Annual Report Academic Year 2022-2023 www.voyage-education.org
Telephone: 01205 331900 Email: enquiries@voyage-education.org Voyage Education Partnership, Venture House, Enterprise Way, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 7TW
Welcome
It is a privilege to introduce the Voyage Education Partnership Annual Report for the academic year 2022-23. This report reflects some of the highlights of the last academic year and celebrates some of the achievements of our brilliant academies. It was a productive, successful and enjoyable academic year - and notably we were delighted that Old Leake Primary Academy joined our school community on 1st November, 2022. We were also delighted to see our primary outcomes increase significantly this year, launch our Voyage Green Promise, invest further in our academy buildings and learning environments, and maintain sound financial stability. Voyage is a charitable Multi-Academy Trust working in Lincolnshire to educate nearly 4,000 learners from the ages of 3-16. We currently have 9 academies in our family and work in a small geographical area around Boston and Spalding, with each academy no more than 30 minutes from each other. This is essential to how our MAT operates and enables us to be able to give immediate support when needed - and for our academies to collaborate and work closely together. Our Headteachers tell us they like the autonomy of being a trusted Headteacher in Voyage, where they are the lead professional and accountable for the success of their individual academy while being part of a supportive and dynamic Multi-Academy Trust
community. Voyage is an inclusive and learner-centred MAT which values and promotes excellence in learning. Our commitment is to educate, empower and champion all learners. We work closely with the families and communities we serve to ensure all young people meet their full potential. We are exceptionally proud that learners in our MAT speak 32 different languages and 50% of our young people are bilingual, multilingual, or use English as an additional language. I would like to thank everyone who is part of our Voyage community for their continued support, hard work and commitment in 2022/23 to our wonderful young people. Our Trust is relentlessly focused on improvement, and we continue to celebrate and build on our shared successes as demonstrated in this report. This Annual Report has been produced to be read in conjunction with our Trust annual accounts, which are published every January. Thank you for taking the time to read our report and I hope you enjoy hearing about our work during the last academic year - and our plans for the year ahead.
Emma Hadley,
Chief Executive Officer
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela
Our Mission, Values, And Strategic Aims Our Voyage Mission: To create centres of excellence within, and for, the communities we serve which raise the aspirations and achievements of all – and to be a Trust which provides care, support, guidance, challenge and empowerment for all.
Our Voyage Values
The Voyage Education Partnership has four clear and important strategic aims which continue to encompass our vision and ambition for 2020-23: • Every Learner in Voyage is educated in a ‘Good’ academy - where the quality of education reflects the highest standards and where behaviour, attitudes and outcomes are exemplary and consistent from everyone within the school community. We want every learner to enjoy their learning journey in our academies and have real choices for the future. We have a shared mission to deliver excellent teaching and learning every day. • Voyage is ‘The Trust of parental choice’ – a leading educational organisation in our local communities that gives parents and the community confidence. We want to be parents’ ‘first choice’ in the communities we serve and for our academies to be full, or growing, vibrant places to learn. We believe every learner should have access to the best education whatever their starting point. • Voyage is ‘The employer of choice’ – a family of academies and a Shared Services team that are great places to work. We want our staff development to be first class and want to enable staff that are ambitious to grow their careers with us. We want to ensure our CPD networks offer our staff significant professional development opportunities, and that we recruit and
retain the very best people. • Voyage is ‘The partnership of choice’ – an outward-facing, collaborative and innovative learningfocused organisation. We want external agencies and strategic partners to seek to work with us, and for us to have excellent capacity to support others. Our reputation should reflect our strategic aims and priorities and attract like-minded thinkers and innovators. Our Voyage Education Partnership strategic aim for trust growth is to improve the lives, and life chances, of more young people. We can meet this aim in several ways, including: * Improving the performance of our current academies. * Providing training and support for ITT trainees and contributing to the regional supply of new Early Career Teachers entering the teaching profession. * Embracing opportunities to be system leaders through strategic partnerships, including as a delivery partner for the Lincolnshire Teaching School Hub and Lincolnshire SCITT - and offering traded services to other MATs and schools. * New schools joining Voyage.
What Sort Of MAT Does Voyage Want To Be? We want to be a learning organisation that is continually improving - and one that is ambitious for our learners, staff teams, and communities we serve. We want to find, and implement, the best moral and ethical ways to support and educate our learners.
We want to create an equitable Trust where every academy and learner thrives. We want to be purposefully ‘connected’ and outwardfacing, working in collaboration with a wide range of external bodies and strategic partners on a local, countywide, and national level. We want to regularly evaluate our actions so that we can measure the impact we are having for our learners. We want to positively affect the lives of all those educated with us. We want to be a Trust which focuses on sustainability,
long-term planning, and a legacy mindset. We want to manage risk rather than avoid it so we can innovate, develop, and be a leading MAT in Lincolnshire. We want to use digital technology to help us become more effective and efficient as an organisation - and to support our employee’s wellbeing and work-life balance. We also want to ensure that all available resources are delivered to academies to benefit our learners. We want to enable improvement and innovation as an organisational habit. We want to be an organisation where leaders at all levels are strong, effective, and authentic - and that we develop a pipeline of excellent future leaders. We want to ensure every child has access to good quality teaching and learning every day, within a safe, stimulating, and well-resourced learning environment.
Our Context Statistics For The Academic Year 2022/23 3,864 Learners
503 Staff Team Members
9 Academies, Educating Learners From 3-16 Years Of Age
11 Sites In The Boston And Spalding Areas
We are delighted that Helpringham Primary School chose to be a Trust Partnership School, working with us for one year on an informal basis - and accessing our central Shared Services and support. The Governing Body of Helpringham Primary School voted to join our Trust at the end of the 2023 academic year and we hope they will become our 10th academy on 1st September, 2024.
Governance Members Voyage has a Board of Members who are the guardians of the governance of the Trust, and must ensure it carries out its charitable objectives and company duties.
Trustees
Voyage is governed by a Board of Trustees who devolve some responsibilities to the Standards and Curriculum, Finance and Audit, People and Estates and Infrastructure subcommittees. Voyage Education Partnership Trustees are responsible for carrying out the following: - Ensuring clarity of the vision, ethos and strategic direction - Holding the Executive Leaders to account for the educational performance of the academies and their pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff - Overseeing the financial performance of the academies The Chair of the Trust Board in the academic year 2022-23 was Mr Chris Penney, and the Vice Chair was Dr Jo Barkham.
Academy Council Each of our academies also has an Academy Council made up of community representatives, parents and staff to provide local and community accountability. Academy Council members have three key roles: - To advise and act as a critical friend to the Headteacher of the academy - and to advise the Board of Trustees about local issues they need to consider that affect the academy - To represent the interests of the community, and represent the academy in its community - To provide support to the Headteacher in undertaking some procedures, such as complaints and exclusion procedures, if the Board of Trustees have delegated these responsibilities
Boston Pioneers Academy Boston Pioneers Academy, led by Executive Headteacher Jo Bland, focus their work around their ‘R.E.A.C.H.’ values – a strong and clear focus on Resilience, Excellence, Ambition, Care and Honesty. Key Headlines • One member of SLT completed the Voyage Coaching Leaders Programme and three partook in the Trust’s Middle Leadership Programme. Two of these have now assumed newly promoted roles as a result of this. Pioneers also replicated this with their leaders, with the establishment of digital leaders. • A Family Support Worker post introduced, who works with both learners and their families to help break down barriers to learning, and support their mental health and wellbeing. • External moderation visits at Key Stage 1 were extremely positive, with all teacher assessment judgements being agreed. • Whole school attendance improved. • Careers programme was launched - ‘raising aspirations’ and providing a positive footprint. • Launched the ‘passport of experiences’. As part of this, learners had the opportunity to work alongside Olympians, learn Chinese Dragon dancing, and Year 6s enjoyed a residential at Hilltop.
Awards and Achievements • The percentage of pupils leaving EYFS having attained good level of development rose by over 20%. The Reception intake continued to be at full capacity. • The progress pupils make in their early reading within the academy continues to be very strong, with the percentage of pupils attaining the expected
standard by the end of Year 2 being above national for the third year running. • First School Games Mark achieved.
Community Engagement • Pioneers continue to enjoy very strong links with their immediate neighbours The Restore Church and The Salvation Army. Not only have they donated to their cause in the form of Christmas and Harvest donations, many learners and their families also benefitted from the Food Bank at The Restore Church and Christmas gifts and food parcels from The Salvation Army. • The choir took part in the Boston ‘Big Sing’ event at Boston Stump. This was a ‘massed choir’ event and was extremely well-attended by parents, carers and relations. • Parental engagement remained strong for both annual events such as the Christingle Service and parent-child collaborative learning workshops (such as the ‘read with me’ workshops in EYFS). • The Academy Ambassadors (School Councilors) raised over £1,500 for charities over a series of events from growing sunflowers to Comic Relief. • The PTFA also raised in excess of £2,000 to fund a pantomime performance for all pupils, provide a leavers’ hoodie for each ‘Graduate’ at the leavers’ service - and to provide a memento to mark the coronation of King Charles, which was celebrated with a traditional afternoon ‘High Tea’ for all pupils.
Carlton Road Academy Carlton Road Academy continues to go from strength-to-strength due to the excellent leadership of Headteacher Clare Coyle. Carlton Road is a happy academy with successful learners at the heart of its community - with learners living their academy values, which enable them to “Aim High” and “Dream Big”. Key Headlines • Improved outcomes, including non-mobile pupils achieving in-line or better than national in EYFS, Year 2 and Year 6. External moderation visits in Key Stage 2 were very positive, with all teacher assessment judgements being agreed. Recruitment of academic mentors and own team for tutoring enhanced opportunities for intervention. • Pastoral development (especially the addition of an Attendance Officer and Family Welfare Lead) in the academy led to an improvement in attendance, more families accessing early help, and Safeguarding deemed as very robust. • Profile of inclusion and diversity has increased in the school. Understanding of protected characteristics/ marking of Black History Month/establishment of “the Rainbow Way”/strength of understanding of British Values. • Embedding of reading culture in the academy, including consistent Little Wandle phonics delivery, improvements to guided reading, establishment of class texts, Teacher CPD, and more.
Awards and Achievements • Development of music provision, including Lincolnshire Music Service Royal Albert Hall invitation,
Boston Stump Big Sing participation, and choral work with John Lyons. • Increase in personal development provision: club offer rose from 5 to 16, Mini Police in place, trips and visits in all year groups, PGL residential, National Youth theatre visit. • Big Conversations to better “hear” pupil voice. • Development of academy middle leaders and embedding of new SLT roles. • Higher profile of sport – lunchtime clubs, matches, taster days, tournaments. Placed third in cricket and won at rounders!
Community Engagement • PCSO team for support with PSHE and citizenship. • Reverand Val – RE assemblies/harvest/ academy council/food bank donations. • Sports Groups – Elite leagues, Boston Partnership, Boston United. • Working with the NHS – Brushing Teeth Programme. • First celebration of the Lincolnshire Day and Year 4 attending the Lincolnshire Showground. • Year 2 and Year 5 took part in a creative writing project in collaboration with Fydell House. • World Book Day celebrated and linked to the local area with visits to Boston Library.
Fishtoft Academy An exciting year for Fishtoft Academy included Base Leader Kate Harrison being shortlisted for Primary School Teacher of the Year at the National Teaching Awards, which was a testament to her hard work and dedication to improving outcomes for all learners across the academy. Fishtoft Academy lives its motto – Small School, Big Heart, Great Start! Key Headlines • The academy’s NOR rose from 47 pupils at the end of the academic year 2021-2 to 58 at the end of 2022-23. This is a significant growth for the school and helps its long-term sustainability. • End of Key Stage results showed significant improvement at both KS1 and KS2 - with 80% of pupils attaining ARE in all areas at KS1. • Curriculum refinements – extensive refinements to the curriculum in order to ensure it was increasingly tailored to the needs of learners. • External moderation visit at Key Stage 2 was extremely positive, with all teacher assessment judgements being agreed. • Careers programme launched. ‘Raising Aspirations’ is all about raising aspirations and opening up the world of work. It shows learners what careers are out there and the skills they will need to leave a positive footprint wherever they go in life.
Awards and Achievements •
Intake numbers rose considerably, with greater
demand to join the academy in EYFS than places available. The academy catchment area widened with many people looking to the academy as their first choice for their child’s education. • The school performed at Wembley as part of the Young Voices Massed Choir event. During the event they had the chance to sing alongside Heather Small of M People fame and record a charity single with her.
Community Engagement • The academy continued to enjoy very strong links with the local church, St Guthlacs, and learners received regular visits from the ‘Open the Book Team’. • Supported putting together shoe boxes for children overseas as part of the Rotary Shoe Box appeal. • All KS2 pupils received free first aid training on how to save a life, working with a local charity. • ‘High Tea’ Garden Party to mark the Coronation. • Families turned out in force on a sunny June afternoon to see their children compete alongside Team GB Heptathlete Katie Stainton at the annual Sports Day.
Gosberton Academy Gosberton Academy enjoyed an exciting and rewarding academic year in 2022-23. It ended with a superb Ofsted inspection, which included high praise about all areas of the academy’s work. Headteacher Tom Baxter is incredibly proud of the continued efforts of his staff team and learners. This is an academy truly at the heart of its local community. Key Headlines • Ofsted found the academy to be Good in all areas and judged EYFS to be Outstanding. • Excellent Year 6 outcomes included Reading at 91%, Writing at 82%, Maths at 95% - and a combined 82% of learners reaching or exceeding the national average. • Year 2 outcomes were also very strong with Reading at 83%, Writing at 78%, and Maths at 78%. • Whole School Attendance was over 95%, which is above both the local and national average. • 100% of the staff team told Ofsted they enjoyed working at Gosberton Academy and that the school was supportive of their wellbeing.
Awards and Achievements • Runner-Up in ‘School of the Year’ in the community awards. • Sports competition wins in hockey, football and Kurling. • 100% of families attended and engaged in
Parents’ Evenings. • 97% of families would recommend the academy to other families. • Consistently positive feedback about the academy and learners from visitors - including authors, Paralympians and poets.
Community Engagement • The PTFA raised over £5,000 towards school resources, trips and visits through events including Christmas and Summer Fairs - where over 20 external companies/stallholders attended. • Learners took part in the local Advent Service and Remembrance Service, and donated food and raised awareness for the local food banks. • Learners visited the local Care Home to share their learning, talk about what they do in school, and share songs from their school performances. • Groups of learners undertook litter-picking activities within the academy and local community. • Trips and visits for all learners helped to further embed their learning and bring that learning to life.
Haven High Academy Haven High Academy is a large, popular and oversubscribed academy in the centre of Boston. It is Haven High Academy’s mission to educate and inspire all students today in order to help them achieve their dreams tomorrow. The academy wants all students to have aspiration, courage and respect - and to fulfill and exceed their potential. Key Headlines • Year 7 intake for September 2022 continued to be over-capacity for the fifth year in a row. • The co-curricular offer continued to improve and was positively recognised by Ofsted. The offer included Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Combined Cadet Force, Motor Vehicles and STEM to include the CREST award. • Over 80% of students achieved quality awards for BTEC, Performing Arts, Sport, and Salon Services. • Ofsted rated personal development as Good, with students benefitting from a well-planned personal development programme, understanding diversity and respecting differences in others. • High-quality careers advice and guidance prepared pupils well for their next steps, meeting the Gatsby benchmarks and being positively recognised by Ofsted.
Awards and Achievements • A group of Haven High Academy music students performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
• Many pupils took on leadership roles and 2022/23 saw the first cohort of pupils awarded as Mental Health First Aid Champions. • The Haven High SENDCo received a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate for Excellence in Special Needs Education from the Pearson National Teaching Awards. • The Humanities Faculty received a Heritage England Award for work with local history. • Haven High Academy was awarded the Dyslexia Mark.
Community Engagement • Lincolnshire Music Services is hosted at Haven High Academy and students regularly perform at regional and national events. • The Rotary Clubs of Boston and Boston St Botolph awarded one student a Children of Courage Award. • The ongoing partnership with FirstStory led to the academy’s fifth anthology being published. It was launched at an event hosted by Waterstones in Boston.
Old Leake Primary Academy Old Leake Primary Academy joined Voyage on 1st November, 2022. The academy has fully committed to being part of the Trust and, led by Headteacher Vicki Hardwick, has committed and embraced all opportunities and training offered. The staff team and learners have gone from strength-to-strength, and the Trust has invested heavily in improving the learning environment for all. Key Headlines • Strong staff engagement, with rapid changes including a plethora of training and new ways of working, a new SLT structure, and changes in expectation. • April 2023 - Parent Voice was gathered. 100% of parents said that they felt the school ensured that pupils behaved well, that their child was safe at school, that their child was happy in the academy, that when concerns were raised they were dealt with properly and that the academy had high expectations of their child. • A significant raise in attainment for all pupils within the academy compared to the previous year, externally showcased with the EYFS data and the Year six SATs results. • The extra curricular and ‘wow’ events children enjoyed included visits from Vikings, Santa, school trips for all year groups, a residential trip for the Year six children, sports fixtures and STEM days.
Awards and Achievements •
Extending and opening the Seedlings Nursery’s
full-time hours from Easter 2023. • Significant estates improvements to the academy, including a transformed outdoor area for EYFS, fencing to secure the whole site, classroom decoration, and purchasing of new furniture. • Redesign of the reading curriculum and investment in a range of new literature for all year groups to learn from and enjoy. • The number of staff embracing subject leadership opportunities. • 100% of parents said they thought their children received good SEN support.
Community Engagement • The academy is closely linked to, and has donated to, the local food bank three times this academic year. • The academy has enjoyed excellent parental and family engagement at events which it has hosted, including the Christmas events, summer fair, bingo nights, parents’ evenings, a Coronation Picnic and open days. • Year three children took part in the Boston Party in the Park celebration to mark the King’s Coronation, working with a local dance group.
Park Academy Boston’s Park Academy values all learners and learning. Led by Headteacher Kris Radford and a dedicated staff team, the academy is keen to celebrate difference and respect each other’s cultures and traditions. Key Headlines • External moderation visits in Key Stage 2 were extremely positive, with all teacher assessment judgements in Writing being agreed. Moderators praised the high-quality of writing, structure of writing, range of experience and language, and ability of pupils to edit. • All year groups experienced a range of trips and visits, both inspiring and interesting. They included Flag Fen, the Sealife Centre, camping onsite and a visit from an Olympic gymnast. • Parent attendance at key events in school was very high – Sports Days, Nativities, leavers’ events, classroom drop-ins and workshops. • The curriculum is broad, interesting, and wellplanned and structured.
Awards and Achievements • Relaunched roles and responsibilities for pupils, with a much greater emphasis on their value, young people as role models, etc. For example, House Captains, Vice-Captains and Wellbeing Champions. Green ambassador and Junior PCSO schemes are launching this autumn.
• Pupils report that Positive Footprints and school trips/visits are inspiring many of them to think about their futures in a new way. • The Deputy Headteacher achieved her NPQH in the spring this year (and has now secured her first Headteacher post), while more established middle leaders have successfully engaged in Middle Leaders training, coaching and NPQSL.
Community Engagement • The school successfully worked with ShoeZone to become part of their scheme for offering footwear for vulnerable children (linked with Pupil Premium funding). Tesco are also supporting Park’s efforts to get its Young Carers group started. • PCSOs are regular visitors to the school, working with a representative group but also working with the academy to address antisocial behaviour for individual pupils or small groups. Some parents have engaged in this work as well, reporting that they feel more confident to discuss challenges with their own children as a result. • During the course of the year the academy participated in events supporting the food bank, British Legion, Dunelm Community Fund at Christmas, Red Nose Day, NSPCC, Children in Need and Water Aid and also supported Ukrainian families and children.
Staniland Academy Our Staniland Academy is a large and popular academy in the centre of Boston. The academy has a stable and committed leadership team led by Headteacher Rachel Bailey, and takes great pride in its strong inclusive ethos - and commitment to its RESPECT values. Key Headlines • Positive external testing/SATs visits – rigorous, and an example for other schools to follow. • EYFS setting – lots of visits from other schools wishing to gain ideas from Staniland’s provision and curriculum. • Parent Voice positive – at least 98%+ of answers to every question regarding school (including Ofsted Parent View questions) were ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’. • Parent Voice – 100% would recommend the academy to others. • Over 22 after school clubs were available in the summer term alone.
Awards and Achievements • Deputy Headteacher achieved NPQH. • SENDCO achieved the national SENDCO award. • Accredited online safety school – second year. • Second year of the Voyage Coaching Leaders course completed by two more Senior Leaders.
• Pleased with statutory assessments across the school identifying that progress has been rapid postCOVID. • Year 6 SAT results – the academy is particularly pleased with the Pupil Premium outcomes. Year 6 Reading Writing Maths
All 71.6% 86.4% 79.5%
Current FSM 81.5% 85.2% 88.9%
PP 80% 84% 84%
Community Engagement • Staniland’s Heritage Week gained national exposure and publicity for the second year running. This year the academy worked with an international chef, focusing upon international cuisine. • The school’s Community Allotment is up and running – pupils are growing their own food and contributing to Voyage’s Green Promise. • Weekly visits to the local nursing home – generations learning from each other. Theme: singing and reading.
Wygate Park Academy Wygate Park Academy is led by Headteacher Dr Craig Early. The academic year 2022-23 was very successful for the academy, ending with an Ofsted inspection that identified that the school was likely to be Outstanding. Wygate Park Academy continues to be a popular and oversubscribed academy, with an excellent reputation in both the community and county.
Key Headlines • Wygate Park Academy continues to be very popular and oversubscribed. Full intake for EYFS “bulge year” and all classes in Key Stage 2 over PAN. • Ofsted inspection gave the school a glowing report, including a 100% satisfied parental response in recommending the school and the SEND provision. • The opening of the brand new EYFS Area and Academy Library by author Jenny Mclachlan. • Outcomes at Key Stage 2 continue to be well above national average. • Attendance continues to be above national average. • The academy continues to offer a wide range of sporting clubs, visitors, activities, and trips for the children. These are all well-attended.
Awards and Achievements • Winner of Primary School of the Year 2022 in the Local Education Awards. • Reading Pledge Gold Award achieved.
• Completion of the Voyage Coaching Leaders programme by two Senior Leadership team members. • One staff member completed a course and is now accredited as a Senior Mental Health Practitioner. • Environmental Champion of the Year ‘Runner -Up’ 2022 in the Local Education Awards.
Community Engagement • Santa Sleigh event raised £300. • Children in Need event raised £250. • Comic Relief event raised £329. • Family Learning Initiative – well-attended. • Christmas Fair event raised £721. • Christmas Card Fundraiser event raised £330. • Happy Little Hands – a Sign Language Club provided by a parent. • Polish Church and Polish School have both let the academy premises. • Parental engagement through Parents Eves, nativities, and Read With Child morning in the library. • Reading Ambassadors went to the Be Bright Nursery to read to children.
Trust Development During 2022/23 Outcomes for Voyage Primary learners at the end of the 2022/23 academic year demonstrated a further significant improvement on the previous year. A number of primary academies achieved outcomes and progress scores above national averages. Trust data headlines for achievement and performance at Primary were: • The Trust GLD figure has increased by 10% since last year. • The Trust Year 1 Phonics remained stable. • The Trust Key Stage 1 attainment improved in all 3 areas, significantly improving in writing by 10%. • The Key Stage 1 Trust combined figure increased from last year’s figure by 11%. • The Trust Key Stage 2 attainment improved in all 3 areas, significantly improving in writing by 11% and exceeding the national picture. • The Trust Key Stage 2 combined figure increased by 13% on last year’s figure and was above national data. The overall Key Stage 2 progress data for the Trust is positive compared with all schools nationally. At secondary, a change of leadership at key points during the two GCSE years for Year 11 learners, combined with the challenges of regular attendance, resulted in a decline in the overall academy performance between 2019 (the last comparative year) and 2023. Due to low starting points compared to national, and the pandemic disruption, outcomes did not reach national 2023 levels but the gap narrowed. Ofsted Inspections There were two Section 5 Ofsted inspections during 2022/23, and one academy inspected under Section 8.
Currently in our Trust, two academies are graded Outstanding, 6 are graded Good, and one Requires Improvement. Gosberton Academy moved from Requires Improvement to Good in all areas - and Outstanding in Early Years. Inspectors noted: “Pupils are proud to belong to this welcoming and inclusive school. From making cakes for a dinosaur in Reception to studying monsoons in Year 6, pupils enjoy exciting learning opportunities. They are keen to talk about their learning. Pupils’ enthusiasm for school life is clear to see.“ “Positive attitudes to learning extend throughout the school. Warm relationships between adults and pupils are well-established. Classrooms are calm spaces, where pupils show consistently positive attitudes towards their learning.” “Leadership is effective at all levels. Leaders have a clear vision to ensure that all pupils reach their potential. Staff feel that leaders value them and are considerate of their workload. Staff are proud to work at the school. Trustees and Trust leaders know the school well. They have played a key role in helping the school to improve.” Wygate Park Academy continues to be a Good school but Ofsted found there is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged Outstanding if they were to carry out a graded (Section 5) inspection now. The school’s next inspection will therefore be a graded inspection. Of particular note by Ofsted: • Inspirational leaders have high expectations for all pupils at Wygate Park Academy.
Trust Development During 2022/23 (cont.) • Leaders and staff work well together to provide a caring environment and an ambitious curriculum for all their pupils. • Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get support to access the same learning opportunities as other pupils. • Pupils enjoy excellent relationships with leaders and staff. Across the school community, the sense of togetherness is striking. • Pupils are a credit to the school. Friendly and well mannered, their behaviour is exceptional. • Parents hold the school in high regard. • Trustees and Trust leaders know the school well, providing strong support and challenge. Leaders are relentless in their drive and determination. Haven High Academy had an inspection early into the new academic year. The change of leadership and new staff team could not demonstrate the sustained progress and impact that Ofsted needed to see, so the academy remained as Requires Improvement - with Personal Development upgraded to Good. Other notable improvement work that took place across Voyage in 2022/23 included improvements to our buildings and estates. Old Leake Primary Academy, Staniland Academy and Wygate Park Academy all benefitted from newly transformed outdoor learning areas - and significant improvement and internal redevelopment works also took place at Old Leake Primary Academy, Haven High’s Tollfield Campus, and Wygate Park Academy. We also began a £250k project to update fire alarm systems across our entire estate to ensure staff, learners and visitors remain safe in our buildings. Our Trust Digital Strategy again made great progress, supporting learners in classrooms and staff team members to work more effectively through the continued development of the GEN2 network - ensuring equal access to the internet across the Trust while gaining assurance of our cyber security preparedness through maintaining the Cyber Essentials accreditation. Voyage Green Promise In this academic year we launched our Trust environmental and sustainability strategy. Following
extensive collection of learner and staff voices from across our Trust we committed to a journey of environmental change - and set and achieved three headline commitments and targets: 1. To reduce our carbon footprint by 10% We achieved this target in a number of ways, including moving the Trust to a green energy supplier, an ambitious and extensive programme of changing lighting across all academies to LED lighting, and favouring sustainable options and alternatives in all new building projects and work. We were pleased to see that the kwh of electric consumed across the Trust reduced in 2022/23, even with the inclusion of Old Leake Primary as an additional academy. This was the first step in ensuring all sites, offices, buildings and operations across our Trust are as sustainable and ecofriendly as possible. 2. To know more and grow more We were delighted that this target captured the imagination of our academies and learners, and saw so many brilliant examples of new academy allotments, rewilding spaces, establishment of eco-warrior clubs, soil to fork projects, and significant changes to the taught curriculum and extra-curricular activities. We achieved this target collectively by increasing the amount of ‘green growing spaces’ on all academy sites, as well as the number of plants in our offices. More learners were involved in the growing experience, and we regularly shared and celebrated successes in our Voyage Staff Newsletter. We will continue this commitment in the academic year ahead. 3. To reduce our use of paper by 20% This proved to be a more difficult target to accurately measure impact across multiple sites, but we are proud and confident that the actions taken reduced our paper processes, printing, purchasing and waste. Activities included a community tree planting event, better use of available technology for communication with families (such as reports and newsletters), academy reviews of paper recycling opportunities - as well as raising awareness and information sharing. The target challenged how we currently work, and required us to think and act differently.
Trust Development During 2022/23 (cont.) Our first Voyage Green Promise for the academic year 2022/23 spanned the curriculum, learning, all sites and operations across our Trust - and we will continue to build on this in the year ahead. Train to Teach
Voyage remains committed to offering comprehensive
In 2022/23, 12 Primary trainees were recruited to start the programme - with 12 successfully completing the training and being granted Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Five of the trainees secured their first teaching post as an Early Careers Teacher within a Voyage academy.
support and training to our teachers and support staff
A further nine initial trainee teachers from other ITT providers were directly supported through their training, with Voyage academies supporting their training and development by providing placements to assist their experience, support, teaching and mentoring.
We believe that our teachers and support staff are integral to our success, and that those delivering effective and current research-informed practice are best placed to train the teachers of the future. To support our commitment to this, in 2022/23 we invested in a full-time professional who led on the development of Early Teachers into their career - coordinating and facilitating all the training, support, development and partnership work with Lincolnshire SCITT. Training is jointly delivered by outstanding teachers and specialist leaders, and has been designed to ensure that individuals have access to professional and tailored training, in addition to development, enabling them to improve their practice at any point in their career.
Supporting Early Careers Teachers in our Region Our Trust began its partnership with the LEAD Teaching School Hub via the Early Career Framework Partnership Agreement in September 2021, as an appropriate delivery partner for the new Early Career Framework (ECF) to facilitate development of an allocated region of Lincolnshire-based Early Careers Teachers (ECTs) through the ECF. The partnership work includes: • Monitoring of support – checking that ECTs are receiving their statutory entitlements, and that regard is had to the statutory guidance. Also to provide ECF fidelity checks, ensuring schools are supported to provide ECTs with an ECF-based induction. • Monitoring of assessment – making the final decision as to whether the ECT has satisfactorily met the Teachers’ Standards 5, based on the Headteacher’s recommendation. • Appropriate delivery of training - required by the ECF that supports the fidelity of the programme - with Hub Delivery Partner, the Horncastle Education Trust (HET).
at every step of their careers. From the decision to train with us, we offer tailored support through quality career development for individuals from ITT into school leadership.
We are proud to work as a delivery partner for Lincolnshire SCITT to provide a high-quality teacher training experience for student teachers in our region via the Boston hub. Our trainee teachers at the Boston Hub join a team of staff who are fully committed to delivering the highest quality teaching and learning to children across Lincolnshire.
Trust Partnerships During 2022/23 A number of informal partnerships and collaborations with other Multi-Academy Trusts continued in 2022/23 to support joint working, seek new and innovative practice, and enhance our development opportunities.
We collaborated with the Horncastle Education Trust, using joint system leaders to support in the delivery of the Early Careers Framework (ECF) modules - as well as joint delivery of the Middle Leadership Programme. 22 Middle Leaders across the two Trusts (18 of them from Voyage) engaged in the successful year-long programme designed to support middle leaders across the wider region with their roles and responsibilities (and to further understand leadership) - forging a pathway of succession. To support the delivery of the Voyage Education Partnership Education Strategy 2022/23, Voyage cemented partnerships with PiXL - working closely with the Regional Lead to provide four main services (leadership networking, development, events, and strategies). Academies also have access to a specialist associate, who is dedicated to helping leaders to navigate all that PiXL has to offer for maximum impact. A member of the Voyage Shared Education Services was successfully recruited as a PiXL associate strengthening our partnership, and adding capacity and expertise within our team. The partnership with Nicola Ellwood, Master Coach, Communication and Leadership Specialist, continued to facilitate the Voyage Coaching Leaders Programme. This saw 18 coaching leaders graduate in July 2023. Other partners engaged to support delivery of the Trust Strategic Priorities, including B11 Education, the Confederation of Schools Trust, Chris Whitney Consultancy, the Working Together Team, Victoria Raynor International Safeguarding Consultant and Trainer, Behaviour Outreach Support Services, IRIS ED:GEN, Chris Pumfrey NLE, and East Midlands Cyber Security. Voyage continues to commit to local initiatives and community organisations, such as food banks, religious groups, county councils and community investment including having a representative on the Boston Town Deal Board via the Chief Operating Officer.
Our Academy Improvement Model & Professional Development In 2022/23 our Academy Improvement Offer continued to develop, shaped by the needs of the academies we serve. As a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) we are best placed
to improve practice through sharing our expertise.
We are able to invest in our workforce and provide
professional development across our whole academy group. Our Education Strategy and Framework 2022/23 included activities that focused on supporting academy development planning and delivery, effective academy self-evaluation - and recognised that the prime responsibility and driver for effective academy improvement comes from our academy leaders. Specific professional development programmes and projects were designed and offered to meet the needs of academies where evaluation of KPIs, analysis of performance indicators, feedback from Headteachers and national priorities identified trends across the academies that required whole Trust strategies to support improvement. These were most often led by the Central Education Team, or externally led either through research learning communities or one-to-one support provided to an academy. A huge strength of our Academy Improvement Offer is our professional networks and moderation events, and feedback in this academic year tells us that these are greatly valued and appreciated by staff team members. Building these professional learning networks for colleagues working together in specific year groups, or leading in specific subject areas, ensures that subject-specific expertise, pedagogical understanding and professional responsibilities are developed through a range of collaborative approaches.
Our Voyage Improvement Offer in 2022/23 included: • Assurance visits, bespoke reviews and deep dives as requested by Headteachers in areas such as curriculum, attendance, safeguarding, SEND, teaching and learning, Early Years and Phonics • Termly assurance schedule of activity, including core annual reviews and agreement trialling • Leadership development days • Year-long focused development programmes for teachers and leaders focusing on: o Challenge o Middle leadership o Closing the Gap in writing o Improving attendance o Development of our coaching culture, through the Coaching Leaders Programme Specific programmes in Primary focused on: o Early Years provision for writing o Securing improvement in combined assessment Our improvement model was extended to support the system outside of the Trust via the vehicle of the Trust Partnership Agreement. 2022/23 saw a formal agreement, with support and development delivered to Helpringham Primary School. This included support for Headteacher performance management, teaching, learning and assessment, SEND, and behaviour. The school attended many of the CPD events and networks that were offered as part of the development strategies. At Voyage, improvement is seen as a collective responsibility across the organisation - underpinned by strong systems and structures that support all academies at different stages of their improvement journey.
Trust Finance During 2022/23 In a year of significant challenge given the inflationary environment and the cost-of-living crisis impacting colleagues, pupils and their families, Voyage responded to such pressures in a controlled and measured way - while continuing to maintain the strong overall financial performance of the Trust. The Voyage Education Partnership remains in a strong financial position, with good reserves.
The annual accounts to 31st August, 2023, were submitted on time to ESFA following completion of the external
audit, completed by Streets Audit LLP. Both audit reports in relation to the financial statements were unqualified and unmodified. During the year, total funding of £26,440,000 was received, compared to resources expended of £25,880,000. The Trust made investment into fixed assets during the year totalling £1,212,000.
Planned Development For 2023/24 We are ambitious and excited about the academic year ahead - and remain focused on our journey of improvement. Our academies have their own Academy Improvement Plan, which clearly details the bespoke priorities, plans, monitoring and evaluation for the year ahead for each academy. Every plan is written by, and the responsibility of, the Headteacher and Senior Leaders of each academy. Agreed whole Trust priorities for Voyage in 2023-24 are: High ambition and achievement for all in learning, outcomes, and opportunities. To reduce staff workload and improve wellbeing. To ensure inclusive learning and working environments, promoting equality and diversity. Our Voyage Green Promise – To reduce plastic pollution. The Trust also has a number of planned developments for 2023-24, including: - To continue to develop a whole MAT coaching culture, and consistently train leaders to use coaching as a vehicle for improvement and behaviours (Voyage Coaching Leaders Cohort 3). - To continue to develop our middle leaders in partnership with another Trust, expanding Cohort 3 to include associate staff. - To consider and explore how we can use AI as a Trust to drive innovation and growth.
- Creation of a Trust Production Kitchen. - To further strengthen governance and local accountability by recruiting more stakeholders including community members and parents to some Academy Councils. - To increase the number of Trustees from 8 to 13, and recruit new Trustees based on skill analysis and need. - To undertake an External Governance Review. - To further develop our role and opportunities as a System Leader, and develop mutually beneficial MATto-MAT partner working. - To consider more opportunities to provide traded services when appropriate. - Continue to regularly evaluate, and improve, the effectiveness of our Shared Services to ensure there is transparency and accountability at all levels. - To ensure that Headteachers have transparency of services and are confident they are receiving good value for money from Shared Services at all times. - Develop a Trust Board assurance framework. This will incorporate strategic risk practices to ensure meetings and questions are strategic, and will uphold specific governance roles and responsibilities. - Develop a robust action plan with Trustees based on the results of the external governance review. - Work with middle and future leaders to further develop financial understanding, evaluating future risks and developing a leadership culture of financial sustainability. - Review our payroll processes, to ensure they deliver what we need as a Trust and align to the Trust growth strategy. Also to include roll-out of the online expenses and additional hours systems. - Review proactive recruitment, considering adding resource to proactive search/engagement and achieving VFM of the recruitment process. - Planning and approval of phase 1 of Gen 3. - Begin the journey to implement IS045001 (Health and Safety/Estates).
Our Shared Services At the Voyage Education Partnership we have a welldeveloped Shared Services Team - overseeing and offering technical expertise and leadership throughout many operational areas. Having such professional services provided centrally enables our Headteachers to focus on leading learning in their own academies, knowing they can rely on the partnership with the operational managers to help them achieve their individual strategic aims.
Our Trust offers the following shared services to all of our academies: Academy Improvement
Inclusion (including safeguarding, attendance and SEND support)
Finance
Health and Safety
Human Resources Estates Management
Operational Management IT
Marketing and Communications
Catering Risk Management Data/GDPR Management Governance
Why Join Voyage? Support – Collaboration – Challenge – Guidance – Cooperation - Opportunity Voyage is a Multi-Academy Trust, committed to “working in partnership to raise achievement for all.” Our Trust currently has 9 academies and educates over 3,500 young people in Lincolnshire aged 3-16. Our learners are at the heart of everything we do. We
take great pride in being an educational charity and a learning organisation that is continually improving.
At Voyage we are a family of academies, working together and collaborating to ensure all of our learners and staff teams have the chance to reach their potential. Benefits Of Being Part Of Voyage - Shared ethos, values and standards. Each Headteacher is part of our Senior Leadership Team and contributes to the strategic direction and vision for our Trust. - Autonomy for Headteachers and leaders, and no ‘one size fits all’ centralised model. - Professional support from a well-established Shared Services Team, including Finance, Human Resources, Estates, Health & Safety, IT, and Marketing and Communication. These shared professional services provide academies with expertise - and are good value for money. - A clear and agreed education strategy and framework, which has the right balance of support for development - and challenge for quality assurance
and improvement. - Support from the Shared Education Services team, with expertise in Education Leadership, teaching, learning and assessment, teacher development, inclusion, attendance, and safeguarding. - Opportunities to share and co-develop best practice for the benefit of all. - Access to CPD and Leadership networks that offer our staff team members significant professional development opportunities. - Economies and efficiencies of scale, and a MAT with good financial health and management. We do not pool funds across the organisation and each academy maintains their own budget and reserves. - Opportunities to contribute as a system leader through supporting Initial Teacher Training and Early Careers framework via our strategic partnerships with the LEAD Teaching School Hub and Lincolnshire SCITT. - An experienced conversions team, enabling a smooth transition for schools joining Voyage. How To Find Out More We are always very happy to hear from those who wish to join our Voyage family, or who simply want to learn a little more about us and what we do. Please contact our CEO for an informal discussion by emailing: emma.hadley@voyage-education.org We are approved for growth by the DfE and are looking to expand and grow our Trust. We would be happy to set up visits to our current academies, and meetings with our Headteachers, for an open conversation.
“Individually, we are a drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
- Ryunosuke Satoro www.voyage-education.org
Telephone: 01205 331900 Email: enquiries@voyage-education.org Voyage Education Partnership, Venture House, Enterprise Way, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 7TW