Lionheart News - December 2022

Lionheart schools have enjoyed another incredibly busy, productive Autumn term. It has been a privilege to witness the resilient, resourceful and reflective approach taken by staff and pupils alike who together make our community so special. I am very grateful for the support our parents and carers continue to show us and in this newsletter we have captured a range of some of the exciting developments across our schools.

A warm welcome Key dates

Some key objectives that we have worked hard towards this term include positive progress towards embedding metacognition, creating more opportunities to share what your child is learning, and in relaunching a wider range of extra-curricular activities.

We’re committed to supporting your child to gain the essential knowledge and skills that they need to be successful. Following a successful pilot with Year 7 last year, this term we have shared knowledge organisers with home across a wide age range. At primary, we have shared organisers for reading and mathematics from Year 1 to Year 6 and at secondary, we have shared key knowledge learned so far in Years 7, 8 and 9. These documents detail the key knowledge your child has been learning and provide guidance to remember this knowledge from home. We have received positive feedback

on this initiative and plan to roll it out further in the coming months.

An important aspect of our provision is our extra-curricular offer and the pandemic restricted us in this area. Listening to our pupils, we worked hard to build this provision back and now a range of age-appropriate activities are in place which are designed to appeal to all. Over the coming year we have many more exciting developments in this regard, including the launch of our ‘Brilliant Clubs’.

Our pupils are amazing and continue to commit to their studies in a hugely impressive way. Across all phases we are seeing our pupils recognise and understand the power of knowledge and how to ensure their key learning points remain firmly committed to long term memory. The poetry recitals I’ve seen this term have been wonderful!

I look forward to seeing what the next two terms bring but for now, I hope you enjoy the newsletter, and thank you, once again, for your ongoing support and partnership. I wish you all a wonderful festive break.

SPRING TERM

Training day Tues 3rd January 2023

Term begins Weds 4th January 2023

Half term Mon 20th FebruaryFri 24th February 2023

Term ends Fri 31st March 2023

SUMMER TERM

Term begins Mon 17th April 2023

Bank holiday Mon 1st May 2023

Bank holiday Mon 8th May 2023

Half term Mon 29th MayFri 2nd June 2023

Term ends Fri 14th July 2023

Follow us

Visit Lionheart Trust on facebook for more updates through each term.

Contact

us

If you’d like to contact us, offer any feedback about this newsletter, or tell us what you’d like to see in future issues, please email info@lionhearttrust.org.uk

Kath Kelly CEO of Lionheart Educational Trust & Executive Principal of Beauchamp College

A successful round of Ofsted inspections across Lionheart schools

During the Autumn Term, Ofsted were very busy visiting our schools!

Our inspections started with Judgemeadow, which was long overdue and we are thrilled to announce that Judgemeadow was finally recognised as being a ‘Good’ school in every category. At Judgemeadow the inspectors found that all safeguarding systems were effective and that the team at Judgemeadow had created a ‘culture of care’.

Following this, Ofsted visited Highcliffe Primary School and confirmed that they continue to provide a ‘Good’ quality of

“Teachers have strong subject expertise. Teachers use questioning effectively to check and extend pupils’ learning.”

Judgemeadow NEWS UPDATE

education. The children and staff at Highcliffe demonstrated our strong and inclusive values and it was amazing to see in the report published

Highcliffe

Next came Beauchamp City Sixth Form, and as a new school, this was a monitoring visit where the Inspection Team confirmed leaders are making ‘significant progress’ in all areas - the highest rating possible at

stage!

You will be aware that Castle Rock joined Lionheart on September 1st and in October we had the first monitoring visit as a Lionheart School. This was also an extremely positive experience and while there is still work to do, we are very proud of the improvements that have been made which were recognised by Ofsted in relation to Leadership, Behaviour and Attitudes and the Quality of Education.

Riverside Primary School were also visited in December, and whilst the final report has not yet been published we feel very proud of the positive work at Riverside and will be pleased to share Ofsted’s report as soon as possible.

We would like to say thank you for all your support and a big thank you to all the pupils and staff involved in the inspection processes. You can view the latest Ofsted reports on the school websites.

Valuing beliefs: Inter Faith Week

The celebration of Inter Faith Week during November was part of our ongoing commitment to valuing and respecting diversity across Lionheart’s community.

During the week students learnt more about the four faiths most represented in the trust – Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. It was amazing to see students from these faith groups leading

the way with this celebration as they created engaging videos that captured the things they most value about their faiths, and shared a quotation from the holy scripture that is precious to them.

“Leaders have a clear focus to raise the aspirations of young people and increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who progress to higher education, apprenticeships or employment.”

“Students benefit from studying in a high-quality learning environment.”

“Leaders have high ambition for every pupil who attends the school. They have identified the personal qualities they want pupils to develop.”

“Pupils know that working hard and doing well will help them to achieve their ‘big dreams.”

“The trust provides effective support for the school.”

that children ‘know that working hard and doing well will help them to achieve their big dreams.’

this

Beauchamp City

Wreaths of condolence for HRH Queen Elizabeth II

As an act of condolence at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022, students and staff across our 14 schools produced beautiful paper wreaths created from their personal messages. In honour and memoriam of the life and service of Queen Elizabeth II, the wreaths reflected heartfelt thanks and memories, uniting schools in their reflection during the period of national mourning.

Each year group, from foundation stage through to Year 13 across our schools, created wreaths reflecting their own thoughts, following time spent discussing the reign of Her Majesty, the first monarch in British history to celebrate a platinum jubilee.

Students and staff from across the Trust have contributed to a digital book of condolence, with sincere messages of support for the late monarch and

her family. The wreaths, together with a digital book of condolence, can be viewed on our website:

www.lionhearttrust.org.uk/ news-events/news/lionheartwreaths-of-condolence

Lionheart elves share festive goodwill

Lionheart elves have been sharing festive cheer and goodwill this term, through the raising of funds and delivery of food and toy parcels for those less fortunate. Across the Trust, our young people and their families have been overwhelmingly generous in giving back to communities at what can be a difficult time of year for so many.

Many of our schools have been collecting much-needed food items to be distributed by food banks across Leicester and Leicestershire. The Trussell Trust, who operate over half of the UK’s food banks, reported that over the last six months more than 320,000 people have been forced to turn to food banks in their network for the first time.

Pupils at Broom Leys Primary School have been collecting for the Marlene Reid Centre Christmas Toy Appeal, providing gifts for families who are

experiencing hardship so children have a present to open on Christmas day.

Sir Jonathan North Girls' College have purchased special gifts for young cancer patients who will be spending Christmas in hospital.

At the end of term staff and students across the Trust dusted off their favourite Christmas jumpers in support of Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, making a donation to this worthwhile charity who help give children the magical future they deserve.

You can see a round-up of our schools’ festive fundraising – along with some fantastic dance moves – in this year’s Trust festive video at: bit.ly/3HAPiMY

Global Issues Curriculum: forced movement

This term students across Lionheart have been learning about the forced movement of people, focusing on the forced movement of the Asian minority of Uganda in 1972 and commemorating 50 years since Ugandan Asians had to rebuild their lives across the world. Many thousands of Ugandan Asians travelled to Leicester and their arrival had a significant impact on our city.

Lionheart have worked in conjunction with Navrang Arts to run an exhibition in Leicester exploring the stories of those fleeing danger and seeking

refuge thousands of miles from their homes. Students have learnt more about the history of this event, have learnt to empathise and understand the importance of tolerance and how Leicester as a diverse city has been made richer from this challenging situation.

We have supported students to make links to the modern day, where sadly these issues are still prevalent. Our students have written messages of hope for families in war torn Ukraine, applying their

learning and understanding to this tragic situation, showing their reflectiveness and reciprocity.

Messages of hope are proudly displayed across Lionheart schools, and were also posted to the National Youth Agency’s Support for Ukraine Gallery.

You can see some of our students’ messages and school displays at tinyurl.com/5evp6b9n

Alumni network

Sharing real-life and relatable stories of achievement with current and prospective students is a great source of information and encouragement.

Were you once a student at a Lionheart school? Do you have an

older child who was a student, but has now left school? We’d like to build our alumni network with you and hear about your journey after school.

If you can help, please complete the alumni form:

tinyurl.com/594v4u79

Parent/Carer Voice

We have returned to offering in school parents' evenings from this year, we have held a number of parent forums and offered opportunities to come in and learn about key aspects of school.

Communication was also an area identified, and therefore, in response we are now seeking your views on school social media channels. We ask that you spare a few minutes to complete our questionnaire, which will help inform each individual school’s social media activity: tinyurl.com/yzu5h9ty

You wanted before and after school provision for your child

We have launched breakfast and after school clubs in all of our primaries.

You said We did

You asked for more opportunities to visit your child's school

You wanted to know more about what your child was learning

We have created and shared a series of knowledge organisers which show what will be learned, what needs to be remembered and key vocabulary.

Each year, we ask parents/carers to complete a survey, which gives us further insight into what we’re doing well and what could be improved.

Over the past 10 months, our response to your feedback has included:

Subject Spotlight History

Diverse perspectives across Lionheart history curriculum

Across the Lionheart schools, professional learning time is provided to teachers to meet in their subject disciplines to explore their subjects carefully, research widely and collaboratively agree on not only what curriculum is taught to our young people but how it is delivered. This time provides opportunities for teachers to reflect, develop their understanding and share expertise.

Susanna Boyd, who is also Head of History at Beauchamp college, leads the team of secondary history teachers to wrestle with the important questions that a subject like history poses.

Lionheart history teachers are very keen to ensure that from Year 7,

students develop strong historical skills and learn to debate the world around them. Pupils learn to understand the validity of multiple perspectives in order to discuss sensitively, creating a richer understanding of the past, how that has influenced the present,

who they are, the world they live in and their place in the world.

With this intention, students learn not only about life in medieval history from an English and European perspective, but in their ‘meanwhile, elsewhere unit’ will learn about Saladin and the Third Crusade in the Middle East and will learn about Mansa Musa and the Mali Empire in Western Africa. As Key Stage 3 progresses, students will learn not only about Elizabeth 1 and the English Civil War but about people of African descent who lived in Tudor England, the colonization of India and the origins of the Slave Trade.

Lionheart history teachers understand that this deeper, broader and multilayered approach will ensure a far richer understanding for our learners at each stage of their learning.

SCHOOL ROUNDUP

Beauchamp City Sixth Form

LOROS Ambassadors raise over £500

During an assembly at the start of term, students were invited to become a LOROS Ambassadorand the opportunity was incredibly popular! Their challenge was to independently organise a fundraising event in just four weeks, to coincide with Leicester Giving Day, with proceeds going directly to LOROS.

There have in fact been numerous fundraising events organised including sponsored walks, book sales and

FIFA tournaments, to name a few.

Students also had the opportunity to visit the hospice near Glenfield and see the reality of hospice care, with many surprised at the vitality, energy and busy-ness of the hospice. Many Beauchamp City students are aspiring medics and were really interested in the complementary therapies that were available. There were a lot of questions about the emotional support offered to patients and

families who are facing a terminal diagnosis, and the holistic wraparound care that they can provide.

Students have already raised over £500 but the grand total will be announced in January - when all the events have taken place - at the final meeting of the Ambassadors which will be a celebration of the monies raised and of the resourceful and resilient character of students.

Beauchamp College

Trips and clubs make a welcome return

Beauchamp College have enjoyed the return of school trips and clubs this term, starting the new academic year by taking (almost) every one of their 300 new Year 7 students on a team building residential. This was followed by an inspiring A-level Geography trip to Iceland for Year 13s.

Sadly the weather meant that the Northern lights were not as clear as hoped, but a fabulous time was had by all, and the students said seeing first-hand what they were studying was transformational to their understanding.

Onsite extra-curricular activities have

also been in full swing, with the Eco club proud to have been awarded the prestigious Eco Schools Green Flag Award. The Club have vowed to continue to find ways to improve the environment and have agreed to participate in the ‘plastic free Oadby’ initiative alongside the local community.

Brocks Hill Primary School

Pupils inspired by famous author

Lucky Brocks Hill pupils enjoyed an exciting visit from Luke Temple, the author of Blubber Monster, Zombie Cows from Outer Space, and many more, during October. As well as talking about

how he overcomes his dyslexia, he also inspired the children to enjoy reading and to have a go at writing.

Pupils were also able to meet Luke and purchase signed copies of his

books, which kept Luke busy ALL morning! Luke was very impressed with Brocks Hill’s pupils and said he can’t wait to visit again.

Broom Leys Primary School

Olympic runner presents sport award

Having been one of the first schools in the country to be awarded the Platinum Games Mark Award in 2016, Broom Leys are delighted to have retained their standard for yet another year, with Olympic runner Martyn Rooney presenting the school’s award at the North West Leicestershire Sports Awards in November.

The award recognises the sporting opportunities Broom Leys gives to their pupils, keeping competitive sport at the heart of the school and enabling more children to achieve their personal best. The government-led scheme rewards schools for their commitment to the development of physical education and competition within

The Castle Rock School

Fantastic sixth form successes

With a seven-year school pathway offered at Castle Rock, via progression to the onsite sixth form at the end of Y`ear 11, the school are able to celebrate the ongoing successes of their students into post-16 provision –and this term has been no different.

Following UCAS application support from the post-16 team, Year 13 student Sam has been offered places at Liverpool John Moores University, Northumbria University, Royal Holloway and University of Reading to read BioChemistry, with his work as the President of Castle

Rock Medical Society preparing him well for future work in this field.

Equally as impressive, Amye has received not one, but five university offers to study next year, four of which are from top Russell Group Universities! Amye also plans to study Biomedical Sciences after completing her A-levels at Castle Rock and hopes to pursue a career in the medical field.

Congratulations to Sam, Amye and all the students at Castle Rock who are working hard towards securing a bright future.

school and in the wider community.

Broom Leys value the importance of both physical health and mental health & wellbeing, knowing that healthy, happy children learn well and that competitive sport helps develop character, resilience and teamwork skills.

Pictured above: Amye

The Cedars Academy

Cedars’ students try to crack ‘The

Dickens Code’

Year 10 students at The Cedars Academy were treated to an amazing experience with guest speaker, Dr Claire Wood, in November where they tried to crack ‘The Dickens Code’ during a special workshop in the Palmer Tomkinson Theatre.

Dr Wood from the University of Leicester, who recently won a

Times Higher Education Award for her work on the project, ensured the students had both a captivating and puzzling time trying to decode the secret shorthand of Charles Dickens, as part of their wider study of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'.

A brilliant time was had by all.

Hallam Fields Primary School Highcliffe Primary School

Glitter and glue galore at Decoration Day Laughs and thrills at the panto!

The 1st of December saw the arrival of the annual ‘Decoration Day’ at Hallam Fields; a morning of festive family fun where parents and carers were invited into school to join in with their child’s Christmas craft making.

It was a morning full of Christmas cheer, with families creating baubles for their trees, Christmas cards, calendars for the new year and many other festive crafts. The school corridors and classrooms rang out with Christmas cheer! There were Christmas jumpers galore, festive tunes and lots of wonderful memories were made.

The Hallam Fields families certainly made this a day to remember.

On Tuesday 29th November, over 400 members of the Highcliffe Primary School community travelled to the Loughborough Town Hall to watch this year’s colourful pantomime performance of Sleeping Beauty. Pupils from across the entire school were incredibly excited for this opportunity and enjoyed the production immensely with laughs and thrills galore.

Parents and pupils alike have shared how brilliant they found the whole experience, with one pupil saying, “That was really hilarious!”

Wonderful Highcliffe pupils showed the 6Rs throughout the entire trip, acting as excellent ambassadors for the school, with staff very proud of how they behaved and got involved with the audience participation too!

Humphrey Perkins School Judgemeadow Community College

Small school, big heart The Big Show: celebrating diversity

O

ne of the many things that makes Humphrey Perkins School in Barrow-upon-Soar a great part of the community is their unwavering commitment to supporting charities. They have a dedicated staff and student Charity Team who work tirelessly to promote and support causes that are close to their hearts.

So far, this academic year, they have already raised over £2,000 for charities including Hello Yellow, Children in Need, Movember and The Royal British Legion's poppy appeal. They are also aiming to donate 35 hampers along with the money raised this Christmas to their local foodbank to help spread kindness across the wider community.

We think you will agree that their staff and students really embody the core values of reciprocity and compassion.

In October, Judgemeadow Community College opened their doors for the first ever BIG SHOW; an evening celebrating the diversity of their community through fashion, music and dancing. The evening was filled with joy as the audience clapped and cheered their way through the passionate performances of students.

The night had a distinct feeling of East meets West, as the variety of the performances showcased the diversity that is Judgemeadow. The amazing evening ended with a sing along of a Bollywood classic with huge audience participation.

An amazing night was had by all, with parents full of praises. Their only disappointment was not being given an opportunity to dance – something that Judgemeadow has vowed to fix for the 2023 big show!

Martin High School Planting for future generations

This term, Year 7 and 8 students from Martin High School’s Eco Club were invited by the National Forest Company and Anstey Parish Council to join in with tree planting in the Anstey Community Orchard. The students, along with teacher Mrs Yallop, worked hard to dig the ground, then ensuring that the conference pear, plum and Bramley apple trees were secured.

Mrs Yallop reflected: “It's a lovely thought that they might one day show their children and say, 'I planted that tree.’”

Riverside Primary School

Resilience and bravery on Year 6 residential

During November, Riverside’s Year 6s left home for a week of adventure at the Pioneer Activity Centre on the edge of the Wyre Forest in the West Midlands. The children enjoyed a range of experiences including obstacle courses at height, climbing and den building, with the brave and resilient children working together as a team offering each other

The Newbridge School

encouragement. Many fears were faced and skills gained, from reaching the top in the ‘leap of faith’ to hitting the bullseye in archery. The highlight of the residential trip for many was the animal experience where children had the opportunity to handle snakes! The wonderful behaviour and ‘have a go’ attitude of all of the children made Riverside staff very proud.

Sir Jonathan North Girls’ College

Students inspire the younger generation Newbridge enjoys sporting success

It’s been a term of sporting success at The Newbridge School, with a number of students recognised at the Northwest Leicestershire Let’s Get Moving Awards. Year 9 student, Katie, was awarded Sportsperson of the Year for her outstanding achievements in badminton, regularly competing locally and nationally, not only in the under 13s but also under 15s, under 17s, under 18s and adult competitions, and winning two national medals! The Key Stage 3 boys’ badminton team also had success and were presented with a highly commended award by Martyn Rooney, an English Olympic sprinter.

To support students with academic success too, this term The Newbridge School held a series of parent forums and workshops, exploring ways in which students can develop as independent learners. The events, which received very positive feedback from parents, offered practical strategies for students to use at home and offered parents and carers a range of methods to support their children at home when revising and studying.

Students at Sir Jonathan North Girls’ College (SJNGC) have been out and about demonstrating their wonderful leadership skills this term, inspiring younger children and making the school immensely proud.

The Student Council trained 120 primary school children from across 12 primary schools in how to be an effective class representative; how to communicate with students and school leaders in order to bring about positive change in the school. Children and staff had a wonderful day and were extremely impressed with the maturity and professionalism of the student council.

In October a number of Year 10 Modern Foreign Language Ambassadors visited a local primary school to teach French and Spanish to Years 5 and 6, and were overwhelmingly popular, with the children loving their new teachers for the day!

Once again, SJNGC students – this time Year 9 and 10 Sports Leaders – worked with Year 3 children in local primary schools by running a health and wellbeing festival. This involved leading lots of activities for the children and promoting ways to stay physically and mentally healthy – as well as introducing the children to Active Anita.

Student Voice

You said We did

We recognise that our students have incredible insight into the quality of provision we are able to deliver. During our summer round of surveys they made some really valuable suggestions. Here's a quick summary:

Students wanted access to their electronic folders from home

We have invested in our technology infrastructure so now every student can access their school work from home.

Eco Clubs are relaunched in 10 of our schools. We have also pledged to invest in environmental technologies this year, having secured £40,000 of funding to identify decarbonisation opportunities.

Students wanted a relaunch of our Eco Focus

Students wanted to see more extra-curricular opportunities

This year we have launched a wide range of activities including; a pantomime with a cast of over 100, sporting clubs, arts activities and the academic rigour of the Brilliant Club.

UPDATESFORPARENTS/CARERS

Careers in teaching

Have you ever considered getting in to teaching? Through Lionheart Teach, we offer a one-year Initial Teacher Training programme, leading to qualified teacher status, with training placements across our schools. The programme welcomes a mix of recent graduates, as well as career changers who can apply their work experience and inspire young people through teaching.

We’re accepting applications now to start in September 2023, with bursaries available for a number of subject areas.

To apply, and for more information, visit www.lionheartteach.org.uk

Consent on Beehive

You may have noticed the consent module that is displayed on the lefthand side of Beehive, our school portal for parents, students and staff. This has been added as part of our continuous improvement plan and it appears that many of you have spotted it and already updated consent for your child/ren, so thank you!

This module allows you to give media consent for photos and videos of your

child to be taken and shared, enabling us to celebrate their achievements via media such as newsletters, the website and social media, as well as promote the school to the wider community. It also allows you to withhold consent, or withdraw at any time, enabling schools to better manage this.

This removes the need for you to sign paper media consent forms as schools can access real-time

information on Beehive. Please refer to the letter shared by your school for more information, if required.

Please visit Beehive via the app or desktop to give or review your consent preferences.

Lionheart community venue hire

From sports tournaments, dance shows and conferences, to weddings, theatre performances and religious gatherings, our versatile and unique portfolio of school venues are available to host your events. The income generated through venue hire is ploughed back into our schools further improving quality of education.

For more information or to arrange a viewing, visit our website at www.lionhearttrust.org.uk/ venuehire or contact the Enterprise Team on venues@lionhearttrust.org.uk

To keep up to date with venue hire and events, follow us on Facebook: Lionheart Venues and Fitness.

TRUSTIMPROVEMENTS

We’ve been busy investing and improving

Every school in Lionheart Educational Trust benefits from our central Trust team of experts who work to drive forward a plan of improvement each academic year.

Here’s just some of the current and recently completed projects:

Technology

Beauchamp City and Beauchamp College sixth formers have benefited from the addition of 30 more laptops at each site and in addition Beauchamp’s computer refresh means 615 new PCs will support students with their studies.

At Hallam Fields and Humphrey Perkins, two classrooms at each school have benefited from brand new interactive touch screens.

Judgemeadow have received a full network refresh to improve performance and capacity of IT services on site and at Cedars students are now enjoying using a new music suite with Apple Macs and the replacement of 550 PCs.

On joining Lionheart, The Newbridge School, The Castle Rock School and Broom Leys School had new wireless systems installed and in all our North West Schools refreshed PCs facilities have been put in place with over 500 new computers installed.

Buildings

Building work is nearing completion at Beauchamp College, to provide a further six-classroom block including science labs, and students at Humphrey Perkins have watched a tired old thirteen classroom block being demolished, rebuilt and furnished with brand new IT throughout the term.

At both Brocks Hill and Highcliffe, children have had beautiful play spaces extended and developed, and at Riverside Primary a new boiler has been installed which will save 20% on energy consumption.

Martin High saw a brand new six-classroom Humanities block installed complete with IT throughout, and Sir Jonathan North Girls' College benefited from over seventy interactive teaching walls and improved security for pupils to store their bikes.

On joining Lionheart, a modern six-classroom maths faculty block opened at The Newbridge School and Broom Leys have welcomed the completion of much-needed roofing repairs. Castle Rock have seen major improvements to student toilets, new fencing for increased pedestrian security, new outdoor eating and seating areas for students.