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Trust News
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Collin as the new Headteacher at Bohunt School Worthing (BSW) in West Sussex, following Adam Whitehead’s move to Steyning Grammar School, West Sussex. Mr Collin, who joined the school after the Easter break, is a highly experienced educational leader, having worked as Headteacher at City Academy Norwich school in Norfolk for over four years, and as an experienced educational consultant and executive coach, recently gaining his NPQEL qualification. As Headteacher at BSW, Mr Collin will work alongside the school’s senior leadership team and Board of Governors, as well as with senior leaders at BET and its Trustees. The appointment of Mr Collin comes as the school celebrates its seventh anniversary, having opened in 2015 as BET’s first new school. Jen Comber will be assuming the role of Interim Headteacher at City Academy Norwich. Ms Comber possesses a wealth of experience, which will continue the high standards set by the Academy. Paul Collin said: “It is an honour to be joining the brilliant team at Bohunt School Worthing. The post represents an incredibly exciting opportunity for me, given the school’s excellent reputation and energy. I have every intention to continue and build on the current high expectations for the school, and I am looking forward to working closely with staff, students, parents and carers and the whole Worthing community, to ensure that BSW continues to provide the best possible education for every student, working as part of Bohunt Education Trust.” Neil Strowger, Trust Leader, commented: “Central to BET’s ethos of ‘enjoy respect achieve’ is the commitment to provide all students with every opportunity to succeed in life, regardless of their background and we have been delighted to see Paul’s commitment, experience and passion in action at CAN over the last five years. I would like to thank and pay tribute to Paul for his indefatigable commitment to the local community. “Whilst the [BSW] community will be sad to see Adam go, Paul, will have the full support of an active and supportive Board of Governors, a talented senior leadership team and a dedicated staff body.”
ADAM WHITEHEAD SHARES HIS VISION FOR STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Steyning Grammar School’s new headteacher, Adam Whitehead has written an open letter outlining his vision for the school.
Mr Whitehead was revealed as the new Headteacher in March and joined the four-site, state boarding school in April. He is a highly experienced education leader, having worked in Sussex schools for 25 years. He writes: “As I take over the headship of Steyning I want to act as a catalyst for change in both the school and the community so that SGS can build on its considerable strengths, learn from what is best in the Bohunt Education Trust (BET) and reach new heights of achievement across all aspects of its educational offer.” You can read his open letter in full here: www.sussexexpress.co.uk/education/steyning-grammar-schoolsussex-dynamic-future-awaits-3632672
THE COSTELLO SCHOOL ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF HEADTEACHER
THE GOVERNING BOARD AT THE COSTELLO SCHOOL HAS CONFIRMED THE FORTHCOMING DEPARTURE OF CURRENT HEADTEACHER MR RANDALL JULL.
Mr Jull has led The Costello School for what will be four years upon his departure, achieving significant improvements, increases in results, and an Ofsted rating of Good with Outstanding features. He will leave Costello at the end of the summer term.
Randall Jull, said: “It has been a pleasure and a great privilege to be part of the Costello family for the last few years. My time at Costello has been exceptionally fulfilling and I would personally like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the entire school community for its support. The Trust will shortly be starting a recruitment process to appoint the new Headteacher for the start of the new academic year in September. Given the strength of the school and its excellent reputation, I am sure it will be an extraordinarily strong field.” Neil Strowger, Trust Leader, commented: “Central to BET’s ethos of ‘enjoy respect achieve’ is the commitment to provide all students with every opportunity to succeed in life, regardless of their background and we have been delighted to see Randall’s commitment, experience and passion in action at Costello. I would like to thank and pay tribute to Randall for his indefatigable commitment to the local community. Randall is an exceptional leader, has led Costello to Ofsted Good with Outstanding features and has been instrumental in making exceptionally positive changes for his students. I wish him continued success for the future.” Hilary Todd, Costello’s Chair of Governors said: “We fully understand and support Mr Jull’s decision to move on from The Costello School and thank him for his unwavering commitment over the last three and a half years. He leaves The Costello School in a strong position and, following his departure, the Governors will work with the supporting trust, staff, and school community to ensure that the school’s leadership builds on his achievements and continues to offer a high level of support and education for every child.”
JANINE BLOOMFIELD, BROAD AREA OF NEED SEMH CO-ORDINATOR, BOHUNT SCHOOL WOKINGHAM
According to the World Health Organisation, mental health is a “state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community”. It refers to cognitive, behavioural, and emotional wellbeing and is about how people think, feel and behave. SEMH refers to a student’s mental health as well as their social and emotional wellbeing. The most common causes of SEMH are believed to include the following: attachment and/or trauma history, current and past family dynamics and other ‘systems’ around the student (school, community, society). Statistics show that the most recognised SEMH issues within schools are anxiety and self-harm. Anxiety Anxiety is defined as persistent and excessive worries that don’t go away even in the absence of a stressor. It is the most common psychological issue that people experience. At one time or another, we will all experience anxiety, we need to remember that a small amount of anxiety can be helpful in certain situations because it helps us to be alert and prepared for a perceived threat. It is not an event however, that creates anxiety, but our perception of, or how we interpret that event. Anxiety is the result of our brain making thinking errors in an attempt to keep us safe. We may either overthink the likelihood of something happening, or we may underestimate our coping strategies of this event. When this happens, our brain goes ‘offline’ and all we can think about is becoming ready to fight for survival. How to support anxiety Validate their feelings. This helps to rationalise and normalise their experience. To them, anxiety is significant and real. Talk calmly, your tone and calm body language subconsciously tells their brain that you are not scared, you are not fighting for survival and maybe they don’t need to fight for survival also. Take control of their breathing. When the body is faced with immediate danger, it triggers physiological changes e.g accelerated heart rate and breathing. This rapid breathing stops the body inhaling enough oxygen and consequently results in dizziness, feelings of dying or fainting. Encouraging them to breathe slowly increases their oxygen intake and regulates the physical effects on the body. Distracting away from the perceived threat also triggers a regulation in breathing (e.g. 5,4,3,2,1 sensory technique). Avoid words that focus their attention on their symptoms. When the brain is in a hyperarousal state, they don’t hear negative words, so ‘don’t panic’ becomes panic, ‘don’t worry’ becomes worry etc. Selecting certain words can also reduce fear; choose ‘uncertain’, ‘different’ or ‘unknown times’ rather than anxious or scary for example. Self-harm
Self-harm is where a person deliberately causes harm to themselves. It is often used as a way of managing difficult emotions, an expression of distress and a way to release tension or replace emotional pain. It is usually a way to feel ‘alive’ and not often associated with suicide ideation. The most common way to self-harm is to make cuts to limbs, hitting, burning, biting, scratching or self-sabotage acts such as risk taking, substance abuse or controlling food intake. Who self harms?
Anybody can self-harm, but teenagers are particularly prone to do so. It is estimated that there are about 25,000 hospital admissions of teenagers who harm themselves, every year in the UK. At least 10% of teenagers report having self-harmed. How to support a disclosure Discovering that a student is self-harming can be very upsetting and stressful. Think of their actions as an expression of deep emotions they can’t handle any other way. It would have taken great strength for them to disclose and your non-judgemental and calm reaction is vital. • Validate and understand their pain, listen and give them time. • Let them know they are not alone and you are there for them. • Help them identify triggers or situations which are unmanageable • Support their thinking of alternative strategies, letting them be in control of their decisions.
• Don’t tell them to stop, threaten to take away their control or insult them (tell them they are attention seeking).
Useful organisations www.youngminds.org.uk www.nhs.uk/mental-health/nhs-voluntarycharity-services/nhs-services www.annafreud.org www.charliewaller.org
BET ROUNDTABLE EXPLORES HOW GREEN EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS COULD BE KEY TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST HOSTED A VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLE FOR EXPERTS IN THE FIELD TO DISCUSS THE NEED FOR SCHOOLS TO FOCUS ON THE RURAL AND GREEN ECONOMY.
Calls are growing for an improvement in the way that education is offered to the next generation, as significant skills gaps develop, the wellbeing of our young people declines and our country, environment, climate, economy, and communities all experience change. The meeting, which included several experts, explored how place-based curriculum within schools focused on the rural and green economy could be part of the solution. Chair Neil Carmichael, Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham and UCL (IoE), was joined by dignitaries within the field of education and green and rural economies including The RT Hon Lord Baker of Dorking, who is spearheading University Technical Colleges. Also on the panel were two students from Bohunt Sixth Form, who shared their views and recent experiences in the classroom. The discussion raised points including innovative ideas on how to embed education for a sustainable future, close the necessary green skills gaps, strive for social inclusion and address eco anxiety among young people. Lord Baker voiced his wants for the education system to replace GCSEs and Progress 8 with the “revival of the old SATs at 14 years old”, so students can go on to decide to study more of where their interests lie. He also highlighted the need to bring back more skills-specific subjects into schools such as computer science and green subjects by adopting a Progress 5 system. Lord Baker said: “Green is a multidisciplinary subject, which makes it difficult to handle in a school. The lessons from UTCs is that you have to change the basic curriculum to allow what we want to see – more skills training. That has been supported by the report by the select committee on Youth Unemployment. It has only been set up for a year and has some very radical proposals on the curriculum and skills.” Panellists agreed on the need for greater clarity around what the green and rural economy is and noted that rural skills can include green finance, environmental science, ecology, spatial science and environmental law – which go beyond land management, farming and working within the local rural areas. The importance of food providence was also discussed. Richard Goring said: “Understanding the potential that farming can bring both to biodiversity and our plates is a key part of our education.” Alice Barnard said: “We are in an amazing position in the UK to sustain ourselves, but we need to put more thought into how we are going to create our own labour market that will be able to lead to that food security, which is going to be critical in the next 20 years.” Another popular idea amongst the group was to adopt a more thematic, project-based approach to learning, for example trips to a farm not just to learn farming or animal welfare, but taking art outdoors so students can engage with nature. Luke Rake, Principal of Kingston Maurward College and Estate, said: “We get a different engagement that challenges different students regardless of their academic ability [is a positive]. It has to be inclusive. Project-based learning really works.” Bohunt Sixth Form student Evie Chapman said: “The thematic learning way of the blending of subjects inspired us. We participated in a project with the University of Bristol looking at air pollution’s health implications. So we took our chemistry, biology and geography and put them together. We still had access to the subject expert but used collaboratively to get to our outcome. We have seen first-hand how project learning works and feel much more motivated.” Another key point made was the need for better partnerships between all school settings both at a local and national level right through to the employers. Robert Barratt, Eden Project North Chair of Education and Engagement said: “Partnership is key. Bringing together our early years practitioners, primary, secondary schools regularly together to start having conversations and building relations has been really significant as the driver for establishing the understanding for how our education system works in our local area.” Neil Carmichael agreed: “This is a complex structure, but everything is linked. We need to recognise that a rural economy is evolving all the time, but its component parts all relate to each other.
“There is a lot of agreement emerging from this group about direction of travel, there is an understanding of what a rural economy is, there is an appetite to generate a new approach for education in schools encouraging schools to become more outward facing in the rural communities. There is a recognition in more involvement in the catchment to the communities in which people learn, live and work in.” The panel agreed on future actions and the need to push these ideas forward. Director of Education at BET, Phil Avery, said: “This was an exciting discussion by creative, passionate people whose organisations are already showing what is possible. It is that clear place-based curricula can strengthen the academic core, motivate students and support the local community, economy and environment. The enthusiasm of the group to take-on actions and meet again to further refine our approach gives me great hope that we will move from ideation to implementation.” Bohunt Sixth Form student Mary Skuodas said: “What we have heard is really encouraging; especially to hear all the panel have the same opinions and are supporting an agenda like this.” The group will meet again in March, to review actions from the meeting and discuss specific proposals for educational models and how they might be implemented. The panel • The RT Hon Lord Baker of Dorking CH (Kenneth) • Neil Carmichael, Honorary Professor, University of
Nottingham, and UCL (IoE) • Phil Avery, Director of Education, Bohunt Education Trust • Georgette Ayling, Headteacher at Bohunt Horsham • Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of the Edge Foundation • Robert Barratt, Eden Project North Chair of Education and
Engagement • Steve Brace is Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Royal Geographical Society • Evie Chapman, Year 13 student, Bohunt Sixth Form • Richard Dunne, Director of Education for The Harmony
Project • Amanda Elmes, Learning, Outreach & Volunteer Strategy
Lead, South Downs National Park • Richard Goring, Wiston Estate • Patrick Holden, Founding Director and Chief Executive of the
Sustainable Food Trust • Olly Newton, Executive Director of the Edge Foundation • Luke Rake is CEO and Principal of Kingston Maurward
College and Estate • Stuart Roberts, farmer and NFU Deputy President • Mary Skuodas, Year 13 student, Bohunt Sixth Form
STUDENTS EMBRACE CHINESE CULTURE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR ENRICHMENT DAY
ON TUESDAY 8 MARCH, BOHUNT SCHOOL LIPHOOK ORGANISED AND HOSTED A CHINESE NEW YEAR DAY FOR STUDENTS ACROSS THE TRUST.
The day consisted of a variety of workshops that were organised by talented Mandarin teachers and external specialists. This included sessions on kung fu, fan dance, calligraphy, tea ceremony, bookmark and porcelain painting, as well as Chinese chess. Year 7 & 8 CLIL students from Bohunt School Liphook were joined by Year 7 & 8 MEP students from Bohunt Worthing and The Petersfield School. Students had the opportunity to experience and learn about various aspects of Chinese cultures and languages. In addition, they had the opportunity to collaborate and compete with their peers to create amazing art works, and win the well-known Chinese red envelopes, which signifies good luck and fortune. Student from all schools enjoyed the day, commenting: “It is a very educational insight into Chinese culture. It helps me understand Chinese culture better and appreciate it and it’s fun,” said a Bohunt Liphook student. “My favourite activity was the fan dancing because it’s something new that is very different from sitting down and writing. The whole trip has been really beneficial for knowing more about Mandarin,” added a student from Bohunt Worthing. “I really liked today, especially the calligraphy and Kungfu. I loved calligraphy because it was very artistic and very fun. I learnt that there are four different characters in kung fu and I found that really cultural,” added another student. One TPS student said: “I think today was fun. I particularly liked the calligraphy because we don’t get to use real brushes in class. I also liked the tea ceremony because I didn’t know how Chinese people made tea before today.”
PRIORY SCHOOL CITIZENSHIP STUDENTS TOOK PART IN A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION LAST WEEK WITH SCHOOLS MINISTER ROBIN WALKER.
The Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) contacted Mrs Blachford, Head of Faculty, Humanities and Trust Subject Coordinator for Citizenship to ask whether Priory School Citizenship students would like the opportunity to meet with the Schools Minister. The aim of the roundtable was to give students, teachers and headteachers an opportunity to talk to the Minister about the content and value of Citizenship and the GCSE in Citizenship Education. This was an opportunity that Headteacher, Mr Vaughan, Mrs Blachford and students were very keen to take part in! Six schools from around England were invited to take part in the Round Table discussion – each school had two students and the teacher who was responsible for Citizenship Education. Three schools, including Priory School, also had their headteacher present for the meeting. The Minister spoke about the importance of Citizenship Education as being one vehicle for young people to develop their knowledge and skills to become active and engaged citizens. Students from each school were then invited to question the Minister on issues they felt passionate about relating to Citizenship education. The topics ranged from Media literacy/disinformation/ conspiracy theories to sustainable citizenship and climate education/climate crisis, to social justice, human rights and lowering the voting age to 16. When Priory’s turn came, Stewart Vaughan spoke first to set the context of the school and why, for Priory, Citizenship is, and always has been, a fundamental entitlement for all our students and something the school is proud of. Nao P, a Year 10 GCSE Citizenship Student spoke eloquently about how Priory School and Bohunt Education Trust have ‘Game-changers’ at the heart of our ethos – so all students have access to Core Citizenship lessons and at Priory they can opt to do a GCSE in Citizenship too. Nao said they know that is not the case in all schools and they think this should be! Tilly-Mae Bennett, a Year 10 Citizenship student was then invited to ask her question: ‘Does the Minister believe in and support the teaching of Citizenship for every pupil in the country regardless of what type of school they attend?’. The Minister was very clear in his support for Citizenship education, regardless of the educational setting. The students were excited to be able to put their questions to the Minister and potentially have an influence on education policy for other young people.
BOHUNT HORSHAM WOWS TRAINEE TEACHERS
BOHUNT HORSHAM HOSTED SIX TRAINEE TEACHERS FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AROUND THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND, WHO SPENT THE DAY AT THE SCHOOL’S BRAND NEW SITE, MEETING STAFF, STUDENTS AND OBSERVING LESSONS AND LEARNING.
The teachers observed students’ behaviour, school culture and staff/student relationships. Their comments included: “I have never encountered a panel where students were so eloquent,” and that, “students cared about their learning and were motivated by it,” and were clearly, “so confident and proud of their school.” “The whole school feels so calm and purposeful. Even the corridors.” “The staff all know the students; they check in with them and are so glad to see them,” and, “One of the most amazing lessons I have ever experienced, students didn’t get any rewards – they didn’t even want them, they just wanted to do well.” Headteacher, Georgette Ayling said of the visit: “Seeing our school through trainee teachers’ eyes was such a pleasure, and has reminded us that we are all doing a great job. I want to thank all the staff at Bohunt Horsham for all their continued hard work. Even when it can feel tough, I feel privileged to work with a team that makes it look effortless.” *Bohunt Horsham has also recently opened its new bridge enabling students to safely get to school on foot and by bike.
HEADLINE: ITV’S NEWS AT TEN VISITS BOHUNT SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM
ON FRIDAY 11 FEBRUARY, ITV’S NEWS TEAM PAID A VISIT TO BOHUNT SIXTH FORM, IN LIPHOOK.
Aware of BET’s trailblazing approach to reforming the history curriculum, ITV News reporter Chloe Keedy spoke with Year 12 students Ela Sidhu, Lauriane Payne and Year 8 students Alexander Zhang and Adam Wray about the impact and importance of teaching black history in schools and how at Bohunt Education Trust, with the help of students, teachers have led the way in rewriting the history curriculum.
The piece aired on ITV News at Ten, following an exclusive interview with Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter, Tukwini Mandela, who has expressed concern about the lack of black representation across the UK’s school curriculum. Trust Director for History, Rowena Hammal, said: “Our team of history teachers wanted to embed black history throughout our curriculum. We have always taught topics such as civil rights, slavery, and the British Empire, but we wanted to cover a broader range of representative history across all time periods, and go into greater depth. Our students want to understand the past, so they can truly understand the present. It was a collaborative effort between the school, our students and experts in the field, including academics from the University of Portsmouth.” Year 12 student Lauriane Payne said: “It was great that we had the opportunity to contribute to help shape the curriculum. Our history includes black and ethic minorities history, so why should we whitewash our curriculum?” “People of colour have contributed to our history in a big way,” added Year 8 student Alexander Smith. Watch the interview in full here: www.itv.com/news/2022-0211/nelson-mandela-would-tell-us-to-educate-ourselves-aboutblack-history Read BET’s Black Lives Matter Statement here: www.bohunttrust. co.uk/news/black-lives-matter-statement/
TES ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS HOW BET IS MAKING SCIENCE MORE RELEVANT
PHIL AVERY, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND GEORGETTE AYLING, HEADTEACHER AT BOHUNT SCHOOL HORSHAM FEATURED IN A TES ARTICLE THIS SPRING, ADDRESSING HOW TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS ARE MAKING THEIR SCIENCE CURRICULUM MORE RELEVANT AND RELATABLE FOR STUDENTS.
Phil talked about how to motivate students when teachers are focusing on delivering the curriculum and achieving good assessment outcomes. “We spend a lot of time thinking about what we’re teaching, which is the curriculum, and how we’re teaching it, which is pedagogy, but we forget about the motivation,” Phil told TES. A great example of linking STEM to real-world activities has been work seen at Bohunt School Horsham. Working with 1851 Trust – a charity formed by Sir Ben Ainslie in 2014 – and its Stem Crew initiative, students looked at the subtwo-hour marathon project otherwise known has the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, students had the opportunity to interview top sports scientists to gain a better understanding of the science concepts they were studying. Georgette told TES: “The combination of practical, hands-on and creative activities with meeting real-world scientists gave the students a taste of how exciting and fulfilling a life of science can be.” Read the article in full here: www.tes.com/magazine/teachinglearning/secondary/best-way-teach-stem
