R.I.S.E
Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence
LENT TERM 2022
Bugsy Malone Pg 4
CSEL END OF TERM MESSAGE Easter is one of the greatest celebrations of the year within the liturgical calendar. Easter is the greatest celebration in the Catholic church because it is the completion of the Holy week that ends with the resurrection of Jesus. Easter celebrates the beginning and foundation of Christianity. Jesus was raised from the dead, and Easter Sunday reminds us that He conquered sin and death. For our pupils and staff, this is the cornerstone of our faith and provides us with hope in times of trouble, grievance, turbulence and sadness. This reminds us that we are all saved. Jesus died so that we could be saved from sin as Jesus is the light that can bring us out of darkness, we can live in His light continually and achieve what we have adopted as our multi-academy motto, “To have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). We have been delighted to celebrate a number of successes this term. Trinity became the first school of Our Lady of the Magnificat to undergo a Section 48 Inspection. The new leadership team worked tirelessly with inspectors over two days to demonstrate the core strengths of the school and were delighted to be recognised for the strength of the Catholic life and pastoral care experienced by pupils at Trinity. The inspectors graded the school as ‘Good’ overall with every area also graded ‘good’. Some subcategories were also graded ‘Outstanding’ including the leadership of Catholic Life. This is a wonderful achievement and all the staff and pupils should be congratulated for their achievement. As we come to the end of our second term as a multi-academy, we reflect on how we have grown together as a family of schools. In the coming weeks the Executive team will be embarking upon a project to capture the views of all staff as to how we can further embed the core values of our multi-academy RISE which have given their name to this termly magazine.
“Have Life and Have it to the full" John 10:10
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
We will be visiting each school to hear how staff and pupils think we can embed these values across our multi-academy as well and circulating one of our most comprehensive staff surveys. This is an exciting opportunity to embed the growth and development of our multi-academy and we very much look forward to hearing from stakeholders on how we can further improve the links between our schools.
2
We are continuing to work with the Archdiocese and the Department of Education to review the future growth of our multi-academy. At the time of writing we are working with several primary schools in Warwickshire, identified as part of the wider Archdiocese Academy strategy. We will provide a further update on the progress of these applications once they have been reviewed by the Regional Schools Commissioner in May.
Mr Tom Leverage Catholic Senior Executive Leader
St Augustine’s has a long tradition of staging musicals from Little Shop of Horrors, Grease to Fame, Oliver and the Wizard of Oz. After a latent two year absence, this year Mr Long and Mrs Wright embarked upon Bugsy Malone at the Palace Theatre in Redditch in January 2022. Quite simply, it was an outstanding display
Well done all who planned and took part it was lovely to see children enjoying themselves and having normality back for them.
of music, dance and acting – overall a performance of the highest quality. After a dress rehearsal on the Tuesday morning, they performed in front of 300 St Bede’s students before their performance in front of parents, staff and friends that same evening – it was a pure delight! The students were amazing as they threw themselves into a superb re-enactment of New York City in the late 1920’s. They coined the American accents, the complicated choreography moves, the dancing and of course the singing as they belted out the well-loved songs of the show.
BUGSY MALONE Wednesday arrived and they returned in good spirits to the Palace, to perform twice more – to the remaining 300 students and teachers from St Bede’s for the matinée performance followed by the finale in the evening. What a night!! The audience, high in anticipation for the closing night, were not disappointed. Once again the standard was very high, the band excelled and then…. the splurge guns went into overdrive. The final scene saw a mass of white suds, Mr Long’s keyboard and Jake Swann’s trumpet in the orchestra pit were full of foam as they desperately tried to wipe clean the sheet music to continue playing! It has been a joy to see the students take part in this production; the last two
the support and encouragement to take part and flourish.
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
Overall, it was a fabulous production, led by some very talented individuals. The combined hard work of staff & pupils ensured success despite covid restrictions. Bravo!
Written By: Anne Eggins
3
years has quashed so many external trips and events, leaving students unable to take those initial steps into performing and stepping outside the comfort zone of the classroom. It has been really positive to see so many Y9 and Y10 students keen and active to be part of the production, and a shout out to the Y11’s and Sixth Formers who took the younger students under their wing and gave them
THE RESULTS ARE IN ..... The pandemic changed many aspects of school life and as we begin to return to a new normal, many missing activities in schools also return, including external inspections! This term saw the the first S48 Inspection any of our schools have had since 2019. Trinity Catholic School welcomed Lead Inspectors from the Archdiocese into school on the 15th February 2022 for a 2-day inspection. The focus of the inspection was impact, quality, and leadership of the school’s provision of Catholic Life, Religious Education and Collective Worship. The School has been rated 'good' in all areas and was particularly commended for how well leaders and governors promote, monitor, and evaluate the provision of the Catholic Life of the school "The commitment of school leaders to Catholic Life is outstanding." Bridget Morris, Principal said "We are all delighted with the outcome of the S48 Inspection, I am very proud to lead such a wonderful school" Tom Leverage, CSEL, "I am delighted for everyone at Trinity Catholic School, this is a huge achievement. I was also very encouraged by the support shown from across the MultiAcademy in helping the school prepare for this inspection, it was wonderful to witness". Bridget Morris, Principal also extended thanks to everyone who helped "The support we received from colleagues across the Multi-Academy was overwhelming, a huge thank you to all. It went a long way to ensure that we could showcase our school in the best possible
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
way."
4
“ The contribution of the local governing body is outstanding.”
“The leadership team is a visible model of Catholic social teaching in practise, and this is fully appreciated by staff. They speak of ‘transformational change’ over the last year and commented that, in relation to Catholic Life, ‘we live it now.’"
IN THE SPOTLIGHT .... CAREERS My name’s Carol-Anne, and as of September, I joined the school improvement team as ‘MAC Careers Lead’ to offer all schools within our Multi-Academy an additional layer of support for students’ personal development - ensuring every child transitions to a positive and meaningful destination. My journey within the MAC started back in 2017 when I was employed at St Augustine’s to support their growing sixth form. I was originally involved in the general admin and academic support, but soon began to recognise the importance of careers education and the part it plays when supporting our young people in their next steps. I knew this was something I wanted to specialise in, and St Augustine’s were extremely supportive every step of the way. I now have a Post Graduate Award in Careers Leadership (University of Warwick) as well as a Level 6 Diploma in Careers Guidance and Development. But - as I preach to all students - the academics are only half the battle! In the background, I gained years of experience shadowing an outstanding careers team and volunteered as the Careers Lead for the Your-Future.Life Consortium, building it from its infancy and continuing with its success today. Since starting my role as MAC Careers Lead, I’ve worked closely with all Secondary schools, auditing their current provision, highlighting strengths, and supporting them to improve and develop areas of growth. This has included offering impartial careers advice on an individual basis, organising work experience weeks for Years 10 & 12 as well as leading on various employability drop-down days and events which have proved very successful in raising student’s aspirations. For example, for National Apprenticeship Week (7th-11th Feb) and National Careers Week (7th-11th March) I organised a range of speakers to deliver assemblies to all year groups and sourced a range of online webinars for schools to take part in to highlight the variety of pathways available. More recently I’ve been supporting Our Lady’s in Alcester and St
6
Elenor Rosevelt
Gregory’s in Stratford Upon Avon with their missions of tackling gender stereotypes and building awareness of vocations. We have two exciting days planned where students will meet with female engineers, male nurses, firefighters, construction workers and much more! I’ve met and seen some amazing students and staff already and am so excited to support more schools and students in the future with their career journeys.
Miss Carol-Anne Klatt MAC Careers Lead
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"
5
CATHOLIC MISSION Catholic Life in action
As we reach the end of our second term it has again been inspiring to see how our community has continued to grow and develop, thanks go to all those Staff, pupils, parent’s, carers, governors and directors who have continued to live their faith in such tangible ways and work so effectively to support and develop our joyful faith communities. So much collaborative, innovative and creative work has been undertaken supporting our Magnificat Values both in our schools and local communities but also reaching out to those in need nationally and internationally particularly in our schools’ responses to the crisis in the Ukraine. At this time of conflict and uncertainty in the world, may the blessings of the Risen Christ fill your hearts with hope and your homes with Easter joy. Mrs Kari Gordon - Lead Director for Catholic Life
Year 6 at St Mary's, Henley made a patchwork blanket out of material special to them for a Ukrainian child to show love and support.
Emily and Niamh at St Gregory's raised an amazing £1744 for the Ukraine appeal through a sponsored silence.
The children at St Mary's, Evesham struggled to carry all the shoeboxes they donated for Ukraine Appeal.
Josie raised a whopping £1059 for the Ukraine Appeal through a sponsored swim.
The fundraising activities across our schools has been incredible this term. The photographs shown here are only a snapshot of the many wonderful charities that have benefited from the generosity of our school communities, with over £7000 raised and countless acts of kindness, compassion and love shown, our hearts are full.
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
A prayer for Lent
6
Lord let us Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude. Fast from pessimism; Feast on hope. Fast from negatives; Feast on encouragement. Fast from judging others; Feast on Christ dwelling in them. Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness. Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion. Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that sustains. Fast from anxiety; Feast on faith As we go forward with joy to proclaim your Easter song may your resurrection light lead us to be beacons of hope for others. Amen
WE NEED YOU Catholic Life in action
School Governors are people
Like You Interested in influencing the lives of young people? Want to develop skills for life?
OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
Many of our schools are seeking Foundation Governors, if you are a practicing catholic and would like to find out more please contact us, we would love to hear from you.
7
FIND OUT MORE
e-mail: Governance@Magnificat.org.uk
CHAIR OF DIRECTORS END OF TERM MESSAGE I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks for all the work you have undertaken this term for the schools in our Multi -Academy Company. I, along with other Directors and members of the Executive Team, have had the opportunity to visit several of our schools. We have been delighted to see happy and well behaved children and young people, engaged in their learning and enjoying their break times in safe and well maintained outside green areas. We have learnt a lot about our Multi Academy Company from our conversations with Head Teachers, our lead Teachers and Governors for Catholic Life and our Chairs of Governing Bodies and are grateful for the helpful feedback given to us. I truly appreciate everyone’s hard work to ensure the best educational experience possible for all the children and young people in our care. I, particularly, want to thank the staff who make our schools a safe and welcoming place. This encourages that pursuit of excellence we all strive for in our MultiAcademy Company as well as supporting the holistic development of our children and young people. On behalf of Directors, I want to acknowledge the great work many of you are involved in, in preparing our children at KS2 to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist for the first time and the Sacrament of Confirmation before they transition to KS3. I am, also, immensely grateful to those of you who are preparing your classes and teaching groups for public examinations . You are assured of my prayers and those of my fellow Directors for the pupils and students you are
"A holy and joyous Easter to everyone within our School Communities"
working with. Governors play a key role in the success of our Multi Academy Company. I thank Governors for the wonderful and generous contributions you make to our schools and am delighted that one of your key responsibilities is keeping Board members connected with the communities we all serve was recognised in the DFE’s White Paper released last week. I am confident that as we grow together as a newly formed Multi Academy Company our identity and shared values as Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi Academy Company will become more and more embedded. Tom Leverage, our CSEL, will be visiting all our schools next term to gather your thoughts on how our values of Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence can be collectively lived out. We are fortunate to have Tom as our CSEL. He works at pace and is the driving force behind bringing us truly together as one. Tom is ably supported by members of the Executive Team. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Anne Cullwick who recently resigned from that team to branch out on her own. We welcome Hannah Clemons and Carol Ann Horne who have taken over many of Anne’s roles as well as accepting new responsibilities that have arisen in a growing Multi -Academy- Company. It is because of this growth that we will be recruiting a Governance Professional immediately after Easter. The person appointed will have a varied and exciting role. As well as ensuring OUR LADY OF THE MAGNIFICAT
statutory compliance, they will put in place robust systems to ensure that Local Governors and Board members remain connected to the communities and parishes we serve . I thank you all for your great generosity of spirit and wish you a holy and joyous Easter and a well deserved rest . Mrs Yvonne Brennan Chair of the Board of Directors
8