With the festive season around the corner, I am excited to share the latest updates from across Maritime Academy Trust. This term's newsletter captures the incredible energy and achievements that continue to define our Trust. We have so much to celebrate and reflect upon.
Our Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) remains at the heart of what we do, and I'm delighted to share the significant progress we ' ve made. The full rollout of Chromebooks in Key Stage 2 represents another milestone in our commitment to providing cutting edge learning experiences for our children. This term, our schools have been a hive of activity with community engagement events, and moments that showcase the dedication of our sta , pupils and their families. We are particularly proud of the work we have been doing to strengthen our community connections through our community ambassadors. Our schools are creating memorable experiences that go beyond traditional classroom learning.
This term, our schools have been buzzing with Christmas activities; from fayres and lunches to festive performances, our pupils are fully embracing the season! These activities not only bring joy, but they also encourage a sense of community and togetherness among our families and sta .
As we look forward to the Christmas break, I want to express my thanks to our entire Maritime Academy Trust family. Your continued support, hard work, and commitment make everything we do possible. Wishing you and your families a wonderful festive period.
Warm regards,
Nick Osborne Chief Executive O cer
Trust Updates
1:1 Chromebooks for Every KS2 Pupil
In September, 1,000 brand new Chromebooks arrived in Maritime’s schools, enrolled and ready to use! This means we have reached a critical milestone with every Maritime child in Key Stage 2 now having their own devicecompletely free of charge! Cases for the Chromebooks also arrived recently, meaning the devices will now be able to go home with the children, too. Our pupils will be able to benefit from a wealth of home learning opportunities, filling any gaps they may have, and helping them to thrive. We're incredibly proud to be able to provide this level of support for our children, and are confident it will make a huge di erence to their learning.
Estates News
Each year, Maritime receives an allocation of money from the DfE (SCA Fund) for the maintenance and improvement of the schools' land and buildings. This means that over the past 12 months, we have been able to address all necessary urgent work, ensuring the continued health and safety of sta and children in our schools. This included the completion of the roof replacement at Bligh, a fire alarm system upgrade at Greenacres, a roof replacement at Barnsole, the roofing works at Brooklands, and the roof replacement at Greenacres, which will be completed in the new year.
Early Years Improvement Fund 2023/24
Maritime funded £100k towards the improvement in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Barnsole Primary School used this to improve its outdoor area, reading corners, resources and nursery kitchen facilities. At Featherby Infant School, a new EYFS outdoor play area is now complete and looking amazing.
BarnsolePrimarySchool
Estates Improvement Fund 2023/2024
Once again, schools were invited to apply for a share of £100k made available for bigger projects. Bligh now has a new canopy in its courtyard, Brooklands benefited from both a new decking area and EYFS outdoor play area, Hook Lane had its carpets replaced, and Millennium has a new EYFS outdoor play area.
Early Years and Estates Improvement Funds Awarded 2024/2025
Further projects being funded in 2024/25 include Timbercroft, which is having its MUGA resurfaced, plus air conditioning installed in one of the halls; Bligh’s EYFS outdoor area is being refurbished; Millennium is redecorating its EYFS classrooms and communal areas, and further developing its outdoor area; Hook Lane will be having a washroom refurbishment, while at Greenacres, its first-floor classrooms will be receiving a makeover.
We'll continue to invest in our schools to ensure they're not only safe, but also a lovely place to be for all of us!
Susan Matheso Chief Operating O c
BrooklandsPrimarySchool
MillenniumPrimarySchool
HookLanePrimarySchool
Home Visits at Hook Lane Primary School
Three days, more than 400 home visits and too many cups of tea to count! For the second year, every child in every year group at Hook Lane received a 15-20 minute visit from their new class teacher as part of Maritime Academy Trust’s home and in-school visits programme.
The home visits programme aims to cultivate strong partnerships between schools, parents/carers and pupils, ensuring that children receive ample support, and can thrive by enjoying the best possible experience as they move through primary school.
A key aspect of the programme is Maritime’s ‘partnership around the child agreement’, in which every child, family and teacher signs a pledge to take their part in ensuring each child gets the best from their time at school.
Parents have a relationship with the school as a whole, but each year they start a new partnership with their child’s new teacher, and for many children, a really vital relationship with the TA, too. We aim to bring the partnership together to learn from each other to achieve the best possible outcome for their child.
The one-to-one time allows families to get to know teachers within the comfort of their own homes, giving everyone the chance to discuss expectations in class, as well as any concerns the child or family might have. Additionally, the visits allow teachers time to get to know each individual child, becoming familiar with their interests and needs, and therefore tailoring lessons accordingly.
The visits are especially important for parents whose children attend the school’s breakfast or after-school club, since their first opportunity to meet the teacher might be at parents’ evening several weeks into the new school year, or only if a problem should arise and need addressing. The response to Hook Lane’s home visits has been overwhelmingly positive.
"I'm so pleased to see how popular the home visits are with teachers, leaders, parents and children alike," says Susan Matheson, Chief Operating O cer at Maritime Academy Trust. "Ithinkwe are showing deep kindness andcare by visiting eachfamily andcreating meaningfulrelationships from day one Thankyou to every sta member whoismakingthissuchapowerfulapproach"
Joy Sheekey Headteacher
Join us on our journey 'to positively disrupt education to ensure all children get an excellent start in life'.
Discover our current opportunities
Our BHAG
Maritime's Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is to positively disrupt education to ensure all children get an excellent start in life, and we're consistently working hard behind the scenes to make this happen. Here's what's been happening recently...
We are delighted that our Maritime Children’s Foundation was registered by the Charity Commission in September! We can now apply for a wider range of grants and support.
This term our priorities have been:
a) Applying for grants from trusts and foundations - Mel Melvin, our Fundraising Lead, has applied for a wide range of grants to support our work. This process involves lots of careful application writing, then waiting months to hear back. We will keep you updated on our successes as they come!
b) Creating networks across the areas we work in: Since September, I have had over 30 meetings with di erent organisations across Medway, Kent, Bexley and Greenwich. There are lots of organisations with similar aims to us who are keen to work with Maritime and our schools, which is great to see! So far, we have created useful links with colleagues in the NHS, Medway Council, local charities, as well as local businesses, too. Our foundation is very new, so we need to spend lots of time raising our profile and getting to know who is who!
c) Building our programmes of support: We have three core programmes at this stage.
Our *Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to positively disrupt education to ensure all children get an ex e believe every child deserves the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make that happen.
Parenting support from the start of life: This is our Maritime Strong Foundations programme, which began this year at Bligh School. Sarah Ryan is leading this work, and will have our first programme of support for parents of babies and toddlers in January from the new community room at Bligh!
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Parenting support throughout the primary schoolyears: This is run through our Maritime Community Ambassadors. Katie-Louise Lawrence is leading our team of Community Ambassadors, with Katie at Brooklands, and Danielle at Hook Lane. To find out more our recent community ambassador work, turn to page 11.
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Extra curricular opportunities for our children: This is delivered through our Maritime Skills Academies, which are running at Greenacres, and now Featherby, too! Each week, we have around 70 children attending a Maritime Skills Academy having fun with art, coding, multi-sports...and the list goes on! You'll find an update on the recently-launched Medway Skills Academy on page 10.
If you would like to support The Maritime Children's Foundation, you can donate through our donation page here. Every donation makes a huge di erence to the support we can provide and we really are so grateful!
Our *Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to positively disrupt education to ensure all children get an excellent start in life. We believe every child deserves the opportunity to succeed and r full potential, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make that happen.
Susan Matheso CEO, Maritime Children's Foundatio
The Medway Skills Academy has now been running for two terms and we have had an amazing uptake from the pupils who attend Barnsole and Featherby!
The children have enjoyed making new friends and taking part in the range of exciting activities o ered. It's been incredible to see how they have challenged themselves and tried something new, growing in confidence each week.
Our external providers have been wonderful, too, being on hand to provide encouragement and support for the children to take on new challenges, and push themselves out of their comfort zone.
"It's been heartwarming to see the children learn anddevelop new skills," says Rachel Ferguson, who manages the Medway Skills Academy. "We're looking forward to returning in 2025 andcontinuingwherewelefto !"
Matthew Bulpitt Deputy CEO
onnecting. I have made it my mission to be a useful resource for connecting others, as well as meeting new people, too.
I have launched a new group within Maritime schools called the community engagement committee. This involves members of sta in community-facing roles coming together to discuss the wonderful work we are doing in our own communities It's a chance to share ideas, best practices, and usefully, contacts. We had our first meeting this term and it was so helpful to hear about the creative initiatives taking place, and the engagement they’ve had with families and children. Thank you to each of them for giving up their time. I can’t wait for next term!
This year saw the launch of Bligh’s convening group - a group for members of the Strood West community to come together to support positive change for everybody living in the area. We've had a successful year with the group and worked with many local organisations to help our families and children. This term, I have reached out to other schools across the country who have created convening groups to find out more about the journey, and the projects, a convening group can achieve. As a result, we are moving o ine and into inperson breakfast meetings to encourage our community to come together. We're really looking forward to our first breakfast in January, where our agenda is focusing on a combined e ort to produce a community event.
The community engagement team has gone from strength-to-strength this term. Establishing yourself in a newlycreated role can be daunting (I've had that feeling myself!), but the ambassadors, Katie and Danielle, have hit the ground running, creating amazing opportunities for their schools, families and wider community.
Over at Ebbsfleet, the heads of school and I discussed how wonderful it would be to have a thriving, supportive community for our dads and male caregivers. This sparked an idea to involve sport, which led to a dad's football team! Through initial research, I found a charity that supports mental fitness and football, called Head in the Game. Head in the Game o ered a community membership to their charity to support a 12-week programme where volunteers can be trained to deliver sessions of mental fitness.
The programme involved training a group of dads to run the football sessions, and happily, five Ebbsfleet Green parents stepped forward and volunteered. I applied for funding during the summer holidays to the Ebbsfleet Garden City Trust and we were successful, meaning we ' re now partnered with the charity, and will start our 12week programme in January! The dads have been attending community football sessions to shadow how sessions are run. I'm so proud of their willingness to support others! We're all looking forward to the new year and can't wait to share more with you then
Katie-Louise Lawrence Community Engagement Lead
Barnsole Primary School
Nursery has been learning about the season of autumn and exploring all the colours we can see around us. The children have also been investigating what the leaves look like with magnifying glasses.
Year 1 was thrilled to welcome some visitors from the Guildhall Museum in Rochester, who shared fascinating artefact toys as part of our history topic on childhood. The children explored intriguing toys like the pumpette, the wooden acrobat toy, the zoetrope, and the mangle. They especially enjoyed trying out a washboard to clean a doll's dress and using the mangle to dry it. The highlight was watching the zoetrope in action; the children were amazed by its magical, moving images. What a wonderful way to bring history to life!
Year 5 had an exciting visit from Maidstone Museum, where they took part in a fascinating workshop all about ancient Egypt. The children learned about the intriguing process of mummification and had the unique opportunity to handle real-life artefacts that are thousands of years old! It was an incredible hands-on experience that deepened their understanding of this ancient civilisation and brought the topic to life.
We had a very special Poppy Appeal assembly this year with two soldiers from the 36 Engineers Regiment, Corporal Francis and Lance Corporal Homewood. They shared stories about their roles in the Armed Forces and explained why the Poppy Appeal holds such deep meaning for them and their colleagues. The children were eager to ask questions and were thrilled to meet real life soldiers! It was wonderful to see so many parents join us for this memorable event, making it a meaningful experience for everyone involved.
Bligh Primary School
Brooklands Primary School
Trips and Visits
This half term has been incredibly busy! We have had children going on several educational visits, including to the French Institute, the Hayward Gallery; on walks to explore the physical and human geography of our local area, as well as to the nearby church to learn about the Christian story of Christmas. Our pupils also travelled to Shaftsebury Avenue to see Maddie Moate's Very Curious Christmas, where the children learnt all about the science behind winter and some of our festive traditions! fantastic Friends of Brooklands PTA have subsidised this opportunity to ensure all children from years 1 to 6 were able to attend.
Brookland Bites
We had our first community event this week - 'Brooklands Bites'! It was a wonderful opportunity to share triedand-tested family recipes, talk about the importance of healthy food for the family, and to get to know our wider community. Our thanks go to Katie, our Community Ambassador, who worked so hard to put the event together.
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Word from our Travel Ambassadors
"We have been very busy with raising the profile of tra c and road safety here at Brooklands with the help of our adults; we have led assemblies, sold reflectivegear after schoolandhave manyplans to run more events as the year goes on. We recently went to a conference where we were awarded our Bronze Award for Travel for Life - but our aim for this year is to go for GOLD! We know our families andfriendswillbehelpingustoachievethis."
Danecourt School
Danecourt's First Christmas Fayre
parents in for a stay and learn session here at Danecourt en enjoyed lots of activities such as exploring pumpkins, making techniques. Parents were able to join in the fun en enjo . Some classes did some fantastic pumpkin carving and parents had a great time and we had lots of positive
On Saturday 23rd November, Danecourt held its first Christmas fayre. The amazing FADS team and Danecourt sta came together to make this exciting event happen, and it could not have gone better! Danecourt even had a very special surprise from Santa himself.
Children In Need
Children in Need at Danecourt School
was a huge success! On Friday 15th November, the children and sta of Danecourt School celebrated Children in Need by dressing up in Pudsey clothing, spots, pyjamas or fancy dress. The children baked delicious treats in their classrooms and held a fantastic cake sale. All the money raised will go directly to support children in need. A huge thank you to everyone who participated and donated! Together, we ' ve made a real di erence.
There were stalls selling bracelets, cakes, and food, as well as so much more! They even had a fire engine arrive to show the children the truck! With the help of everyone who attended, the school managed to raise a huge £3,062.23.
Ebbsfleet Green Primary School
Reception & Nursery's Big Outcome
Ebbsfleet Green's classes welcomed parents/carers, who were invited in to see the incredible learning the children have done this term on their senses. Pupils have also enjoyed learning about themselves and their family, and in art, created self-portraits. The children took part in a range of engaging activities together with their families in their classrooms.
Christmas Community Event
On Sunday the 1st December, we hosted a Christmas Community event where almost 50 stall holders within the community came together to provide a fantastic event for the local residents. We had a beautiful performance from the local choir group, which lifted people's spirits in the wintery weather, while the PTA created an incredible grotto where Santa met with children - all to raise money for the school’s next project!
Travel Ambassadors
Our newly-appointed junior travel ambassadors have been taking hold of their roles (and their clip boards) with both hands, having regular meetings to create a plan of action to encourage members of our community to travel to school in an environmentally-friendly way, and consider our local residents when driving to school by car. They have already written to our local MP to put in place a pedestrian crossing to ensure anyone walking to school will be safe.
Playground Buddies
This term, we have also welcomed new playground buddies. The aim of the scheme is to encourage children to be good role models, which plays an important part in creating a safe, friendly, and peaceful atmosphere for the children during playtimes and lunchtime. Our playground buddies have been completing their training sessions to support them in their role, and they have been focusing on developing children’s collaborative skills.
Featherby Infant and Junior School
at ogr en settled so quickly into learning in September.
Our younger pupils in EYFS have been road-testing their brand new outside learning area - and what a hit it is! The children have been investigating every nook and corner of the bespoke designed area, with so many places to explore, expanding their knowledge of the world around them, and practising their gross and fine motor skills. What fearless learners we’re growing at Featherby!
However our mission statement of ' Learning together to inspire minds through inclusive and creative practice - aspirations are high for all', is something we ‘live’ at Featherby. In November, our PTA organised an adult tutorial evening, when parents and sta were able to learn how to make their own Christmas wreaths together, chatting over a co ee, enjoying the experience and learning a new skill. It was a great success and it is hoped it will be the first of many such adult-only events - because every day is a school day at Featherby. 17
Greenacres Primary School
Kids'
Cafe
The Greenacres community has enjoyed Kids Café this term and have been spoilt with delicious crumbles from Year 6 and hearty Anglo-Saxon soup from Year 4 using our home grown produce! Children have been developing their meta-cognitive skills through the creation of ideas, the making of the product and its selling. During the process, the children have grown in confidence as well as practised their collaboration and teamwork whilst problem solving. We certainly have some budding entrepreneurs!
Staying Fit and Healthy
This term, we have had a focus on staying healthy and the importance of exercise. We were inspired by a visit from the world record holding Skipping Ninja. We were so impressed with his skipping skills and his message that determination and perseverance can help us achieve any dream we have. Skipping has now become a favourite way of keeping fit and healthy in the playground. Our children have also been enjoying a wider range of sports at clubs after school. Gymnastics has been a particular favourite - so much so that parents/carers were invited in to see the progress our children have made in a wonderful gymnastics showcase.
Hook Lane Primary School
Our New Community Ambassador
Our new Community Ambassador, Danielle Poole, is already proving to be worth her weight in gold. She has used her community links to organise a visit to Winter Wonderland: Winter Wishes; to get Lizzie from Bexley SWAC (School's Waste Action Club) to provide workshops to the whole school; to have a Children's Centre Practitioner present at the Early Years co ee afternoon, and to establish our Funday Mondays - an opportunity for children and parents to play together after school every Monday.
Next term, she has plans to establish a Dads' football team (Ebbsfleet Green need some competition!); she is organising for our girls and boys' football teams to visit Welling Football Ground for a home game where they will get to be team mascots; she is liaising with the Mayor's o ce for us to have an assembly from the Mayor of Bexley; and she is looking into ways to provide additional support at our parents evenings in January.
OPAL
Speaking to the children was fascinating - they were so positive about their visits from their teachers, expressing that they felt more connected, less anxious, happier and better aware of the expectations for the new school year. They unanimously said that they would like home visits to take place every year. One parent said, "The home visit was really helpful and beneficial to both parents and children. It gave us the chance to meet the teacher in a home setting and raise any concerns. It also helps to ease the children in gently after the summer break."
We are very proud to say that Hook Lane has achieved a Gold Award in our first OPAL accreditation. A huge well done to Mr Barnes, Mrs Robins, the play team and our parent volunteers. And still the OPAL initiatives keep coming! Over recent weeks, Mr Barnes has added slacklines to the school field for children to try out walking the tightrope; and tra c barriers to the wheeled equipment area for the children to create their own road layouts to ride round.
Thank you for a brilliant first term, Mrs Poole!
Millennium Primary School
Children in Need
On Friday 15th November children at Millennium attended school in their pyjamas and onesies to help raise money for Children In Need. Children at Millennium raised a whopping £286.30 to go towards the cause. Thank you for your support!
New Forest School Area
have even invited guests into classroom for online workshops wing children to discover evolution and inheritance.
Towards the end of the last academic year sta from the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park kindly volunteered here at Millennium to give our forest school area a revamp. The area is now looking great with a new outdoor seating area, and children have been thoroughly enjoying the space. Pupils have also been given opportunities to use the new space as part of their science learning.
Playtime
Children at Millennium have been thoroughly enjoying playtimes and the variety of activities available to them. As an OPAL school, we promote learning through play at break and lunch times, and this year already, there have been some changes to our playground, with a number of new activities for the children to enjoy. We now have a large sandpit area, surrounded by artificial grass, which is proving very popular! There has also been the introduction of music and singing. Children like to take to the stage every lunch time to share their singing talents with their friends, and have had so much fun in the process!
Children at Millennium have been busy collecting food to donate to our local food bank. As you can see from the photo, they were very successful, resulting in lots of local families benefiting from their efforts. Pupils have since decided that Millennium should have its own food bank for parents to access directly from when they need to. This week, the local Co-Op has over £150 worth of food to get the children started. keep the donations coming as we have many families benefit from this enormously. Thank you!
Parent pop-ins have really taken off this school year. On the last Friday of each month, parents have been invited into school to join in with our learning. So far there has been a reading, science, maths and art parent drop-in. These are not only a great opportunity for children to showcase their work, but also for parents to learn alongside the children and get a real understanding of what is happening at school for their child. Next term, there will be English, geography and history pop-ins. We look forward to seeing you there!
With the large variety of play equipment the children can use, we have also been teaching our children about risk assessment so they know the importance of assessing risk, and making safe choices whilst playing.
Nightingale Primary School
World War II Day
Year 5 students at Nightingale Primary School recently stepped back in time to bring to life their study of the powerful novel, TheBoyinthe Striped Pyjamas. The immersive World War II day provided pupils with a deeper understanding of the historical context behind the story, while connecting emotionally with the experiences depicted in the book.
The day began with pupils taking on the roles of 1940s evacuees, packing their belongings and participating in wartime English and maths lessons. They practised gas mask drills, responded to an air raid siren, and found refuge in makeshift shelters, simulating the harrowing experiences of children during the Blitz.
Students also learned wartime first-aid, listened to music from the era, and created artwork inspired by the resilience of those who lived through such challenging times.
A big thank you to families for the stunning costumes that truly brought the day to life. Year 5’s enthusiasm and commitment to understanding the story and its historical setting have been inspiring!
Timbercroft Primary School
A New Addition at Timbercroft!
We'd like to introduce our rabbit, Snowbell - AKA Snowy - to you all. The EYFS children have really enjoyed welcoming her to our classrooms and are discovering how to care for her, feed her, and bond with her. She has taught us a lot of patience and how to be respectful of her space.
Our Reception children invited their grown-ups in to celebrate their multicultural day as a part of their curriculum 'all about me'. We enjoyed tasting foods from different cultures and the children looked fantastic in their cultural clothing. They also had the opportunity to share facts about their own family's celebrations and where their
In Nursery part of 'understanding looking for signs rm it was definitely autumn - despite the unusually warm temperatures!
Portals To Th life
Anglo Saxon and Viking. We learned where the how they travelled and how this group of the Vikings. The children had a variety of day such as Anglo Saxons games and a Viking day learning about the various weapons that Vikings would have had and how they used eal high point!
