Maritime News
Dear parents andcarers,
Welcome to our spring newsletter!
This term has flown by! I’m delighted to share some of the standout moments that have made it special.
A huge thank you to our estates team for their hard work improving facilities across several schools. It’s great to see these enhancements benefiting our children’s learning environments
At Bligh Primary School, our Strong Foundations Programme has been a success, supporting parents with little ones aged 0-3. Families have enjoyed activities like 'time to play' and baby massage. We hope to expand the programme to more Maritime schools soon!
Our Skills Academies continue to thrive, o ering extra-curricular activities every Saturday. From drama to robotics, these sessions provide unique learning opportunities for many children.
As we head into the Easter holidays, our Community Engagement Team has compiled a list of free and low-cost activities for you to enjoy with your family Check out page 12 for more details
This term has been full of excitement - from ducklings hatching to World Book Day celebrations, school trips, dance festivals, pop-up pools for swimming lessons, sleepovers, and group storytelling. It’s been wonderful to see the smiles on our children’s faces.
Lastly, we’d love to hear from you! Please complete our parent survey. Your feedback is invaluable in improving your child’s experience. Thank you for being part of the Maritime family. Here’s to a fantastic Easter break and an exciting term ahead!
Nick Osborn Chief Executive O ce
Estates Round-Up
Our estates team continues to work hard to deliver schools that are safe, warm, dry and inviting for all our families.
Since Christmas, we ' ve been busy creating the new 2-year-old nursery space at Brooklands, as well as doing lots of painting and decorating at Millennium and Greenacres, installing new play equipment in the nursery area at Bligh.
At Greenacres, a temporary ' popup pool' is supporting its pupils in learning to swim and is proving a huge hit! See more on page 20
A new outdoor play area ready for our 2 year-olds at Brooklands
Susan Matheso Chief Operating O c
A new gate at Greenacres
Barnsole has installed gate automation on the car park, and is continuing with LED lighting upgrades, new flooring, and redecoration. The infant satellite room is now in use for further SEN provision. The junior satellite room has been redecorated and is just awaiting new flooring.
Building improvements are continuing at Featherby with further LED lighting upgrades. Meanwhile, the junior main entrance has been redecorated and the nursery hall has been redecorated and is now used as an additional educational learning area for EYFS pupils.
The new build at Danecourt is taking shape, with the roof beams being put in place and on target to be completed by early June. The revamping of outdoor learning spaces is progressing well and the infant courtyard has had its external wall facia boards replaced.
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...
Through Maritime Strong Foundations, we ' re supporting parents from pregnancy through to when their child starts school, to help ensure every child is developing the core skills needed.
At Bligh, we have a full programme of workshops and sessions across the week to help our parents be the best they can be. These range from our toy and book library to our 'tiny talker' programme to encourage speech.
If you'd like to be part of them, you can view the full programme here. We'd love to see you!
Our Strong Foundations work doesn’t stop there, however, with programmes being developed in a number of our other Maritime schools. Look out for updates soon!...
Our schools are transforming into community hubs with the help of our growing Community Ambassador team!
At Bligh, Ebbsfleet, Brooklands and Hook Lane, our Community Ambassadors are doing a fantastic job in leading our community work. Great to have you KatieLouise, Danielle, Katie and Gemma!
We've also recently appointed a Community Ambassador at Danecourta very warm Maritime welcome to Charlotte!
Our Community Ambassadors start by spending time with the parent community to find our existing strengths, as well as where the gaps in support might be.
They then create programmes in response, such as:
Co eemorningsforparentsoftoddlers
• ' Mindfulmums'- awellbeinggroup projectrunbyMindtohelpencourage peersupportamongstmothers
• Adulteducationprogrammestosupport ourparentsincontinuingtheirlearning andpickingupnewskills
•
• NHSbusestoprovidea
Our *Big Hairy Audacious Goal
e all children get an excellent start in life. We belie very child deserves the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make that happen.
Susan Matheso CEO, Maritime Children's Foundatio
Our two Skills Academies at Greenacres and Featherby are up and running each Saturday! We now have around 70 children coming along each week for drama, coding, art and sport. Next term, we'll also be o ering cookery lessons at Featherby!
These programmes require additional funding to deliver them and, of course, to expand to new schools.
Our fundraising work is made up of:
Grants:
Maritime Academy Trust is providing the seed money to get our programmes up and running, which is amazing. At the same time, we ' re also applying for grants from trusts and foundations.
Corporatedonations:
A big focus for the spring term has been building our corporate partnerships. This means going ou to local businesses that share our vision and wan to fund us to deliver our programmes, in return f publicity and volunteering opportunities.
If you know of a local business that would be interested in partnering with us, please contact Mel, our Partnership Lead, at m.melvin@mato ce.org
Communityfundraising:
In the summer term, we'll have a wide range of events to celebrate the first birthday of the foundation. Our schools will be running events support and we'll be there to share more information about our programmes and how yo can get involved - see you there! 9
Updates from Maritime's Education and Research Team
The sole purpose for our Education & Research Team is to support our schools in both training and using evidence-based research to continually improve the education o er your children receive as a pupil at Maritime Academy Trust.
We have a number of key projects at the moment - one is on ensuring that our teachers are supported to meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs.
Cathryn Falconer - SEND Strategy Lead and Headteacher at our special school, Danecourt - is leading in our ERT SEND outreach programme.
Our Early Education Lead, Sarah Ryan, along with our early years teachers, is about to launch a project to support parents with preparing children for school, and supporting the wider communities by o ering services to support with the development of children 0-3 years old.
These are just two of our current focuses, but do keep an eye out for more ERT updates in the next edition of Maritime News!
Carole Hornsby Education Director
Our Community Engagement teammade up of myself, Danielle, Katie and Gemma - has been busy over the past term running a range of events and initiatives across our schools, from co ee mornings and workshops to family activities and training opportunities.
We want to say a big thank you for your continued support - it really makes a di erence! Our aim is to connect our schools with the communities around them and help you as parents in your child’s learning journey. We’re here to listen, collaborate and grow together.
This term, we have been networking and visiting lots of organisations in your communities, to make links and partnerships to bring more opportunities. We've been actively listening and are putting together more initiatives to support you, so watch this space...we'll have exciting updates to share soon!
Spotlight on service: GCDAGreenwich Co-operative Development Agency
GCDA’saimistocreateandsupport sustainablecommunities, withthe capacitytomeettheirhealthneeds, plantheireconomicdevelopment
andachievetheir educationalandtraining aspirations.
GCDAru training/ courses helpbuildskills, confidenceand knowledgein communities.
Theirworkfocusesonsupporting healthylifestyles, enterpriseandthe environment, theydothisby creatingwelcomingcommunity spaceslikecafés, farms, allotments andtraininghubswhereeveryone cangetinvolvedandfeel supported.
Ourtrainingisfullyfundedfor Londonresidents.
Simplylookingtoboostyour confidenceinthekitchen?Ourbasic andintermediatecookingskills sessionswillhaveyouservingup mealsyou’reproudof , andyoucan evenlearnhowtomakeyourmoney gofurtherwithour ' eatingwellona budgetcourse'
KatieBould- Community AmbassadoratBrooklandspartneredwithGCDAfor ' Brookland’sbites'', whichisan initiativetoencourageparentsto sharerecipes, cookonabudgetand getinspirationforcookingnew thingsforthemselves, andfortheir children.
Katie-Louise Lawrence Community Engagement Lead
Our wonderful community ambassadors have put together a list of things happening in your area during the Easter holidays - all free or low-cost - so you can enjoy making memories as a family without breaking the bank!
Feathered Friday at Greenwich Ecology Park
Easter activities at The Queen's House
GREENWICH BEXLEY
Easter trail at Charlton House & Gardens
KENT
Easter Bunny Hunt at Shorne Woods
Easter Bunny Hunt at Broadditch Farm Shop
Woodlands Farm Trust Lambing Day
Lesnes Abbey Easter Festival
Bexley Arts Trust Spring Open Arts Exhibition at Hall Place
MEDWAY
Barnsole Primary School
rsery had a ' roarsome discovery' this term mping their way through a dinosaurmed adventure. The home corner was nsformed into a dinosaur base camp, mplete with a campfire where children de ‘soup’ using numbers - imaginative y with early maths skills! They searched room for hidden dinosaurs and took their s through swampy and forest terrains on 'tu tray', enhancing sensory exploration d storytelling.
ar 1 pupils dived into an exciting design d technology project all about taxis. They estigated how wheels and axles work before designing, building and evaluating their very own London taxis. The real joy came when they saw their creations in motion, watching their wheels spin smoothly on sturdy chassis.
Year 5 has been delving deep into the events of Holy Week. Through an activity called onscience alley', children reflected on the lemma faced by Peter at Jesus’ arrest. They oiced perspectives on loyalty and selfreservation, o ering advice as a ‘Peter gure ' walked between them. This session ncouraged thoughtful discussion on faith, ourage and moral decisions.
March, Barnsole’s school council had the xciting opportunity to speak directly with omic Relief over Zoom. Their questionsking Comic Relief to describe what they do just 10 words - was the very first they nswered! To mark Red Nose Day and the harity’s 40th birthday, pupils dressed in red nd embraced the spirit of giving.
Bligh Primary School
It has been an incredibly busy term at Bligh and we are sharing just a tiny bit of our amazing learning...
We've had some very special visitors in term 3...DUCKLINGS! Watching the eggs hatch and the ducklings grow has been nothing short of magical, and as you can see, the children have loved it...
So with this in mind, here at Bligh this term, we Let us show you just some of what we
“Havingducklingsissosweetsolovelyandcute.”
“Themummiessitontheeggstokeep themwarm.”
“Ducklingsalwaysfollowmummiesto keepthemsafe.”
An update from Sargeant Jonny from Bligh's Police Cadet Squad...
“Overthelast8sessions,we've learnt somuchaboutwhatittakestobecome a policeofficer.Thisweek,wedidsome litterpickinginthepark!
Weworkedtogethertoclearupas muchrubbishaswecould.Wewere surprisedhowquicklyourblacksacks filledup.
Afterwards,wecouldallseehowmuch betterthearealookedinthelittlebit oftimewewerethere."
And it has been really exciting to launch our Strong Foundations o er for families with children 0-4, which has included 'little chefs', 'tiny talkers', 'little adventurers' - and more!
Thank you so much to HomeStart, Family Action and Better Medway for your partnership and support.
Brooklands Primary School
World Book Day celebrations
We love reading and celebrate it by sharing our favourite books and characters with each other in assemblies, with our buddies, and at home. For World Book Day, we dressed up as our favourite characters, watched live streams from popular authors, and had parents come in to read stories. Our Friends of Brooklands also organised a book-themed cake sale with clever treats inspired by beloved books. We had so much fun!
Location, location, location!
We're lucky to have central London nearby, which allows us to link our learning with real-life experiences through educational visits. Each class has gone on at least one trip this year, with the spring term being especially busy. Year 3 visited Woodlands Farm to learn about fossils; Year 1 went to Eltham Palace for history, and Years 5 and 6 explored the Science Museum and British Museum. We also enjoyed local walks and visits from community members. We're so grateful to our teachers and parent volunteers for making these experiences possible!
Brooklands’ 'big outcome' initiative allows students to lead their own learning showcase. Year 3's event focused on history, cooking stewed fruit from their own recipes, and making Stone Age tool models.
"Itwaswonderfultospendthe childrenafternoonbeingtaughtbythe the-we'lldefinitelybemaking stewedfruitagain!"
Year 3's 'big outcome'
Year 3 parent "Ihadtorememberhowtocut finger!thefruitwithoutcuttingmy MumButitwasnicetositwith andshowherwhattodo!"
Year 3 child
Danecourt School
AgroupoftalentedDanecourt childrenrecentlygracedthestage attheMedwayDanceFestival.
Their performance showed their bravery and confidence, showcasing a dance to remember. We are all immensely proud of their dedication and achievement.
Wewereabsolutelythrilledwhen Danecourtwasannouncedasa nomineeforthePrimarySpecial SchoolProvisioncategoryinthe MedwayParentsandCarersForum SENDAwards!
Danecourt were absolutely delighted to attend the awards ceremony, where they were announced as the winners in this category! What a fabulous achievement!
On26thMarch, Danecourtsta and pupilsunitedinwearingpurpleto raiseawarenessforepilepsy.
Recognising the impact epilepsy has on so many, we were proud to show our support for those a ected. We oved seeing everyone ' s di erent outfits and we know it meant a lot to hose living with epilepsy.
Ebbsfleet Green Primary School
Thistermhasbeenenrichingforourchildren, sta andschoolcommunity. Fromcelebratingreadingto raisingfundsforimportantcauses, ourchildrenhave embodiedourvaluesofgrowth, respect, enjoyment, aspirationandtogetherness.
WorldBookDaywas a fantastic celebration with children and sta dressed as their favourite book characters, participating in reading-themed activities The enthusiasm was infectious as children immersed themselves in storytelling and literacy challenges, reinforcing their love for books.
RedNoseDaymarked 40 years of going big, giving and feeling good together. Our school community supported this cause, showing generosity and kindness through donations and raising awareness Their commitment to making a di erence showcase their empathy and community spirit.
Year2hadanexcitingtriptotheTowerofLondon, bringing history and geography learning to life. The explored the significance of the site, learning about kings, queens, and key events that shaped our nation. They also identified famous landmarks and understood their importance within the capital. The visit, including the Crown Jewels, was a memorable experience.
Year5participatedinanimmersivein-school workshoponAncientEgypt. This hands-on experience brought history to life as children learned about pharaohs, pyramids, and daily life along the Nile, inspiring curiosity about the past.
Wealsoo ereda ' managingchildren'sbehaviour' courseforparentsandcarers, providing practical strategies to support positive behaviour at home. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to similar sessions in the future. 8
Featherby Infant and Junior School
CommunityengagementhavebeenthebuzzwordsatFeatherbyover thelastfewmonths, andwecouldfeelthefamilyspirit!
Martial arts workshops
We've had a fantastic start to the school year at Featherby! At the beginning of the year, children benefited from a more intensive transition programme of 1:1 meetings with their new class teachers and parents/carers, and as a result, the children settled so quickly into learning in September.
One of our long-term partners, Kung Fu Schools in Gillingham, ran workshops during the school day for our children this term. Teaching core strength, mindfulness and balance, the sessions were enjoyable and provided transferable skills for many sports.
PTA enrichment
Our active PTA supports the children by running a ‘mother’s day shop,’ organising school discos and providing Easter eggs. Wrapping over 650 presents was a mammoth task in itself! But the discos are a huge hit with children and parents alike, and as always, we ' re so grateful for our wonderful PTA's support!
Parent
workshops
Learning as a community
Medway STEM ran Lego workshops during 'maths week', and we had a healthy competition with Barnsole School in a Times Tables Rock Stars ‘maths-o ,’ where Featherby triumphed. Year 5 students also ran a Dragon’sDen-style competition, impressing the ‘dragons’ with their persuasive writing skills.
Building on successful adult education tuition sessions, our Family Liaison O cer and SENDCos arranged workshops covering emotional wellbeing, toileting support and healthy sleep patterns, extending holistic family support.
Featherbycontinuestostrengthencommunitytiesandenrichthelearning experienceforall
Greenacres Primary School
Children at Greenacres are diving into a fantastic new experience as our popup swimming pool opened for lessons, fun and water safety education! This innovative initiative brings the benefits of swimming right to our school, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to develop vital water skills without the need to travel.
Trained instructors are delivering structured lessons tailored to di erent age groups and skill levels. Whether it’s learning basic water confidence, practising strokes, or mastering floating techniques, every child is benefiting from expert guidance in a fun and supportive setting.
One of the best parts of our swimming lessons is the sense of community they bring. Children cheer each other on and celebrate milestones together. Whether it's learning to float, mastering their first stroke, or taking the plunge o the side, every accomplishment is met with smiles and encouragement.
"Aftereverysession,they wouldchooseastarofthe daytoacknowledgepeople’s improvementsandhowhard theyweretrying.Somedays, theyevengaveoutswimming medals.Ithinkswimmingwas agoodexperienceandthatif Icould,Iwoulddoitagain."
Nicole, Year 6
"Ifoundswimmingveryhelpful, asIlearnedhowtoimprovemy techniquesandmystamina. The instructors(NathanandAmy) wereverynice,andtheywere abletospotmymistakesand correctthem."
Anvy, Year 6
Hook Lane Primary School
Hook Lane's multi-faith Iftar dinner
On 20th March, we hosted a beautiful MultiFaith Iftar Dinner, where families from di erent religious backgrounds gathered to break their fast and celebrate community. It was heartwarming to see so many of you come together for this special event. The evening was filled with delicious food, engaging conversations, and an opportunity to learn about each other’s traditions and cultures. Thank you to all the families who participated and helped make this event a success!
Year 4's epic sleepover
Miles of smiles!
We're excited to announce the launch of the 'daily mile' at our school! Children from all year groups now have the opportunity to get active every day by walking or jogging for ten minutes before the school day begins. The daily mile improves physical fitness, mental well-being, and focus. We encourage all families to support this initiative by discussing the importance of physical activity with your child!
The children had an unforgettable night filled with games, team-building activities, and fun with friends. From singing with Mrs. Edgar to eating hotdogs and watching a movie, it was an evening full of laughter. The sleepover also helped Year 4 students strengthen friendships and work together in a supportive environment. A huge thank you to all the sta who volunteered to make the night so special!
Millennium Primary School
Welcoming visitors from Nigeria
In February, Millennium was proud to host 20 educators from Nigeria, all leaders who are committed to supporting the growth of schools in Africa and promoting best practices in education.
Since 2019 this group of leaders have all been working to raise standards in education within Nigeria and further develop their school leaders. They worked with Millennium leaders for an afternoon, this gave them an opportunity to see all the great work both adults and children do here at Millennium, providing a practical and immersive learning experience for all.
Wellbeing workshops
They have even invited guests into the classroom for online workshops allowing children to discover evolution and inheritance. to very their its and donated
over £150 worth of food to get the children started. So please do keep the donations coming as we have many families we know will benefit from this enormously. Thank you!
School council also gave a presentation to this group of leaders, raising their awareness of the work they do in supporting children’s wellbeing here at Millennium. Millennium has also been working hard to provide children with a number of di erent opportunities to support their wellbeing, and over the spring term, we ' ve welcomed a number of organisations including NSPCC, Mind and Growing against Violence.
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!
All these facilitators have worked with classes across the school, delivered assemblies and some have also run workshops directly with parents. Through these workshops children explored how to stay safe online, how to keep a healthy mind and body, safeguarding and many more areas of our RSHE curriculum.
Nightingale Primary School
Nightingale - in partnership with the Children's Literacy Charity - has taken part in a trial of a new early years programme called Story Lab.
55 children from Reception classes across a number of London primary schools, including Nightingale, have taken part in small group storytelling sessions delivered by the charity's expert tutors.
In addition to running Story Lab information sessions for class teachers, the charity held introduction sessions for parents and carers.
Throughout the 12-week programme, every family received their own copies of the five books being used by Story Lab, as well as a pack of home activity ideas and videos of the story being read.
Chloe Coady - Early Years Foundation Stage lead
Timbercroft Primary School
The sky's the limit in Reception!
The reception children at Timbercroft enjoyed a field trip to Shrewsbury Park to look at the London skyline and the surrounding landscape.
They sketched the buildings they could see and discussed how the area di ered to the one around school.
They particularly loved trying to spot some of the London landmarks we ' ve been learning about in class.
Our Reception children invited their multicultural day as a part of e enjoyed tasting foods from differ ed fantastic in their cultural clothing. to share facts about their own eir families are from.
In Nursery, children visited Rock 'understanding the world' in our curriculum. for signs of seasonal change, the definitely autumn - despite the unusually warm temper
Dinosaur magic
Meanwhile in Year 4, Portals To The Past showed the children how life would have been as an Anglo Saxon and Viking. We learned where the Anglo Saxons came from, how they travelled and how this group of were different to the Vikings. The children had a variety of throughout the day such as Anglo Saxons games and a Viking before ending the day learning about the various weapons that Anglo Saxons and Vikings would have had and how they used them. The battle was a real high point!
In February, Timbercroft held their 'dinosaur big outcome' to Reception's parents and carers - and what a cracking event it was!
They displayed everything they've learned about dinosaurs and other animals using fact file books, clay models and by acting out their core texts for the term, finishing with a fun quiz to showcase their knowledge!
