Chair and Trust Leader Welcomes

KIRSTY PROTHEROE JOINS THE COSTELLO SCHOOL AS HEADTEACHER

THE COSTELLO SCHOOL IN BASINGSTOKE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW HEADTEACHER, SAFEGUARDING THE SCHOOL’S LEADERSHIP AS IT CONTINUES ITS PROGRESS AS PART OF THE BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST (BET) FAMILY OF SCHOOLS.

Kirsty Protheroe, who took up the position as Headteacher at the 11-16 school in September 2022, is a highly experienced educational leader, having led two schools at senior level since 2011, and has held a part-time shared Headship since 2015. Kirsty joined from Pewsey Vale School in Wiltshire where she was Deputy Headteacher – a position she held for eight years. She is passionate about providing students with the best possible learning environment, teaching and opportunities and holds a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). As Headteacher at Costello, Ms Protheroe works 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 Ms Protheroe to the 114-year-old school has been made as the school celebrates three and a half years with Bohunt Education Trust (BET). Kirsty Protheroe, Headteacher said: “It is my honour and privilege to lead The Costello School. I am keen to lead the school in its next chapter collegiately with colleagues, to develop the next generation of Game-changers across a wide range of representational fields. I believe that the time students spend at school is incredibly important in preparing students for their futures: enabling them to develop as individuals and break through perceived barriers. I am absolutely thrilled to be offered this opportunity.” Hilary Todd, Chair of Governors at The Costello School said: “We are sad to see Randall Jull depart and thank him for all the hard work and dedication he has shown to ensure the very best for the students of Costello. We are determined that our students be successful, happy and have every opportunity to make the most of their future. We look forward to a bright future for the school with Kirsty, whilst wishing Randall success, health and happiness with his future career.” Neil Strowger, Trust Leader at Bohunt Education Trust, commented: “I am thrilled to welcome Kirsty Protheroe to the BET fold. Costello is a thriving and successful school whose senior leadership team’s principled, insightful guidance has seen the school achieve an excellent Ofsted rating. Kirsty will have the full support of all at BET. I have no doubt she will propel Costello to even greater heights.”

PRIORY TEACHER SCOOPS OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT TO CITIZENSHIP TEACHING AT THE ACT AWARDS

HELEN BLACHFORD, HEAD OF FACULTY FOR HUMANITIES & CURRICULUM LEADER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION (PSHE) AT PRIORY SCHOOL IN SOUTHSEA, PICKED UP THE ASSOCIATION FOR CITIZENSHIP TEACHING’S LORD BLUNKETT OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION AWARD.

The awards, which took place at the Houses of Parliament on 4 July, is a celebration and tribute to the many teachers and schools who work tirelessly to provide excellent Citizenship education. Helen was presented her award by The Rt Hon. the Lord Blunkett, current member of the House of Lords. Priory Alumnus Stephen Morgan MP was also in attendance along with Priory Headteacher, Stewart Vaughan who was a guest speaker at the ACT Annual Conference. Stephen Morgan said: “It’s fantastic to see local efforts being nationally recognised for the brilliant contribution Portsmouth teachers have made to education and citizenship. I was delighted to be able to congratulate Helen in Parliament on the night she received her richly deserved award. “Citizenship education provides an invaluable opportunity for teachers to explore important issues with their students, encouraging them to take positive action and learn more about our individual responsibilities in society. “It’s vital schools across Portsmouth and the country continue to see the value in citizenship, and I hope to see our city represented once again at next year’s awards!” The ACT Teaching Awards recognise and celebrate schools, teachers and organisations who have shown commitment to Citizenship education, and represent its core values. Helen has taught Citizenship education, in various forms, for more than 20 years, but now also teaches History and Religious Education. Helen is a committed member of the Association for Citizenship (ACT), the professional association for those involved in Citizenship education. She is an ACT Teaching Ambassador for the SouthEast Region and a member ACT Council, which helps to steer the work of ACT, since 2012 and Chair of ACT Council since 2015; she has helped to plan the ACT national conference, led TeachMeets for the new GCSEs, and been guest editor and written articles for the ACT journal, ‘Teaching Citizenship’.

STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL SELECTED TO RECEIVE BOOST AS PART OF GOVERNMENT’S SCHOOL REBUILDING PROGRAMME

STEYNING GRAMMAR SCHOOL, WHICH IS PART OF THE HIGH-PERFORMING BOHUNT EDUCATION TRUST (BET), HAS TODAY BEEN SELECTED AS ONE OF 61 FURTHER SCHOOLS NATIONALLY TO RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION’S (DFE) SCHOOL REBUILDING PROGRAMME.

The Programme commits to rebuild and refurbish schools across England as part of the Government’s wider Schools White Paper actions. The announcement marks the third wave of schools selected.

The School and the Trust will now be working closely with the DFE and the programme to finalise plans to bolster and transform the learning and teaching environments across the school site, so that they can further enhance the high standards of education currently being delivered. The bid, which was submitted by BET to further support the school’s provision, was intended to be for the Rock Road and Shooting Field sites. However, the scope of the funding will not be made clear until further details are available. More details of these plans, and how the school and its students, staff and wider school community are set to benefit, will be shared at the earliest opportunity. Commenting on the announcement, Adam Whitehead, Headteacher of Steyning Grammar School said: “I am thrilled by this opportunity: one that will transform Steyning Grammar School and the lives of thousands of our students in the coming years. These works will enable the school to become a centre of excellence for learning and bring huge benefits to Steyning Grammar School, our students and our teachers”. Neil Strowger, Trust Leader at Bohunt Education Trust said: “We are proud and pleased that Steyning Grammar School will be receiving this important investment, providing students and staff with world-leading education facilities to support their ongoing growth and development. We look forward to working with the DfE and other partners to deliver a positive result that meets the needs of our young people, now and in the future.” Rachael Jarrett, Chief Financial Officer at Bohunt Education Trust said: “Being selected as part of this programme is the culmination of a great deal of work to improve the environment for the students and staff at Steyning Grammar School. We are excited to be part of the DfE vision for investing in the future of our young people and look forward to working on this exciting project.”

GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COASTING ALONG NICELY

WHEN ANDY BUTT, BET DIRECTOR OF GEOGRAPHY WAS ASKED ABOUT HIS INSET PLANS HIS REPLY OF ‘I’M TAKING THEM ALL TO THE BEACH’ WAS MET WITH SOME LOOKS OF SURPRISE. BUT AS HE WENT ON TO EXPLAIN, A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH THE SOUTHSEA COASTAL SCHEME HAD EMERGED THROUGH THE LINK CREATED BETWEEN THE SCHEME’S EDUCATION TEAM AND THE PRIORY SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT.

As Priory’s Geography Curriculum Leader, Harriet Whitfield, explains: “We were contacted by Jeanette Moyse [the scheme’s Customer Engagement Officer] to discuss how they could engage with local schools. This led to a whole range of opportunities as coasts are part of both the GCSE and Key Stage 3 curriculum across the Trust. Jeanette was able to help us organise Zoom talks with Year 8 classes, visits to the site for staff and the opportunity for the Year 10s to drop by whilst on fieldwork.” The scheme, which runs from 2020-28, involves an investment of £100m along the Portsmouth coastline. This involves a wide range of different strategies and aims to give the city peace of mind for the next 100 years from both storms and sea level rise. Coastal management is a key case study for all BET Geographers and therefore opportunities for wider school involvement began to be explored. As part of inset the case study was introduced to all schools with the aim to embed this management example into curriculum across the trust. This led to a group of Geography subject leaders across the Trust getting the opportunity to visit the site and work with an engineer from the scheme, whilst the remaining geographers were able to walk the planned development with another engineer. The planned involvement will enable students depth of understanding of the challenges and opportunities experienced through the whole management process. As geography teacher Luke Thomas from Costello said: “We want to bring the real world into the classroom. It’s a real privilege, and thanks to VolkerWessels UK and Andy Butt, Director of Geography Trust, for organising the trip.”