Chair and Trust Leader Welcomes

EDUCATION TRUST

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

As I write, it is somewhat depressing to look back to this time last year, when we were battling the Covid-19 pandemic, but hopeful that all the UK population would be fully-vaccinated by the summer. Nationally, we have done extremely well with the vaccination programme, despite the threatening efforts of a very small number of ill-informed Anti-Vaxers. However, the pandemic is with us still, and there is a real possibility that yet another lockdown may be on the cards. The rapid spread of this virulent variant is causing significant numbers of absences in both pupils and staff, thereby creating further strain on colleagues and leadership teams. I am very proud of how you have responded to this national crisis, and on behalf of the Trustees I extend a huge THANK YOU. Many of you have not had any proper vacation for over 18 months, yet your amazing resilience is an example to all, and I know that this has not been achieved easily. Trust and School Leaders continue their enormous and exhausting efforts to facilitate safe teaching and learning, whilst keeping both students and staff safe. Well done! A consequence of this is that I have been unable to visit any of our schools, which in normal times is hugely enjoyable. Maybe in the New Year! During the last term, there were several significant events for the Trust. Costello School received “Good with Outstanding features” in its Ofsted inspection in October. This is a fantastic achievement, considering that the school was Requires Improvement when it joined BET only three years ago. Coming only a few weeks after Headteacher Randall Jull was named as winner of the Leadership Award in the Hampshire Education Awards 2021, he and all the staff deserve many congratulations for this double achievement.

A few weeks later, Wokingham also had an Ofsted inspection, this time focused on Safeguarding. This concluded that Safeguarding is Effective, and that unsurprisingly, “pupils find the support they receive from staff, especially the pastoral team, helpful and reassuring”. All schools within the Trust are now rated as “Good” or better.

In October, we appointed a new Headteacher for SGS, from a strong external and internal field. It is pleasing that the successful candidate is Adam Whitehead, the current (and founding) Head of School at Bohunt Worthing, who takes over the reins from the capable hands of Interim Head, Nat Nicol, in April 2022. Many congratulations to Adam, who no doubt will take SGS to new heights. As in all our schools, Priory continues to expand pupils’ horizons with gamechanger opportunities. Notable amongst these was when Year 10 met Jasmine Whitbread, Chair of Travis Perkins and former CEO of Save the Children International. They were fascinated to learn about her career path, and the choices she had made on that journey. Then in November, a group of Year 10 art students were selected to represent Priory, as one of only four UK schools, and of eight internationally, to participate in a project created by the artist Grayson Perry, in which they will cooperate closely with a school in The Netherlands. Emma and Annika, two Wokingham pupils have joined the local Youth Council, which has presented them with amazing opportunities. They have interviewed former Prime Minister Theresa May about what she regards as her legacy, and presented a climate change project for schools to the local Borough Council, resulting in an appearance on Meridian TV!

In September, CAN welcomed two new members of staff, Bucky and Freddie, who are trainee Assisted Learning Dogs. They have settled in well, and their calming presence is proving very helpful with children who struggle with social, emotional and behavioural issues. Students from Liphook and TPS attended COP26 East Hampshire, sharing their schools’ initiatives and future plans. Chaired by local MP Damian Hinds, the 400 attendees learned about local actions to reduce carbon emissions, and how individuals and organisations can help save the planet. Finally, well done to Liphook’s hockey team who beat 17 other schools to win the county round of the national In2Hockey U13s Championship, despite being the only state school team.

DR RAY MORTON

Chair of the Trust Board

MESSAGE FROM THE TRUST LEADER

Colleagues. Happy New Year! I hope that you enjoyed a peaceful Christmas period with your friends and family and have returned to 2022 refreshed and invigorated for the road ahead. I always look forward to the return to school after the Christmas break, if for no other reason than to give my liver a break from the punishment of Prometheus - too much rich food and pleasures of the grape, rather than an eagle to blame! I am sure I was not alone in my dismay at the advent of the Omicron virus which appears to be the epidemiological equivalent of ‘ground hog day’ and has necessitated our re-introduction of enhanced Covid controls.

I hope that early reports that this variant may be the one which changes Covid-19 from being pandemic to endemic are proven to be correct. In the meantime, please may I ask you to make renewed efforts not to succumb to ‘Covid fatigue’ and maintain your individual vigilance and adherence to our Covid security protocol. It is so important we protect the vulnerable and keep our children and colleagues in school.

EDUCATION TRUST

It was with enormous pride that I looked back at 2021; the pandemic has demonstrated the exceptional strength of our family of schools, the selflessness of our community and the spirit of collaboration. The line that differentiates between trust and schools has become less distinct as our culture continues to develop and deepen. The Ofsted inspection team who recently visited The Costello School opined, “The School is the Trust and the Trust is the School.” I offer my congratulations to the whole Costello Community, not just for the fabulous report and judgements earned, but for embracing and embodying our core values. Traditionally, the start of a new calendar year is a time when we resolve to make changes for the better to our lives; change has certainly been the key feature of recent times as we have lived through unprecedented times. Further, many of these external changes to our lives have been forced upon us, rather than chosen, which increases stress due to a sense of impotence and lack of control. An old Chinese proverb reminds us, ‘When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.’ As we head into 2022 – as you will read from this bumper 11th issue – there is much to celebrate and many reasons to be confident that 2022 will be the year of recovery of growth. Better Times indeed! Let us go forth and build windmills, or failing that an outdoor centre.

Happy New Year.

NEIL STROWGER

Trust Leader of BET