

01/09/2009

799

Good

E-ACT Pathways Academy P

01/09/2013

386

Good

E-ACT Perry Court Academy P

01/09/2017

443

Good

E-ACT Reedswood Academy P

01/09/2012

488

Good

E-ACT Royton & Crompton Academy S

01/09/2018

1082

Requires improvement

E-ACT Shenley Academy S

01/09/2009

842

Good

E-ACT St Ursula’s Academy P

01/09/2011

564

Good

E-ACT The Oldham Academy North S

01/09/2010

1328

Good

E-ACT West Walsall Academy S

01/09/2012

1200

Good

E-ACT Willenhall Academy S

01/01/2012

905

Requires improvement

P Primary S Secondary

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

7

2022-2023 snapshot of our year As a national trust there is always lots going on throughout the year. Here are just a few of our highlights:

SEP 22

OCT 22

NOV 22

DEC 22

JAN 23

FEB 23

Your Voice Matters Working Groups Formed

Collaborative Assurance Boards Formed

Keep Up, Not Catch Up Strategy

Digital Strategy BETT 2023

As a result of our employee survey, we formed four working groups that focussed on: One Trust, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Training and Development,

Three boards were set up to develop expertise across our trust in curriculum, learning and assessment.

Our strategy for inclusion and achievement was launched.

Microsoft MAT digital transformation programme

Employee Survey: Above National Benchmarks!

Exciting progress took place with our digital partnership with Microsoft.

Showcasing our digital vision at BETT 2023. We were pleased to speak about our digital strategy.

Your Voice Matters pulse survey feedback was all above national benchmarks!

Workload.

Keep up, p not catch u ategy for Building a str ent d achievem inclusion an

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

YOUR VOICE

MATTERS

Trust Strategy Day

EYFS Conference Colleagues from around the education sector gathered for an insightful conference with keynote speaker Gill Jones MBE.

Colleagues from across our trust discussed what our priorities should be.

Highly Commended!

E-ACT Anthology

E-ACT Blackley Academy was highly commended at the Tes Awards for their community work.

Students became published authors in our first E-ACT Anthology.

MAR 23

APR 23

MAY 23

JUN 23

JUL 23

AUG 23

Fluency & Reading Network Launched

Tes School Awards Finalists

Ideas Conference: SEND & Inclusion for all

Winners!

National Pupil Celebration Event

GCSE & A-Level results days

Our colleagues get to colloborate and develop together with our parternship through Pixl.

E-ACT Nechells and Blackley shortlised for Tes schools awards.

Over 1,000 delegates signed up to watch our ‘on-demand’ conference.

We were thrilled to be named MAT of the Year at the MAT Excellence Awards.

The seventh National Pupil Celebration Event took place.

Highlighting one of many successful students from E-ACT Bourne End.

Celebrating a remarkable success story at E-ACT Bourne End Academy!

Troy Gant’s dedication and commitment to his GCSEs was truly commendable. Troy achieved a combination of 8’s and 9’s, including Maths, Further Maths and English! After completing his GCSEs, Troy chose to continue his academic journey at their Sixth Form, where we are sure he will achieve outstanding results.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

9

#WeAreEACT Academy Social Highlights What’s going on in the world of social media?

There is always something exciting happening in our academies! Our colleagues work tirelessly to ensure our pupils get to experience a wide variety of opportunities.

E-ACT DSLV Academy – DofE Bronze award E-ACT DSLV embarked on an

E-ACT Reedswood Academy – Roman and Celts Experience Day

exciting trek from their Duke

On 24 March, year 4 embarked

of Edinburgh Bronze award,

on an exciting journey

on 10 June, They were well-

into the past with a

prepared and ready

thrilling Roman and

for the adventure, testing

Celt experience day!

their determination

Their enthusiasm was

and teamwork.

contagious as they immersed themselves in history, creating lasting

E-ACT Ilminster Avenue Academy – Swimming Gala

memories and sparking a passion for History.

E-ACT Ilminster Avenue had a fantastic morning at the academy’s gala on 16 May. All the children swam brilliantly, and they were super proud of everyone who attended.

E-ACT St Ursula’s Academy - Dr Ranj visit Importance of sleep

They left with three silvers and numerous

E-ACT St Ursula’s warmly welcomed

bronze awards.

Dr. Ranj for his visit and enlightening talk on the significance of sleep. His insights were greatly appreciated by everyone at the school, The Sleep Charity event was a memorable experience for all.

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

E-ACT Pathways Academy – Girls Rugby tournament The girl’s rugby team at E-ACT Pathways had an unforgettable afternoon at Sheffield Eagles, thanks to the incredible experience provided by Eagles Foundation. The girls got into their rugby kits in the players’ dressing room, stepped onto the pitch, proudly served as match day mascots, and cheered on the women’s team delivered an inspiring performance.

E-ACT City Heights Academy – Prom The unforgettable Year 11 Prom, hosted at Hilton Tower Bridge, was a resounding success. It was a night to remember as we gathered to celebrate our exceptional students, who had spent five remarkable years at EACT City Heights.

E-ACT North Birmingham Academy – CCF Competition A huge congratulations to the E-ACT NBA Combined Cadet Force for their impressive 8th place finish at the CCF Competition. It was an outstanding performance, especially considering it was thier first time participating in this event.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

11

E-ACT Perry Court Academy – police academy visit On 23 March, the Year 5 Mini Police from E-ACT Perry Court had an exceptional day at the Wilfred Fuller Centre. A special thank you goes out to Avon and Somerset Police for their invaluable role in making this memorable day possible!

E-ACT Hareclive Academy – climbing frame designed by the children Pupils from E-ACT Hareclive joined forces to design a fantastic climbing frame for the entire academy to enjoy.

This collaborative effort has proven to be a tremendous success!

E-ACT Heartlands Academy - Culture Day This special event was organised entirely by our talented and diverse student body. StudentLed Culture Day was a unique opportunity for our students to

E-ACT Shenley Academy – Year 7 Christmas presents

showcase and celebrate the rich cultural heritage within our academy community.

On this memorable morning, Year 7 students received their Christmas gifts from Santa.

We extend our warm congratulations to all the high-attending students who enjoyed these well-deserved festive rewards!

It was a day dedicated to fostering understanding, appreciation, and respect for different cultures, traditions, and perspectives.

12

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

E-ACT Crest Academy Basketball superstar Head boy, Liam Campbell, at E-ACT Crest Academy secured a full scholarship to play basketball in the US at Western Texas college. Having started playing basketball as a hobby in Year 6, Liam has certainly come a long way and thanks his teachers, coaches and other basketball players for his continued success.

E-ACT The Oldham Academy North - Inspiring visit KPMG employees visited E-ACT Oldham Academy North to inspire students - two KPMG employees who used to live in the local area (one being an alumni) visited E-ACT The Oldham Academy North to talk to Year 11

E-ACT DSLV Academy and E-ACT Parker Academy - James Dyson Foundation - In early October 2022 we had two talented Dyson engineers deliver exciting workshops for our students at E-ACT DSLV Academy and E-ACT Parker Academy in Daventry.

students in March 2023. Javid Hamid (Partner, Head of Corporates Consulting) and Zahra Khan (Assistant Manager in Banking Risk) from KPMG visited the academy with the ambition to encourage students to believe in themselves in order to succeed.

E-ACT Bourne End Academy Students perform in Miami In a truly once in a lifetime opportunity, 16 elite dance students from E-ACT Bourne End

Design Engineer Will Shelley, and Lead

Academy and E-ACT Willenhall Academy

Technology Scout Kay Yeong delivered Air

jetted off to Miami for five days to perform

Pollution workshops where our students

a series of dance acts at the NFL

went through the design, prototype and

game at the Hard Rock Stadium!

creation stages of developing a product

This opportunity came

that will help with solving air pollution

about through E-ACT’s

challenges.

partnership with ProExcel – an events

Our students had the unique opportunity

company that links

to learn from Dyson engineers and use

education with sporting

their creativity and problem-solving skills

activities to provide

to develop a product – as they would

young people with life

at Dyson.

enriching opportunities.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

13

Developing our culture During the 2022/23 academic year, our revised Opening Minds Opening Doors strategy was created through collaboration across our trust to ensure we continue to develop a strong shared culture.

Your Voice Matters Throughout the year we had staff surveys to capture what our academies and operational teams thought about working in E-ACT. The results from each survey formed four working groups:

YOUR VOICE

MATTERS

One Trust

Wellbeing

Professional Development

Workload

Feeling part of the same trust.

Become a mentally healthy trust.

To support and develop our staff to their full potential.

To refine the ways we work to reduce workload.

PULSE SURVEY RESULTS:

+10% National MAT benchmark

+10% National MAT benchmark

+8% National MAT benchmark

+3% National MAT benchmark

We had a pulse survey to see how staff felt after working groups had been established.

The results were encouraging!

Our Strategy Day We held our trust strategy day where stakeholders from across the trust joined together to discuss what our priorities are and should be. The day was a great success with great conversation and debate being had around inclusion, diversity and our moral purpose within the sector.

Throughout the day there were key themes that were discussed, which ultimately lead to our creation of our Opening Minds, Opening Doors strategy.

Our strategic priorities are to create value thorugh:

14

PEOPLE FIRST CULTURE

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

ADVOCACY AND INCLUSION

PUPILS’ DESTINATIONS AND OUTCOMES

Operations Update Our operational functions play a crucial role in supporting our academies.

This academic year our operational functions have developed their service offering in to a nationally consistent model that ensures issues are resolved locally but with expert oversight from sector leaders in their respective field meaning our academies get gold standard professional services.

Key updates include:

Supporting our academies Business partnering arrangements mean that there is a ‘team around the school’, and so issues are resolved locally but with expert oversight from the centre.

Investing in sustainability We have started a significant Environmental Investment programme which will invest £8m over two years in of Photovoltaic solar panels.

Our IT infrastructure Over the summer we delivered IT Infrastructure investment of c£1m across a number of academies, as well as actioning DfE funded infrastructure upgrades totalling c£1m for academies in Walsall

Building work

and Oldham.

In partnership with Birmingham LA a c£10m expansion at E-ACT North Birmingham Academy has commenced to meet growing need for placements.

Edtech Dashboard We have also been developing an Edtech dashboard that was profiled at BETT 2023.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

15

Primary and Secondary update Primary Update: from our National Director of Primary Education – Martin Fitzwilliam The 2022/23 academic year has marked a period of steady progress for primary education in E-ACT. Our KS2 SATs scores saw an increase of 1% in combined reading, writing, and maths (from 60% to 61%), exceeding the static national average of 59%.

Our disadvantaged pupils surpassed national

A specific area of LAB

comparators by 10%. A special note of

improvement, led by

recognition goes to E-ACT Badock’s Wood

Jillian Gorra was

Academy for their significant increase of 29%,

‘ages and stages’

raising their combined attainment to 71%.

work, with retrieval practice in particular

E-ACT’s strategy “Opening Minds, Opening

starting to improve

Doors” is demonstrated through a commitment

across our schools.

to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and early reading. The appointment of Clio Brown as

Leaders introduced a new assessment tracking system

Director of EYFS and Early

through PAB and refined curriculum plans,

Reading symbolises this.

and there is strong indicators of gradual

Her leadership in the well-

improvements in teaching quality.

received EYFS conference speaks to our initiatives in

One highlight of the CAB was the

these pivotal early stages

E-ACT Primary Anthology, a beautifully

of education.

collated collection of children’s writing, further demonstrating our pupils’

The Performance

creativity and potential.

Assurance Board (PAB), Curriculum Assurance Board (CAB), and Learning Assurance Board (LAB) have been invaluable in guiding improvements. Under the LAB, Karen Horne led the outstanding school project demonstrating our commitment to “think big” and move beyond “good”.

16

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

Secondary Update: from our National Director of Secondary Education – Pete Kirkbride This year the secondary education team have worked hard to develop a culture of support and assurance, linked to our people first priority.

The governance model has been designed to

This all contributes to our ‘transforming pupil

highlight best practice, allow for analysis of the

destinations and outcomes’ priority and has

key data and also reduce workload by being a

paid off in feedback at the four secondary

template that SLT can use for other audiences,

academies inspected since the start

including preparing for inspection.

of the academic year. This is a real testament to the hard work of

In addition to this we have implemented a

academy staff and leaders.

range of new offers that are building capacity

E-ACT Royton & Crompton

and excellence across our schools:

Academy and E-ACT Willenhall

>

Unique secondary collaboration with PiXL to provide subject networks for English, maths and science

> >

Fluency network supported by

Academy had their best ever inspection grading and report.

I am proud that we continue to see leadership & management rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’

national experts e.g. Alex Quigley

for all our academies. Trust support has

An E-ACT Sixth Form network

relationships and develop the new culture.

been effective and has really helped build

System leadership As part of the DfE’s programme to build capacity in the sector E-ACT have agreed a significant volume of support with the North-West region.

This includes working with New Mill High

In addition to working

School, where we have delivered bespoke

with eight individual schools,

support and who are subsequently looking

we are providing strategic support to

to join E-ACT.

smaller MAT’s to prepare them for growth.

With many of these being Diocesan schools

We are also working with a number of

they are unlikely to lead to growth for E-ACT

secondary schools to raise standards in

but reflect our commitment to supporting

English and maths.

the system.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

17

Ofsted Highlights We are proud that 100% of our academies have ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ ratings in leadership and management.

October 2022

E-ACT Braintcroft Academy Rated ‘GOOD’

September 2022

E-ACT Bourne End Academy Rated ‘GOOD’ Overall effectiveness

Good

The quality of education

Good

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Overall effectiveness

Good

Leadership and management

The quality of education

Good

Sixth-form provision

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Outstanding

Leadership and management

Good

Early years provision

Good

Outstanding Good

Curriculum: Leaders share a clear vision for all pupils to

Behaviour:

access an ambitious curriculum. They have

Pupils are polite and well

carefully identified the

behaved. They rarely need

knowledge that they

to be reminded to follow

want pupils to learn.

the high expectations for their conduct and attitudes.

November 2022

E-ACT Denham Green Academy Rated ‘GOOD’ Overall effectiveness

Good

The quality of education

Good

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management Early years provision

Outstanding Good

Leadership: Leaders have made sure that teachers understand how pupils, including children in the early years, learn best.

18

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

November2022

E-ACT Royton & Crompton Academy Rated ‘REQUIRES MENT ’

IMPORVE

Overall effectiveness

Requires Improvement

The quality of education

Requires Improvement

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management

Good

Leadership: Leaders have brought about much positive change at the school. They are determined to overcome any social disadvantagethat could hold pupils back.

December 2022

E-ACT Badock’s Wood Academy Rated ‘GOOD’ Overall effectiveness

Good

The quality of education

Good

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management

Good

Early years provision

Good

Safeguarding: There is a strong culture of safeguarding. The safeguarding team are

December 2022

E-ACT Willenhall Academy Rated ‘REQUIRES ENT ’

IMPORVEM

Overall effectiveness

Requires Improvement

The quality of education

Requires Improvement

Behaviour and attitudes

Requires Improvement

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management

Good

Opportunities: Leaders provide many opportunities to broaden pupils’ personal development. There are several different extra-curricular clubs

highly skilled. They

that pupils can attend,

support a range of

including a girls’

complex needs.

Royal Air Force cadets club.

January 2023

E-ACT West Walsall Academy Rated ‘GOOD’ Well-being and SEND: Leaders identify and support pupils with SEND effectively.

Pupils with SEND can successfully learn key knowledge and achieve well.

March 2023

E-ACT Parkwood Academy

Rated ‘GOOD’ Curriculum: Pupils are polite and well behaved. They rarely need to be reminded to follow the high expectations for their conduct and attitudes.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

19

Ambassador spotlight Each of our 28 academies are represented by a team of E-ACT ambassadors. These teams are made up of parents and local community members who share a passion for supporting and working with their academies.

Our academies have worked in collaboration with ambassador groups across our trust to create links with local charities and non-profit groups to support pupil development and well-being through the themes of feeling safe; education; facilities; and enrichment.

Ambassador groups worked in partnership with the academies to use their grant of £1,000 to enrich the lives of the pupils through projects such as:

Books for pupils who are going to

Purchase of sports equipment at

enrol at E-ACT Shenly Academy

E-ACT Parker Academy

Installation of a sensory garden at

E-ACT Bourne End Academy organised the provision of pre-loved

E-ACT City Heights Academy

uniform to support the cost of living crisis and parents who may have a need for support.

E-ACT Royton & Crompton Academy purchased sports kits

Ambassadors successfully secured E-AC T Chal f o n t Valley

Providing equipment for a gardening club at E-ACT Heartlands Academy

E-ACT Chal font Valley Ac a d e my

Academy

a bid of around £7,000 from the Amersham and Villages community board. Their initiative involves creating local information boards aimed at enhancing the visibility of

Development of a school house

E-ACT Chalfont Valley Academy.

garden at E-ACT Reedswood Academy

Ambassador group had a few big projects that took place at

Purchase of a PA system at E-ACT Denham Green Academy

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

E-ACT Parker and E-ACT DSLV; the sensory garden and the science and Nature club.

Our Trustees We would like to welcome our new trustees and members. We are incredibly fortunate to have a wealth of experience on our trustee board and members.

Our new members are: Jean Scott, Karen Seward, Liz Bromley and Mark Martin and remaining from before Pamela Coles. Our new trustees: David Roper and John Murphy.

JEAN SCOTT – Member

LIZ BROMLEY – Member

MARK MARTIN – Member

KAREN SEWARD – Member

“Education has been my life, and I know what a transformative impact a good early education has. I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my experience of having worked in higher and further education for more than 25 years, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to do some learning of my own in this ambitious Multi-Academy Trust.”

LIZ BROMLEY ‑ Member

DAVID ROPER – Trustee

JOHN MURPHY - Trustee

“I passionately believe that everyone, no matter what their background or circumstance, should have access to great education and be part of an environment that nurtures and inspires ambition and expectation.”

DAVID ROPER - Trustee

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

21

S E N D

a n d

i n c l u s i o n

f o r

a l l

SEND experts at the forefront of our academies, the most important names in government, academia and elsewhere came together in April 2023 to discuss SEND and inclusion for all. The conference was a series of virtual sessions available to watch on-demand.

The speakers discussed a range of topics including the drive for improved mainstream provision, how greater national consistency can be achieved and removing the current postcode lottery as to the support and funding available for children within our education system.

Our speakers included:

>

Andre Imich – SEN and disability professional adviser at the Department for Education

>

Julie Wharton – Senior lecturer and NASENCo course leader at the University of Winchester

>

Marcia Brissett-Bailey – Speaker, author and co-founder of the British Dyslexia Association Cultural Perspective Committee

>

Dr Helen Curran – Senior lecturer in education: SENCo at Bath Spa University

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

EYFS In April 2023, E-ACT’s early years education team hosted an EYFS conference in Birmingham aimed at early years teachers and support colleagues.

The room was filled with 83 E-ACT colleagues from all our primary settings and included roles such as EYFS teachers, teaching assistants, Early Reading leads, headteachers and directors.

The event was hosted by Clio Brown, Director of EYFS at E-ACT and the keynote speaker was the one and only Gill Jones MBE – one of His Majesty’s Inspectors and Ofsted’s Deputy Director for Schools and Early Education Policy.

In addition to our own events, we were proud to speak at a number of external events including the Dyspraxia Foundation conference in July 2023 and the Whole Education SEND leadership conference.

The event fuelled a collaborative atmosphere, enabling our teaching professionals to refine their strategies and unlock the full potential of our youngest learners.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

23

E-ACT National Pupil Celebration Event 2023 On 6 July 2023, E-ACT hosted its seventh highly anticipated National Pupil Celebration Event, bringing together an extraordinary display of talent, creativity, and inspiration from across the trust.

Adding to the excitement, the charismatic Rhys Stephenson, from CBBC and Strictly Come Dancing, served as the engaging host.

The day was jam-packed with performances, but there was an extra layer of magic that is hard to describe. While the audience members were dazzled and astounded by the students’ performances, it was

The power of poetry and music The event featured three acts that performed thought-provoking and deeply emotional spoken word performances. The poems explored a

getting to know their stories

wide range of themes, including

and hearing them praise

identity, resilience, and

their teachers that

global warming. In

created something truly

between the poetry

special. Here are a

acts, Mahad from

few highlights from

E-ACT Royton &

the event:

Crompton Academy mesmerized us with

Electrifying DJ mix

his piano performance,

DJ Elijah from E-ACT Parkwood Academy kicked off the event with a burst of energy and infectious beats. His seamless transitions and carefully selected tracks got the audience hyped up. When our host Rhys asked DJ Elijah what got him into mixing, his response was one of those “magical” moments. He shared that his Dad was a DJ and his teacher, Mr. Swallow, inspires him to want to be more.

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adding yet another outstanding element to the event.

Artwork and sporting talents Impressive artworks were proudly displayed, amazing our audience with their creativity and skill. Our sporting students were applauded as they received their awards for their commitment and achievements in sports such as boxing, car racing, and ice skating. This recognition highlighted the dedication and passion of these talented individuals.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

Super cute and super cool singers Grace from E-ACT Merritts Brook Academy sang an ‘Adele’ song – and what a voice! And of course, we had our group of Reception students from E-ACT Badock’s Wood Academy singing a sweet song from ‘Annie’.

Moving from cute to cool, we had the ‘Braintcroft B Boys’ bring the house down with their very own rap song that they wrote themselves. A special guest appearance was made by our host Rhys who did a spectacular job on the tambourine.

Mind-boggling Rubik’s Cube Competition For those seeking an adrenaline rush and a display of extraordinary skill, the Rubik’s Cube competition didn’t disappoint! Three students from our primary academies, E-ACT Mansfield Green, E-AT Chalfont Valley and E-ACT Badocks, completed their Rubik’s Cubes in under three minutes.

Dramatic Finale Our talented dance troupe from E-ACT Bourne End Academy delivered a stunning finale to the event with their captivating performance based on Harry Potter.

Their impressive choreography and unity on stage were truly outstanding.

The National Pupil Celebration Event 2023 was an inspiring day, leaving a lasting impression on everyone in attendance. This event served as a reminder of the transformative power of education and the remarkable potential that lies within each one of our students.

Well done to everyone!

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

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Supporting our local communities Our Community Hubs

Daventry Teen Clinic

Every academy across E-ACT has a well

In response to impact of Covid on students

embedded community offer. These reflect each

developing anxiety, wellbeing concerns, and

local communities needs, but have a number

wider physical health needs, students at

of consistent themes around family wellbeing,

E-ACT Parker Academy have co-ordinated

financial support, food insecurity and school

the set up of the teen clinic to address these

readiness. The cost-of-living crisis continues to

barriers to learning. Pupil voice and young

be a serious challenge for some of our families

persons’ needs are at the heart of the initiative.

and we are committed to supporting families to thrive despite these pressures.

The clinic hosts professionals from: the local primary

Highly commended

care network (GPs and

This year E-ACT Blackley Academy was highly commended at the TES awardsd for its community hub’s comprehensive offer, which includes a wide range of support to local people. The academies has invested in a dedicated team of staff, who co-ordinate a range of organisations and charities out of community premises at St Paul C of E Church on Victoria Avenue, where any member of the community can gain advice and support around a wide range of topics.

nurses), Service Six (counselling), School Nursing, Strengthening Families LA service, social prescribing from Abby house and the NCT. When a student or family comes to the clinic, they can be directed to the most suitable service or services and a multiagency response can be designed immediately.

Students can access these drop in sessions

Services available include: financial support, wellbeing, health services,

and can join the teen clinic voice group who direct the work of the clinic.

addiction support, employability skills, fitness as well as food and essentials.

Over time the name and branding were all developed by the students. Students also develop the monthly clinic themes and the content for the website.

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ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

! u o y k Than A big thank you to every single person that has made a difference to our pupils’ lives this academic year.

ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2022-2023

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The Orangery 28 Headlands Kettering, Northamptonshire NN15 7HP e-act.org.uk 020 3176 3882 info@e-act.org.uk @EducationEACT e-act