Education Learning Trust Summer 2019 Newsletter

Connections Summer 2019

Welcome to our Education Learning Trust (ELT) newsletter.

As part of my role as the Executive Principal of the Education Learning Trust (ELT) I have the privilege of working with the senior leaders of all the schools in the Trust to secure the best opportunities for our learners. The Education Learning Trust now has three schools: Bredbury Green Primary, Gatley Primary and Meadowbank Primary.

This year has been a busy year for the ELT so I thought I would share with you some key developments.

In autumn term, the ELT held the first joint INSET session with all schools in the Trust at Meadowbank Primary.

This was an inspiring day for our staff team, who shared their vision for building capacity across the schools to continually improve all that we do. Each school presented their curriculum intent, which showed how the curriculum has been personalised to meet learner needs and reflect their local community.

We also established a new ELT website, which was developed by our leaders in collaboration with a website designer during the autumn term. Please have a look at our ELT website and let us know what you think at www. educationlearningtrust.com In the spring term, the schools began peer reviews as part of the ‘Curriculum Matters’ Research Project

which has be sponsored by a national research group ASPE (Association for the Study of Primary Education).

Emerging from this work was the development of a new ELT Curriculum and Assessment Charter, which is used by all schools. We are working with university partners to further develop our curriculum research work next academic year.

During the summer term, the staff have been involved in shared recruitment processes which has enabled the ELT to appoint the best staff for our children. Our overall performance as a Trust has continued to rise as we now meet national or exceed national expectations in all subject areas at Key Stage 1 and 2, with the exception of reading which is broadly in-line. These outcomes reflect our staff commitment to working alongside our children to ensure their potential is achieved during their primary years.

I will be attending the next Parent Voice meeting in each school during the autumn term and hope to meet with you then.

Wishing you a lovely summer break.

Michelle Murray Executive Principal/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Education Learning Trust

Education Learning Trust

Our first year within the Education Learning Trust Janine Appleton, Headteacher, Meadowbank Primary School

The Importance of Identity and a Unique Curriculum Vanessa McManus, Head of School Gatley Primary

Sharing Expertise Andrea Davies, Bredbury Green Primary School

Value of the research journey on us as researcher Kellie Carrington, Deputy Headteacher/SLE Katherine Jenkins, Assistant Headteacher/SLE Meadowbank Primary School

| Hawthorn Road, Gatley, Cheadle SK8 4NB

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Our first year within the Education Learning Trust Meadowbank Primary became the third school to join the Education Learning Trust in April 2018. Therefore, at the completion of our first year, I have been reflecting upon the growth of our school during this time.

There is indeed much to reflect upon, and as each month passes, greater evidence emerges of our growing capacity that will enable us to build upon the already positive impact that the partnerships within the Trust can have on the children and adults across our schools.

It has been a busy and exciting year for our ELT family and all three schools have been committed to work together to build upon the foundations of our shared values to collaborate, empower and achieve. As the most recent school to become members of the Trust, I recognised the possibility that there may have been an expectation that Meadowbank adapt to some already established systems and processes.

Perception has not led to reality, and our school leaders and governing board are listened to with our views both sought and valued as policies and practices have developed. As an established Headteacher, I have not felt a loss of autonomy during the past year; in fact, my thinking has developed through the

collaboration around the growth of the Trust as a whole.

All three schools have invested in building partnerships and our Senior Leadership Teams meet regularly to ensure that we know each other, and our schools well. Our CEO, Michelle Murray, uses her in-depth knowledge of each school and forward thinking vision around the future of education to guide our work ensuring that it is the schools’ voices that lead the direction of the ELT. We have a growing interdependence which stems from trust and ambition for all of our communities. This commitment to each other enables easy agreement due to our shared values and philosophies. These leadership meetings always leave me inspired and

reaching out for new learning.

It is invaluable to share ideas with others who have aligned views drawn from different experiences.

Trustee Board meetings are held regularly and have a varied representation across a wide skill base including education, finance and business. Trustees are keen to know their community well and spend time in each of their schools with staff, children and Local Governing Boards.

Headteachers attend each Trust meeting to talk about their own school celebrating achievements and sharing the impact of initiatives.

This evidences the Trustee’s commitment to being open and transparent as it gives all stakeholders the opportunity to discuss and consult on the Trust’s work. Meadowbank’s Local Governing Board has retained its autonomy and continues to have its valued role in challenging school improvement.

We have a growing interdependence which stems from trust and ambition for all of our communities.

This commitment to each other enables easy agreement due to our shared values and philosophies. These leadership meetings always leave me inspired and reaching out for new learning.

Education Learning Trust

| Hawthorn Road, Gatley, Cheadle SK8 4NB

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Collaboration across schools is the core of the Education Learning Trust’s school improvement processes and it is here that the positive impact of Meadowbank’s conversion is impressive.

I have watched with pride during the initial months following conversion as highly effective cross-school teams have emerged that will inevitably impact upon our children and the quality of learning in our school and across the Trust.

A number of teaching and learning research teams are now in place which challenge and support each other and cross school monitoring has begun to develop based upon trust and capacity building. Our thinking around our practices is deepening due to increased opportunities to consider and rationalise our approaches in challenging yet supportive environments. We can problem solve and research ideas through collaboration in adult learning.

There is an understanding that each of our schools is different which provides the opportunity to learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences.

The feel of sense of synergy is

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tangible, we know that we can grow but if we challenge and help each other, all schools can progress further. We are stronger together and this is truly exciting.

Our first year as members of the Education Learning Trust has indeed been a positive one. Our Core Values to collaborate, empower and achieve remain the cornerstone of our learning and progress and Madowbank’s decision to join our long term partners more formally has served to enhance our collaborations and invigorate our opportunities to learn together.

The three schools currently within the ELT are very different, yet we have shared philosophies that education should be led by the children and that a love of learning should be lifelong which drives our commitment to each other. A view was offered that effective T rusts school’s see themselves as ‘siblings but not as twins’.

This is a view that I concur with; I love our differences and am very much looking forward to learning and growing with our new family over the coming years.

Janine Appleton, Headteacher, Meadowbank Primary School

Sharing Expertise

The Importance of Identity and a Unique Curriculum As Head of one of the schools in the Education Learning Trust, it has been paramount to us that we retain our identity as the Trust grows.

We are lucky to be part of a Trust that promotes the importance of a curriculum that is shaped by our children and, as one of its academies, encourages freedom to do this.

Each school has been given the opportunity to consult with children and staff about how they feel they are unique and what they are entitled to expect from their curriculum. As a result, we have drawn up a ‘curriculum intention’ that captures what our children value most in their learning and also what staff feel is relevant to them as they grow.

This year, we had the opportunity to meet all of our colleagues from the Trust and to visit Meadowbank Primary School, for a series of workshops and training opportunities.

As a Trust we continue to develop a curriculum model that is implemented in all schools with each school contributing their own distinctive elements as they enter the Trust.

Consistent yet autonomous!

Vanessa McManus, Head of School, Gatley Primary

It was great to finally meet all those invested in the Trust and to collaborate together. Through lunch, workshops and a series of presentations, each school was able to network and explain the pedagogy and the ethos of their schools.

Across the schools, discussions were held to elaborate on the exciting and innovative ways teaching and learning is being developed across the trust. It was rewarding to see that many of the themes were central to the educational ethos of each school but it was also great for staff to be able to ‘magpie’ ideas, to use in our own classrooms. Teachers rarely get the opportunity to share expertise, knowledge and experience and so this was a lovely chance to celebrate and reflect upon practice in our own settings.

Meadowbank school has a vibrant, exciting and welcoming atmosphere and we thank them for hosting this unique event.

Andrea Davies, Bredbury Green Primary School Education Learning Trust

| Hawthorn Road, Gatley, Cheadle SK8 4NB

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Value of the research journey on us as researchers language development in Reception were six times less likely to struggle with English in Year 6.’

Research in education is leading edge and challenges thinking and methodologies which provides benefits to all. The vision is one of building capacity and leadership with the sharing of practice with research being the main vehicle for improvement thus improving outcomes for children and staff through collaboration and the sharing of best practice across the Trust.

As Senior School Leaders, we have had numerous opportunities in developing an innovative, learner-led approach to joint practice development based on a key line of enquiry that has been identified across the Trust in order to raise standards and improve outcomes for children further.

We have used this forward thinking approach to look at accelerating the progress of boys writing in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The research question ‘Does motivating boys to write in their play, in contexts that are interesting to them, increase the frequency that they choose to write?’ led to the designing and

implementation of a Randomised Control Trial with colleagues and children across five settings.

Save the Children cited ‘Boys are nearly twice as likely to be behind girls in early language skills at the start of their school life and a wealth of evidence shows that falling behind in early language and communication affects both boys and girls in the short-, medium- and long-term.

Children who did not achieve the expected standard of early language and communication at five were found to be over four times more likely to have below expected Reading skills at 11 than those who did.

Those who had good early

Education Learning Trust

Our rationale was to develop early language and communication skills which would enable children to engage, and be motivated through the use of a personalised ‘Action Box’ which was developed alongside the child based on their individual interests.

The adults facilitated the children’s learning using the action box as a tool for promoting writing in meaningful and purposeful contexts. Once modelled, the children accessed these independently within the wider environment.

Pre and post data collected from an interview with the children showed that their enthusiasm for writing increased and the children made specific reference to writing about the contents of the action boxes.

“I like writing about these, my favourite things” “I like writing more now.

I can write about Lego” “I love my action box because its Ninjargo and Kai and Zaine” The trial suggested that using an action box as a personalised stimulus for writing, linked to boys’ interests, motivated and increased the frequency of boys choosing to write in the learning environment compared to existing provision.

The reflective nature of research has meant that we have had in-depth conversations about our own and others practice and the impact that this has on our children. cohort. This has been such an innovative and exciting opportunity which has challenged our thinking and thought processes every step of the way. The reflective nature of research has meant that we have had in-depth conversations about our own and others practice and the impact that this has on our children. It has given us the opportunity to open our minds to new ideas, strategies and methods which will lead us on new journeys where risk and innovation will be at the forefront of driving school improvement and initiatives.”

Using research as a methodology will continue to be one of the main drivers for school improvement and provides an approach that we are passionate about continuing to lead and develop across the Trust with all adults and children.

Kellie Carrington, Deputy Headteacher/SLE, Katherine Jenkins, Assistant Headteacher/SLE, Meadowbank Primary School

One colleague said, “This process has enabled me to look at priorities within my

| Hawthorn Road, Gatley, Cheadle SK8 4NB

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