18th September 2026
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
FRESH EYES ON LEARNING Yesterday was one of those days where I got to spend all my time in the classroom. As part of my job I am afforded the privilege of being able to see our learners in action on a regular basis and watch them respond to the input of our great teachers. I have managed to get into quite a few classes over the last two weeks. Yesterday however, was slightly different. Normally I pop into lessons on my own as I am walking around school but on Thursday we had a few visitors. One of the great things about working in a trust of schools is the ability to share ideas and collaborate with others and that was indeed what we did this week. We hosted our yearly trust review. This involves the headteacher and a senior leader from each of our partner schools, the head of our teaching school, the CEO of the trust and of course, our staff. This was our second review with Mark Guest, the CEO of the Saffron Academy Trust. The day involved visiting lessons across the school (pretty much every subject and teacher was seen), talking to staff and to children. The day was a real success and provided us with the opportunity to get some external “fresh eyes” to look at the improvements we have made since they visited us last year. Teaching came out strong, however what sits beneath teaching is the culture of the school which was recognised as being excellent. Whilst the team will put together a more detailed report I thought it would be nice to share a few highlights from the end of the day debrief. They are not in any order - but I did put the ones that filled me with a warm glow first: Behaviour and Standards generally excellent; learners polite and move well; respectful, professional, kind and authoritative staff; no unkindness observed; conduct cards seen positively; new English ticket system popular; learners said intrinsic motivation mattered more to them than achievement points.
Inclusion SEND is well catered for and supported, Hub/SEND team supporting vulnerable learners well, learners are proud of the school’s inclusivity, learners integrated and engaged, learners feel safe and happy. Teaching and Curriculum Consistent positive learner voice across subjects, calm and purposeful climate, good challenge, nonnegotiables evident, CPD impact visible (literacy strategies, think-pair-share, “say it better” all in use), academic language in use, strong modelling/ scaffolding in nurture groups, reading opportunities used well, routines established, praise used well, and Year 10/11 pupils cited PSHE as good preparation for post-16. Reading and Literacy reading modelled aloud, key vocab displayed, “say it better” used in sessions, positive shift from tier 2/3 vocabulary to key vocabulary, KS4 pupils recognised increased reading focus over recent years. Some of the team members had never been to Honywood before. The feedback they gave was lovely. The whole team could not stress enough just how wonderful our learners are. I will feed back to you with more details once we have compiled the report. I wish you all a lovely weekend.
James Saunders
“SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING AT HOME”; “IN IT TOGETHER: HOME AND SCHOOL”) A national survey published this month found that parents across the country are feeling less connected to their children’s education than they did a few years ago. According to Parentkind’s 2026 survey of more than 6,000 parents, the proportion who feel involved in their child’s education has fallen from around 80% in 2023 to 59% this year, and roughly one in five parents