Newham Community Learning newsletter - Spring 1 2024

Issue 5 February 2024

Trust Newsletter

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A message from our Chief Executive Dear colleagues It is a great pleasure to welcome Alice Clay back to Lister in her new capacity as Headteacher. Alice was a very successful Deputy Headteacher at Lister before leaving for two years as an HMI with Ofsted, where she led more than 50 inspections. She brings huge experience, but also great personal qualities to the role.

I am also looking forward to welcoming more colleagues, as we will shortly be advertising three vitally important roles as part of our drive to support rising standards in all our schools. These will be a Trust Director of Education, who will lead our School Improvement work, a Director of Staff Development and a Director of Student Support. Advertisements will be shared through staff bulletins and we will welcome applications from colleagues within the Trust. Meanwhile, I am delighted that we are now confirming our first candidates for the NCL SCITT - the programme which we are operating in partnership with Teach First, which allows us to train local graduates - hopefully including many former students from our schools as alumni. The development of our staff remains central to our plans.

Best wishes Anthony Wilson, CEO of NCL

Welcome to new staff in the central and primary support team Tolu Anomo Finance Officer Central Team - Tolu will be joining our central team as Trust Finance Officer, bringing years of experience in accounting and finance, particularly in commercial finance and higher education.

Gowinder Bhambra Finance Officer Primaries - Gowinder joined the Trust on the the 17th January taking on the role of Finance Officer for our primary schools. With extensive experience in school finance since 2018, Gowinder's knowledge will greatly benefit our primary schools.

Skye Beaumont HR Admin and Admin Support Central Team - Skye joined our Central Team on the 19th February, as HR and Admin Support, boasting nearly 7 years of administrative experience, including 3 years in human resources.

Skye's background in education and administration will be invaluable in supporting both HR and administrative tasks across the team and liaising with schools.

Please all join me in extending a warm welcome to our newest team members and wishing them every success in their careers with NCL. Best wishes Justen Murton, NCL Director of Human Resources

Governance Spotlight - the role of a Governor Adam Hunter is part of the Lister Governing Board Almost my entire career has been in education, as a teacher for fifteen years at four state schools in London, and international schools in Switzerland and Portugal. In 2020 I made the switch to a second career as a policy advisor at the Department for Education where I have worked in various areas including academies strategy and regulation - very relevant to my role as a governor within a new multi-academy trust like NCL. It is a badly kept secret that I once took a brief career detour to try to be a pop star, and was even found moonlighting as a guitar teacher at Lister during the pandemic.

What do you feel is the most important aspect of your role as governor?

We support and challenge the Headteacher to make good decisions, and provide the local perspective of our school and its community, as part of the whole Trust. So we work with the Headteacher to help them to fulfil their vision for improving the school. As part of that, we must challenge their thinking, and see evidence that the needs and expectations of pupils and parents are being met.

What’s been most interesting for you about your role so far?

I've seen the education system from the point of view of a classroom teacher all the way over to whole system regulation and government. Volunteering as a school governor has given me yet another perspective in between. Seeing how whole system changes interact with school and Trust leadership, local authorities, special education needs funding, alternative provision... it is an unbelievably complicated and fascinating world. And ultimately, as a governor, it circles back to where I started my career: Is the education we're giving our students any good?

Top wellbeing award for Selwyn Many congratulations to Selwyn who have once again received the Wellbeing Award for Schools accreditation.

The award focuses on changing the long-term culture of the whole school. Using an evidence-based framework to drive change, it helps to deliver staff and pupil wellbeing, review staff training, and revise policies. This award award recognises that mental health and wellbeing sit at the heart of Selwyn’s school life.

Trust-wide twilight We are very grateful to the 33 members of staff from across our Trust who planned and delivered twilight sessions based on standardising and moderating assessments in both primary and secondary settings. The twilight was a great opportunity for our staff to: ● ● ●

share excellent practice establish a common standard of marking reinforce the importance of consistency and fairness in judgements and decisions Encouraged by the positive feedback, the CPD team is excited to continue to develop additional trust-wide programs that will enable staff to share knowledge and expertise with each other.

Leading the Way: 30 Staff Graduate from Coaching Leaders Programme Congratulations to thirty members of our dedicated staff who recently completed the intensive Coaching Leaders programme, a comprehensive nine-hour initiative spread over four months.

Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

‘Coaching for many new staff, ECT's, and teachers with TLR's will provide a platform of strong support that has a different context for a line manager. It allows them to unwind, feel listened to, and be solution- or goal-focused, leading to better outcomes that support their goals and general development.’

‘Really eye opening and develops a culture of resilience.’

‘Very informative. Lots of opportunity to reflect on your own practice. Learnt a lot about relationships with others.’

We are looking forward to developing our coaching offer to support staff across our schools.

Reading Fluency Training with Herts for Learning To support the development of early reading provision in both the primary and secondary schools, Herts for Learning recently provided in depth CPD training on reading fluency which was attended by reading leads and practitioners from across the Trust.

The session focused on how to implement effective strategies to develop automaticity, accuracy and prosodic reading. It was a really useful, practical session that will enable leaders to consider their reading curriculums and how these strategies could impact on small group intervention as well as whole school reading practice.

Feedback from the literacy group has been very positive, with lots of actions already identified.

‘I liked that there were clear strategies for supporting children who struggle with reading - choral reading, echo reading, chunking and scooping.’

‘There were lots of Ideas about how to choose appropriate, engaging texts which include different tiers of vocabulary.’

‘It made me think about how a sequence of learning should look in the reading curriculum.’

We are looking forward to continuing our work with Herts for Learning.

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Art Exhibition Portway students have been taught a variety of different artistic techniques by our specialist art teacher. Families were welcomed to an interactive whole school Portway Art Exhibition to celebrate the messages children conveyed through their artwork.

Mental Health Week 2024 Children, parents and staff took part in a wide range of workshops for Mental Health Week.

Children considered how to best use their voice to support themselves and others.

Children and families collaborated in a community session where music was used therapeutically and to make new connections.

Family breakfast was the perfect way to celebrate a successful half term.

Climate Science Olympiad 2024 (CSO24) We are delighted to announce that 4 of our students have made it to the quarter finals!

CSO24 is a way to raise awareness of our local climate impact and encourage younger generations to take a stand against climate change. We are so proud that our students have taken on this challenge, showing you’re never too young to make a difference.

Table Tennis National Competition Huge congratulations to the Table Tennis teams who finished top of both groups in the U16’s competition and represented Rokeby School.

Also, to the Y7 and Y8 students who competed in the National Events and qualified for the next round in March.

We’re excited to support them in the next part of the competition!

Year 9 Mentors Eastlea Y9 students are mentoring Reception and Y1 pupils. The Y9 students will be their mentors for 16 weeks and they’ll gain a certificate in personal effectiveness.

We are very proud of the responsibility they are demonstrating so far, they’re learning how to foster a strong positive sense of community as well as develop as young leaders.

V&A Innovative with Year 7 12 Y11 students were accepted into Barclays' ASPIRE program which teaches interview techniques, employability and CV skills, and inspirational workshops. We are impressed by how the students have demonstrated maturity, engagement, and commitment to their futures.

Oliver Jnr Production Our wonderful Lister students transformed our school into a West End theatre on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd of February, with a fantastic production of Oliver Jnr. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening, with some fabulous musical numbers. The cast performed with joy and confidence, and it was truly delightful to see some shyer members of the pupil community really engaged. The hall was filled on both evenings with students and parents wowed by the energy of the theatrical event. As a community school and as part of a community trust, it was a testament to the sheer scale that we can reach when everyone is charged with a shared vision.

Year 7 Dragons’ Den As part of Lister’s careers guidance, our Y7 students have been taking part in a Dragons’ Den challenge over the past few weeks. As part of this they have designed and marketed a product - giving adult contestants a run for their money and the Dragons a hard time deciding on the winner. Students in Y7 had a chance to develop soft skills, such as teamwork, organisation and presentation skills, which will prepare them for the world of work after school.

Creative Careers Festival Cultural Exchange Experience Sarah Bonnell students had an exciting cultural exchange this month. Students from ICBR School in Morocco visited, and we dove into engaging activities like calligraphy and more. It was fantastic to see all the students embracing diverse perspectives!

Our students had the opportunity to dive into the world of creative industries through insightful professionals. The students engaged in hands-on workshops and inspiring exhibition stands from local artist organisations.

Young Voices concert at the O2 & recognition for our composing skills: 'Toxic Waste' - composed by 3D Our school choir performed at the O2 alongside hundreds of other children. It was great to send another dedicated group of children to represent Selwyn at the Celebration of Musical Performance.

We are also very proud of the children in 3D whose composition ‘Toxic Waste’ was chosen by the English National Opera to be made into a short animation. As part of our collaborative work with the ENO, a group of children from our SEN class will be visiting the opera house.

Educational visits and experiences As part of our curriculum enrichment offer, our children have been busy taking part in a wide range of activities. Y6 completed the Young Citizens programme and visited Stratford Theatre; Y5 had a visit from the Fire Brigade, visited the theatre and completed the Olympic Park orienteering trail. Y3 visited the Science Museum and Y1 took an Uber boat down the River Thames to spot all of the London Landmarks.

Community wellbeing and support

Many of us need a little help to be Healthier. For some of us, it’s about doing a bit more exercise or giving up smoking. For others, it’s about connecting with our community or getting help with things that can cause stress, like money.

Whatever it is, Well Newham is here to help you achieve your goals, in a way that works for you.

Visit the Well Newham website Visit www.wellnewham.org.uk today to find out more about health and wellbeing and access the support you need.

Visit a Well Newham hub If you would to talk to someone face-to-face or get some guidance on how to use the website, you can go to a Well Newham Hub. To find out more, visit www.wellnewham.org.uk.

WHAT'S ON NEAR ME? Click HERE to find out about all of the events happening near you

Ambition Aspire Achieve has some great new projects available including Bugs and Shrubs and Multisports clubs. Please see details on the next slides! For more information and lots of activities to get involved in.

Click on the link below to find out more. https://www.theaaazone.com Our work includes after school clubs, holiday play and youth activities, youth clubs, disability specific activities, detached youth projects, information advice and support for vulnerable young people, mentoring and personal development programmes, doorstep inclusive sports clubs and outward-bound activities and experiences.

Community wellbeing and support

SPRING TERM KEY DATES School

Event

Date and time

Contact

Spring Concert

Wednesday, March 27 4 – 6pm

sandra.corbyn@eastlea.ncltrust.net Sandra Corbyn Head’s PA

Lister

Spring Concert

Wednesday, March 20 5.30 - 7pm

heads.pa@lister.newham.sch.uk Melissa Brown, Head’s PA

Rokeby

Spring Concert

Wednesday, March 27 4 – 6pm

info@rokeby.ncltrust.net

Sarah Bonnell

Spring Concert

Wednesday, March 27 5 – 6.30pm

maariyaah.lunat@sarahbonnell.net Maariyaah Lunat, Head’s PA

Eastlea