WELCOME FROM GROUP PRINCIPAL AND CEO (CONT )
Policy Institute, primary and secondary school pupils lost on average between two and three months of their education during the pandemic – 16% of their education between March 2020 and February 2021. The potential lost earnings over their lifetime due to this is estimated to range from £78bn to £463bn in a worst-case scenario if no action is taken. As a Group we are committed to helping our learners transition back into education and progress onto positive destinations. That’s why, this term we developed College and Trust education recovery plans and launched a Trust-wide education recovery fund. In this publication, Kate Shiner, our newly appointed Trust Director of Strategic Development discusses how the fund will help to improve outcomes for our pupils. Working with employers to secure high quality work experience opportunities is a vital element of our strategy to boost the employability of our students. Improving the employability of SEND students is also high on the national agenda. This term, I was pleased to see the launch of an exciting supported internship programme for a group of Nido Volans students at the Princess Royal University Hospital, part of the Kings College NHS Trust. You can learn 03 | ISSUE 4 | 2021
more about this initiative in the ‘Media round up.’ We’ve continued to learn valuable lessons, which have encouraged us to collaborate and innovate. A key lesson has been the need to work harder to engage our students in learning. Teachers throughout the Trust have pivoted their teaching and learning approaches in order to do so. On the college front we’ve launched a Professional Coaches initiative through our Technical Skills academy; a programme designed to enable us to recruit the most talented teachers as coaches and create an environment where they can share high standards of teaching, learning assessment with fellow teachers. This term has also seen us engage further with staff and students to drive forward our digital transformation strategy. I’m truly delighted the national community action initiative that we have spearheaded in partnership with Loughborough College and East Coast College has grown both in scale and impact. Over 120 colleges have now backed the campaign. September proved to be a campaign turning point, with key national partners coming on board, including the Football Association. This month, Lemn Sissay’s Landmark Lecture inspired us all to get out into
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our communities and make a real difference through volunteering. The education sector has a key role to play in encouraging sustainability by educating young people about the importance of caring for their environment and the many careers attached to this expanding industry. As a Group, we are committed to
making a positive contribution by reducing our environmental impact. We’ve embraced the green agenda; from taking steps to adopt a more sustainable attitude in our classrooms to installing photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of our Bromley campus – the first of many new initiatives to help reduce our carbon footprint.
Finally, it is impossible to reflect on the past term without acknowledging the toll that pandemic had on the health and wellbeing of our students, staff and communities. I’d encourage you to read the feature by our Group Chaplaincy Co-ordinator, Reverend Claudette Douglas who offers new perspectives on the matter and urges us all to ‘take time to cultivate our health and wellbeing’. Thank you for your continued commitment which enables us to collectively achieve our goals. We must all remain positive and work towards what we do best; creating opportunities for all our pupils and students. I hope that you take the time to enjoy a much-needed rest over the festive period and return re-energised and ready to face the fresh challenges the New Year may bring.
