TRUST NEWSLETTER
Autumn 2 2023
And so it’s finally here…..
With the end of term now here, I am sending out the termly Trust News to recognise our successes this academic year so far and highlight the hard work of so many of our staff in making this term such a brilliant educational experience for our pupils.
The Autumn Term is always the longest and possibly hardest term – hence why we introduced for staff and pupils the extra week half term holiday to support staff wellbeing and give our children a well-deserved mid-termrest. Iam surethatthiscontinuesto support everyone through this term and provide extra time to spend with friends and families.
Twilight CPD and how the hours work….
being valued and I hope that everyone understands that the changes to the half term break in October and the translation of additional paid time into training is in recognition of the value we put on staff who are our most valuable resource. If we invest in our staff, we are also investing in turn in our children – the best, most qualified and experienced staff are key to our pupils receiving the highest quality of education.
Enriching Learning
It has been an exciting term with our pupils enjoying a wide range of learning experiences through our embedded enrichment programme. The Trust is committed to ensuring all pupils are able to take part in workshops, go beyond the classroom and gain the benefits of real life, hands on learning and develop independent skills through active learning.
Year 4 at both Pelham and Fairford were able to experience a trip to London on public transport to visit the British Museum as part of their study of the Ancient Egyptians. This was an opportunity to see mummiesand other artefacts in alltheir glory andgain an understanding of the rituals and beliefs of this ancient culture. Fairford’s Year 5 pupils visited the Globe Theatre as part of their topic on The Tudors.
There continues to be some confusion around training sessions and twilight CPD as being “extra hours”. As explained previously, support staff pay continues to reflect 39 weeks of school when the schools are open for 38 weeks and this additional paid but unworked week coupled with the two INSET Days in July (staff are not expected to come in on these days) are translated into theequivalentCPD training hours. This means that generally staff are working for slightly less hours than is reflected in their pay and we are also abletousethisadditionaltimetoinvestintrainingand career development, mutually beneficial to every individual memberof staff andtheorganisation. Wellbeing is also about
Tr
Being so close to so many fantastic places and the heart of the capital is ahuge advantage for our schools and lends itself to widening opportunities for all of our pupils. With Crime and Punishment as the theme for our Year 6 pupils this term, trips to the Old Bailey and the Tower of London have complimented classroom learning. In fact, knowing that there were real life criminals held in the Old Bailey proved too much for one Year 6 pupil at Fairford who decided that running in the opposite direction was the best option to avoid contact with them!
Lower down the schools, hands on experiences have continued to be intrinsic to the learning journey for all. Pelham’s Year 1 pupils have
been investigating plants and flowers and a trip to a local centre, Hall Place, enabled the children to see and touch different plants, bringing classroom learning to life. Fairford’s Year 1 pupils practiced their writing skills and undertook a local trip with a festive theme:writingletters andpostingthemtoSanta. Year 2 at Fairford were lucky enough to take part in an interactive dinosaur workshop at the Natural History Museum which was amazing, whilst their Year 3 children visited Lesnes Abbey for a workshop on the Stone Age. Pelham’s Nursery took a trip to the local library as part of our desire to make every child a reader and promote from the start a love of reading.
line safety with a particular focuson social media. This topic is really important for our older pupils in understanding the impact of social media on mental health and wellbeing and ensuring they are aware of how social media platforms can be misused.
Our curriculum model is built around embedded diversity themes as we are keen to avoid tokenistic “add-ons”. However, we also want our pupils to be aware of specific calendar eventsandcelebrated Black History Month at Fairford with a Carnival event. This was well received by staff and pupils who were enthralled by the delivery and the energy of the presenters – definitely a company who we would recommend in the future!
Clubs and Wraparound Care
Both schools are working hard to build on our extracurricular offer with a range of clubs available every day of the week. There have been externally organised clubs but we are moving away from these due to the safeguarding risks which we are then potentially taking responsibility for when staff are not directly managed by ourselves. Bringing all clubs “inhouse” is the way forward and we are impressed by the generosity of staff in offering their time to lead clubs which again widen pupil experiences.
Widening opportunities is not always about going out of school but also bringing events into the classroom. Pelham’s Early Years, Years 1, 2 and 3 pupils have had a fantastic experience in the last week with an immersive dome coming into the school, bringing space and the planets to life! Fairford’s pupils, on the other hand, learned about Aboriginal dance as part of their topic on Australia (Year 2), which was enjoyed by staffand children alike. Not allevents areplanned and some are also responsive to local situations and contexts. As part of Anti-Bullying Week, the police visited Pelham and delivered sessions to Year 6 on on-
After many years, Pelham is finally looking to offer an After-SchoolClubintheNewYear. Thelongeropening hours of the school and taking on board the views of parents is making this finally a reality. Wraparound care will be welcomed by parents and support the school in continuing to develop great partnership working with current and future families for whom this is often a decision-breaker when selecting a school for their child.
Our staff are a talented bunch so if you have something you can offer please let us know and sign
up for a club! I am sure you will all remember your own school experiences and the importance of those additional learning opportunities which enable children to develop different kinds of skills and learn about the importance of positive engagement. Let’s commit to replicating some of our own best memories for the children with whom we are working!
Developing Music Provision
Well done to Kate Anderson for all of her hard work in bringing music lessons into our schools again. Kate has been working with a company called “Totally Rad” who will be in schools from 8th January delivering a range of 1:1 and small groupsessionsovertwodaysperweek. Ourpupilswill be able to sign up for lessons in piano, drums, guitar, violin and voice. Our aim is to develop this and establish our own music ensembles as the year progresses. Pupils have also signed up for lessons at Fairford Academy – 44 to date! – so we expecting to see somewonderful learningandpotentialconcertsto showcase our talented children later in the year.
We know music is a major contributor to brain development and compliments learning in Maths and other creative subjects, so investing in this and promoting these opportunities for our children is only going to enhance learning and accelerate progress across the curriculum.
A Commitment to Inclusion
An interesting feature of this term has been the learning from the Central Team in scrutinising consistency across the trust. What has subsequently come to light is the SEND provision has not developed equally and the clear messages around inclusion have not filtered through both staff teams. Whereas training has been delivered jointly in all areas, there has been a resistance to this in terms of SEND based on “where staff are at” and this has been a barrier to inclusion. The Trust message has consistently been a strong commitment to SEND provision, the development of a universal training offer for all staff and the upskilling of a specialist workforce. However, this has not been mirrored in both schools and this is now a priority for the New Year.
As a Trust, we are fortunate in having a fantastic strategic SENCo in Aman Aujla who is going to be working across both schools. Many of you will already have worked with Aman at Fairford and she is already making such an impact at Pelham in providing our SEND team with the clarity of vision and direction needed and ensuring they are able to access the same support and expertise. Aman is a highly experienced SENCo and I know that our schools are in safe hands.
Aman has been working closely with Beverley Evans and the two Head Teachers in developing the SEND model, looking specifically at building capacity and sharing resource. With Aman now working across both schools, it has been vital that we strengthen further the team by harnessing existing strengths as well as recruiting into specific roles. Congratulations to Wojchiech Bialek and Naz Karademir who have been successful at interview and will be on development pathways to undertake the new National Qualification for SENCos when this is launched later in the year. Woj brings his extensive
experience of working in SEMH schools and alternative provision and Naz her knowledge of HI provision and communication strategies. Both will be Assistant SENCos and definitely an asset to Pelham’s SEND team!
Congratulations also to Izzy Taylor at Fairford who is taking on the role of Assistant SENCo from January 2024! Izzy came to us with a wealth of experience in relation to SEMH/ ASD with a qualification in ELSA and has already made a positive impact at Fairford Academy. With two experience SEND HLTAs also starting with us in January, Deena Ahaouari and Rhea Taylor, the SEND team is set to go from strength to strength. Rhea comes to us with a specialist interest in ASD, hearing impairment and communication and has worked as a SENCo in a nursery school for a number of years. She will be based at Fairford for two days each week with the majority of her time at Pelham, working alongside Woj and Naz. Deena comestousfroma localprimaryschoolwhereshewas a Wellbeing Coach but also has significant experience in secondary schools and social care.
Pupil Parliament – promoting British Values
made sure they feel rightfully proud of their positions and recognise the level of responsibility they now hold.
Pelham PSFA and Fairford PTA successes!
It is almost impossible to remember that only a short time ago these two associations didn’t exist! In a relatively very short period of time, the PSFA and PTA have established themselves as amazing teams who put their hearts and souls into giving our children the best experiences and building robust links between home and school.
Although both schools have always had pupil voice, I wanted to make mention of the new approach introduced at Pelham by Louise Appiah. Louise has promoted a new Pupil Parliament with its own Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers for Education, the Environment and other responsibilities for which pupils in Year 6 could self-nominate and prepare an election speech. Following balloting of pupils, the successful MPs were elected and now are taking an active involvement in some of the decision-making in the school. Recent candidates for posts at Pelham were interviewed by MPs who sat on the Pupil Panel and were astonished by how professional and confident our pupils came over during the process. They were a creditto theschool andto Louise who has
This month saw two great Christmas events with the Christmas Fayre at Fairford (thank you to the team for such a happy, familyorientated event!) and the Germanthemed Christmas Market at Pelham (big thank you to Lexi for all of her efforts in securing the different stallholders and to Michelle and the PSFA for the smooth running on the night!). Both events raised funds for our children of over £1200 and feedback has been exceptional! Huge thank you to the staff who stayed to the bitter end and helped make the event a success, in particular thanks to Anne-Marie, Jill, Woj and Molly!
Again, our pupils have benefitted from film nights, discos and book fayres as well as advent calendarsand prizes earned from decorating pumpkins at Halloween
to naming the elf last week. Personally, I think Dave is a great name for a modern-day elf!
The silent heroes also need to be recognised for all the hard work they do in preparation for all of these events and the clear up at the end each time, so big thanks to Steve Hallinan, Steve Pollard, Don and Mark who are an amazing team and always go over and above to ensure our schools are ready to entertain!
Environmental Health Ratings
Following on from the above, congratulations to the site teams and the kitchen staff for securing the highest ratings in both schools after our environmental health visits. Both schools received a 5* rating and, for Pelham in particular, this has been a hard-fought success with Steve having to cope with long standing unresolved maintenance issues and an emergency gas leak. Steve has also worked with Sandra Williams in tackling the standards of cleaning and improving consistency in setting a basic minimum standard through introducing a hybrid model of cleaning combining direct employees with a service level agreement with an external company. I look forward to the impact of this but would also remind all staff of the importance of basic cleaning and tidying at the end of each day, ensuring staff rooms are clean and tidy and food is locked away / sealed. If everyone takes pride in our school environments, it will make the jobs of our hard-working site staff and cleaners much easier so please let’s all commit to a combined team effort on this!
Staff Surveys
they wanted to raise and, in the vast majority of cases, feeling that these would be listened to. If staff do feel their voices are not being heard, please don’t be afraid to escalate a concern but always try direct dialogue first as we are committed to being a restorative organisation where talking is seen as the best way of addressing issues.
Staff responses to training / CPD were also highly positive, although there was an indication that further training on SEND funding would be beneficial for many. There are also a small number of staff who have not had Team Teach training as this was delivered to all staff in January 2023 and newer staff have not yet had this training. As a Trust, we invested over £10K in upskilling our whole staff team which is incredibly unusual in a mainstream environment but we felt important in empowering ALL staff. Going forward, to allow for catch up sessions and annual refreshers, we have two staff booked on the Team Teach Tutor training in February 2024 in order that we then have our own in-house tutors who can deliver training throughout the year as part of the new staff induction process.
Welcome
Our new starters who will be joining us in January are:
• Rachel Curley who is taking on the role of Assistant Head Teacher (Raising Attainment, Progress and Data) and Year 6 teacher at Pelham Primary School. Rachel is coming to us with vast experience in leadership and with a background in supporting the turnaround of a school in a coastal deprivation context.
I thought it would be interesting to report back to everyone on the outcome of the staff surveys which were undertaken during our last INSET Day. The resounding message was positive with staff knowing who and where to go if they had concerns or issues
• Juli Edge-Kanat who will be joining Pelham as English Lead and class teacher. Juli will be an Associate Member of SLT in recognition of her experience to date and as part of her own CPD and our succession planning as a Trust.
• Jacob Boulton who is coming to us as Maths Lead at Pelham Primary School and again is a highly experienced teacher with fantastic references!
We very much look forward to welcoming these new staffalongsideourstrengthened SENDTeam andhope you will make them feel at home.
Farewell to…
Luke Ford who is leaving us to return to a special school environment which will enable him to balance his fire fighter ambitions with his daytime workload. Goodbye also to Charlotte Nelson who is moving for the first time to a new school in order to widen her experience and will be taking on a maternity cover. We also bid farewell to Dan Duffy who is taking up a temporary post nearer his home and family. Goodbye to Yaa Lamptey – thanks for all she has done to support children in the school – as she moves on to new ventures! Big congratulations to Oliver Dentith who has secured a promotion as an EYFS Lead in Lewisham – wishing him every success! Also wishing Parma Kalsi good luck in her new role in a local primary school a she moves on from Pelham in the New Year.
Also, good luck to Sydnie Mauldon who is not leaving us but moving over to Fairford as part of her own personal development as a leader and Julie Tarling who is also making the move to Fairford on a full-time basis.
Governance Update
We have also been fortunate to have three new Trustees join us:
• Ian Walters, ex-Head Teacher of a pupil referral unit in Croydon, who comes to us with a huge amount of educational strategic and operational experience.
• Brenda McHugh, founder of the Pears Family School in North London and Consultant Psychologist working at the Anna Freud Centre in St John’s Woods, keen promoter of the vital link between mental health and the school / home partnership.
• Dan Selman, leading on cyber security for Camelot and previously with a long career in the Ministry of Defence focusing on cyber security and on-line safety.
As a Trust which continues to seek growth opportunities, the strength of our governanceis key to securing growth and providing the assurances needed by the DFE with whom we have established a strong working relationship over many years. Opportunities are limited by historical growth with which our trust did not engage prior to 2021 after the sponsorship of Normandy Primary School, but we continue to believe that our Trust has a huge amount to offer and the internal capacity for effective growth so we will keep seeking the right pathway for Illuminate Minds.
Following some concerns over communication, Dr Steven Toole has stepped down as Chair of the Trust Board and I am delighted to announce that Ms Nicola Harper has taken on the role of Chair from December 2023. Nicola has been part of theboard for severalyears, amemberof theAuditand Risk Committee and Pay Review Committee. As CEO, I am thrilled to have Nicola on board and look forward to continuing to develop the Trust through the strategic support of Nicola and the Trust Board.
We wish all staff a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Looking forward to working with you all in 2024 and seeing our schools go from strength to strength!
