Welcome to the latest edition of News From TLP. With the sun currently shining as I write this in early April, it seems strange to look back at the start of the term when we had to deal with all the snow and ice. Some of our schools had to revert to online teaching, a reminder of Covid times now 5 years ago.
The start of the term also saw Ofsted launch their consultation on the proposed new report cards which remains open until 28th April. The proposal will impact all our schools, so I encourage you to have your say, whatever part of the school community you work in.
CEO, The Learning Partnership
This issue of News From TLP covers many of the fantastic achievements across our schools, what is also great to see is how the strength of co-working and sharing ideas across the trust continues to grow, as highlighted in the article below, where Crewe UTC has been supporting two of our primary schools.
The Easter break offers the chance to recharge before the final term as we then enter the summer exams season. A huge thank you to everyone working in and across all of our schools after such a busy term, I hope you enjoy a relaxing Easter holiday.
Crewe UTC hosts workshops for Trust Primary Schools.
Crewe UTC has delivered Key Stage 2 Design & Engineering workshops for two of our primary schools this term. Year 6 Dove Bank pupils loved their trip to the college for a workshop in Robotics. The children programmed Edison robots to travel around a map, avoiding obstacles. Some even programmed in commands which responded to claps! Shavington Primary pupils took on the Glider Challenge for their workshop. After learning about aerodynamics from UTC students and staff, they worked in teams to design gliders, which were then produced in UTC's engineering workshop, and tested by the pupils.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJXQDOTbZRo
School Improvement Networks.
Our School Improvement Networks (comprised of leaders from each of our schools and sponsored by one of our Headteachers) meet regularly and are used as a vehicle to drive school improvement through collaboration and the sharing of best practice, both from within and outside of our organisation.
We currently have seven school improvement networks across TLP: EYFS, safeguarding, SEND, literacy, attendance, secondary English and secondary maths. Below are examples of developments from two of our school improvement networks:
Attendance Network.
All stakeholders across TLP are focused on ensuring the attendance of all pupils, with an emphasis on disadvantaged students and closing the achievement gap, while also working to improve attendance, especially for those who are persistently or severely absent.
To support this, the attendance group are focussing on adopting a 'Golden Hour' between 9:00am and 10:00am to ensure we have a robust response to children not being in school. It relates to how non-attendance is communicated and the way we support families to help get everyone into school, on time and every day. In addition, the group are also implementing a clear escalation process for emerging concerns, establishing an effective system for tracking attendance to allow timely interventions, and setting up robust reporting arrangements for stakeholders, including a dedicated tracker for disadvantaged pupils.
English Network.
This network is being supported by an external lead from the Laurus Trust whom TLP work closely with. After an initial audit of current practice was undertaken, work has been agreed to focus on implementing whole-class feedback using English-specific pedagogy (such as teaching vocabulary, exam approaches, live modelling of meta-cognitive processes, scaffolding, chunking, and verbs of analysis and authorial intent) and ensuring leaders are held accountable.
This group is also creating a 'walkabout culture' where schools/departments have an open-door culture with staff and visitors welcomed into classrooms as a matter of common practice.
Primary HTs attend the East Cheshire
Association Residential Primary Teachers come together for Writing Moderation
In January, teachers from TLP primary schools came together in their respective year groups to take part in a moderating pupils’ writing workshop. All schools prepared for this peer-to-peer activity using TLP writing moderation guidance and year group expectations documents.
At TLP, we know the value in working with like-minded colleagues to develop our subject knowledge and professional practice. Coming together to moderate pupils’ work is a powerful tool for us to deepen our understanding of the teacher assessment frameworks and to evaluate pupil progress.
Feedback from the session has been very positive – our teachers told us that it was both reassuring and valuable to work with colleagues across the trust in different schools. This activity will be repeated in May and become a regular calendared event within TLP. Moreover, staff told us that the opportunity to visit their sister schools was enjoyable and appreciated, so we will continue to endeavour to work constructively in this way.
As part of TLP’s commitment to ongoing professional development and external partnership working, seven of our primary headteachers attended the ECAPH residential conference in February at Carden Park.
With a focus on the leadership of teaching and learning, colleagues heard from Jonathon Lear. Jonathon inspires us to focus on bringing the curriculum to life for pupils from all backgrounds; to consider what we should expect and what we really want from our curriculum.
In addition, Dr Andrew Curran led sessions exploring the neurobiology of learning; how a good teacher looks beyond behaviours and academic outcomes to a child who is very capable of learning – never losing sight of the human in front of us. We considered how we can help children to learn through our understanding of brain development and learning acquisition. TLP primary headteachers are now disseminating these themes back at their own schools and settings, in our constant drive to transform communities through education.
Local Governance at The Learning Partnership.
It may surprise many to know that the trust and its schools is supported by an extensive network of almost 100 Local Governors who volunteer their own time by attending Local Governing Board meetings and working closely with the school, headteachers and leadership team.
It Is often seen as a myth that governors need to be from an education background, but this is very much not the case as Allan Howells, Trust Director of Quality comments, “Diversity of thought, voices and perspectives is essential to good governance and the effective running of any organisation. The TLP vision “We aspire to transform communities through education”, highlights the importance of communities and de-facto the importance that our governance reflects the diversity of the communities that we serve.”
The key role of a governor is to work closely with the schools, the headteacher and leadership team to ensure there is a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction. School Governors maintain an oversight on the school curriculum including performance and results, behaviour and attendance, pupil wellbeing which includes safeguarding, SEND provision and pupil voice, as well as community links. Governors also have a formal involvement in sitting on panels that review pupil suspensions and exclusions, in addition to the panels that deliberate on complex parental complaints.
Allan is supported by a team of experienced Governance Professionals, themselves drawn from different and diverse professional backgrounds. The governance team work closely with schools to ensure that administrative requirements for Local Governing Boards are effective and efficient. This includes the arranging and coordination of meetings, of which there are over 60 each year, issuing the agenda and supporting material and completing the minutes post meeting. The governance team also support schools, headteachers and governors with advice, guidance and training.
Chair of Governors at Congleton High School, Richard Benson comments, “The role of a Governor is personally rewarding as it allows me to share the experience I have gained throughout my career and give something back to young people that will help transform them and the communities they live in.”
Schools News.
150 Trees Planted.
Year 6 pupils at Black Firs worked with Trees for Congleton, and planted 185 saplings into the 'Harebell Drive Tiny forest'. This is part of Cheshire East's new Tiny forests project. It was a fun-filled morning and a wonderful opportunity for the children to put sustainability into action.
BLACK FIRS PRIMARY
New Student Leaders at Castle.
Castle Primary School's newly formed Pupil Leadership Team has held their first meeting to discuss their progress so far, and to plan for the term ahead. Engaging their school community in choosing core values for Castle is going to be a key piece of work for them. They’re a wonderful team who are very proud of their new leadership badges.
CASTLE PRIMARY
Daven Welcomes New Nursery.
This term has seen the integration of a council-run nursery provision (Stepping Stones) into Daven Primary School. The Estates team oversaw the adaptation of a large area within the school, which was split into two dedicated spaces for early years. The school now has nursery children from two-years-old in the Daven family! Their reception class also has a new space, with lots of different resources to play and learn with, which they have enjoyed exploring.
DAVEN PRIMARY
County Hockey Final
Shavington Primary School's five-a side hockey team made it to the County Finals in Alderley Edge in March, after successfully getting through the Crewe and Nantwich finals a few weeks earlier. They played four games, achieving 1 win and 3 draws which put them in 11th place overall. The children had a great day and were a credit to the school.
SHAVINGTON PRIMARY
Self-Funding Science.
Wheelock Primary School celebrated Science Week by running a Gadget Shop, which raised £402.30! This will now be spent on scientific equipment for the school. The four lucky prizewinners from their Gadget Shop raffle were delighted with their science kits!
WHEELOCK PRIMARY
Wistaston Creates.
Reception and Year 4 pupils at Wistaston Church Lane Academy had the incredible opportunity to collaborate with artist James Brunt, and create a stunning piece of nature-inspired artwork! A huge thank you to Crewe Creates for organising this fantastic experience for the children.
WISTASTON CHURCH LANE ACADEMY
Tatton MP Visit.
The local MP for Tatton, Esther McVey, visited Egerton Primary School and Nursery in January. She met with members of their Student Council, who took her on a tour of the school, followed by a meeting with Headteacher Caroline Lowe and CEO of The Learning Partnership, Dan Thomas.
EGERTON PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY
Cape Town Footballers.
A group of under 17s footballers from Curro High School in Cape Town, South Africa were hosted by Congleton High School during their football tour in England. The two visiting teams played against CHS, followed by an evening hosted for players and staff to compare their experiences of school and sport.
CONGLETON HIGH SCHOOL
International Football Tournament.
Knutsford Academy's Sixth Form Football Academy jetted off to Memphis in March for the John Tally Cup and reached the final! The players also visited Mississippi and Memphis Universities and toured sights in Memphis. They stayed with host families and trained with Soccer Scholar USA. Thank you to Quinns Civils who sponsored the tour.
KNUTSFORD ACADEMY
3-Day Residential for Year 4 Pupils.
Year 4 Leighton Academy pupils had an action-packed time during their three day residential at Edgmond Hall Outdoor Centre in Shropshire. Their activities included den bullding, an archaeological dig, archery, looking after farm animals and orienteering, all of which was blessed with amazing weather!
LEIGHTON ACADEMY
Creative Residential.
Key Stage 4 Art students from The Oaks Academy had a creative weekend on their residential at the Conway Centre in Anglesey. They worked really hard across the two days and produced some beautiful projects.
THE OAKS ACADEMY
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