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
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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
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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.
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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
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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:
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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
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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”.
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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
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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.
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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
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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