Issue 14
A Message from the CEO Celebration The summer newsletter is a celebration of the dedication, commitment and creativity that staff across all Trust schools have shown during this period of National crisis. As well as working strongly as teams in their own schools, thanks to the network meetings and conferences that took place before COVID-19, staff have formed positive relationships across the Trust which has encouraged the sharing of learning ideas and has led to an explosion of creativity. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing” George Bernard Shaw. Our learning communities have been extremely supportive, working with school teams to ensure their children continue to engage in learning. All schools in the Trust have received tremendous praise from their parents regarding the support they have received. All staff in our schools are immensely grateful to our parents for their support during these difficult times. We are all proud of our parents and children as they have demonstrated resilience, excellence and creativity. I would like to thank all Headteachers for their focussed leadership during this period; we are lucky as a Trust to have such a professional and resilient group of leaders who have worked together as a strong team, which has enabled them to give a strong and positive approach to their school communities. We have definitely gained a great deal from this experience as a collaborative group of schools that will enable us to continue to grow and build as a Trust. New Initiatives Alongside the day job we have continued to grow in all areas of the Trust. We have adopted a new MIS system which allows our Heads to access their data in a more user friendly format. It will allow all staff to be able to give accurate data to support initiatives going forward. Our HR team have also been developing their systems to enable smoother processes. In terms of IT we have signed a 12 month contract with Telford & Wrekin Council for IT support. This should enable our IT development across the Marches Academy Trust to go from strength to strength. Staff across the Trust have adapted to the use of Teams to ensure that all meetings have gone ahead both in terms of leadership in school and governor meetings. Capital News As a Trust that has over 4,000 children, we are entitled to an annual capital grant for us to distribute across our schools as we feel necessary and this year we have been awarded £1.2 million by the Government. Each school has already submitted a capital bid to the Trust Board for building, repair and improvement projects within their own schools and the money will be allocated on a priority of need. The Trust Executive Leadership team have been working continuously with the Local Authority, DFE and local councillors and MPs to gain a much needed capital injection for Shrewsbury Academy. We have been successful in gaining £600,000 for essential electrical and kitchen works for the school. We are now working with the DFE to get funding for much needed drainage works and we will continue to work with DFE and LA to get funding for our phase two plans, which intend to remodel Shrewsbury Academy so that it can cater for up to 1200 pupils. ‘Old Maps No Longer Work’ Joyce Rupp The most exciting aspect of our learning from COVID-19 is the way staff have used technology, developed more effective communication with parents and carers and we are all working avidly on developing an intersectional curriculum that ensures that the wellbeing of our children is central to all that we do so they are confident to enjoy and learn. I wish you a relaxing summer and look forward to welcoming the staff and students back in September.
Sarah Finch CEO The Marches Academy Trust
Marches Academy Trust Vision and Values
Trust Members and Trustees The Marches Academy Trust is governed by the Board of Trustees. Trustees are appointed by the members.
Members
Anna Burgess
Robert Forrester
David Griffiths
Bob Pearson
Trustees
Arthur Walpole Chair
Alex Fry Vice Chair
Catherine Bennett
Stuart Cowper
Revd Canon Judy Hunt
Mark Liquorish
Keith Winter
Sarah Finch CEO
Arthur Walpole
A Message from the Chair of Trustees It was the 30th March when I last contributed to the Newsletter, at which time we were aware that COVID-19 would have a significant impact on our schools and on virtually all aspects of our lives in the wider society. We could not, however, know then the full extent of the impact that this would have - the extent and depth of what has followed, the dislocation of day to day life, the pain and suffering caused to so very many people, the economic impact on our country carrying with it the threat to people’s livelihoods. It is it is during these unprecedented circumstances that all of you throughout our Academy and in each of our schools have committed yourselves to the continuing education, welfare and safety of our young people whilst coping with the demands placed on you by your own individual circumstances in your home, family and social life. On behalf of the Academy Trustees I thank you all most sincerely for your continuing commitment to our young people in providing them with the best education that is possible in these extreme circumstances. I am aware that a terrific amount of work and professional expertise has gone into planning and implementing the measures that are necessary to seek to deliver effective lessons and educational material to all students, some at school, some at home, whilst meeting the criteria laid down by Central Government - including the strict requirements within the school on Health and Safety and the particular emphasis on social distancing and on cleanliness. The continuing changes to the rules and guidance are also making this task hugely more difficult and complex. From the feedback that we as Trustees have received it is apparent that a real strength of the Trust has been the close co-operation that has taken place across all of the schools, using individual knowledge and expertise for the greater good of all. I believe that this has proved to be a very real strength of being part of our Academy and benefitting from working together and from the strong leadership that is very apparent at both school and Academy level. As a Board of Trustees gaining visibility of the individual school plans has provided us with the confidence to give you all our full support. Individual Trustees have also spoken with Heads and Governors and in some cases been able to visit the school. Comments back to me have included :- Great commitment, dedication and care in the most unprecedented and testing times. - Going above and beyond for the good of the pupils and the wider community. - The skill and dedication of the staff in each school with each year group has been remarkable and very effective. - I have had so many positive comments from parents about the way in which the schools have stayed in touch on an individual basis which has been much appreciated. Finally there is one observation that I would personally emphasise and this is the recognition of the importance of the contribution made by every individual in every role. Each one of you is helping to keep our young people educated, helping to keep them safe, through this time of exceptional challenge.
Arthur Walpole Member and Chair of the Board of Trustees The Marches Academy Trust
Alliance of Leading Learning: Wellbeing Recovery and Reintegration Programme Our Recovery and Reintegration Programme has been designed to support everybody and learn about our holistic health, including the physical and emotional. As we reintegrate back into our schools – good levels of wellbeing are essential if we are to feel motivated and engaged, resilient and able to deal effectively with new demands, as well as ’bounce forward’ from new challenges. Adaptabilty The COVID-19 pandemic can be definitely categorised as a new, changing, and uncertain situation for all. It is safe to say that adaptability is needed even more now than ever. Given the evolving situation, adaptability is likely to be highly important for everyone to effectively navigate these uncertain times over the coming weeks and months. For parents/carers this may involve, for example: ● Adjusting thinking and attitudes about how to help your child learn online and how technology can be harnessed in teaching like never before; ● Adjusting behaviours by seeking out people to support any technical needs for remote teaching; and, ● Adjusting emotions by reining in possible anxiety or frustration as new technologies are navigated and as different students engage with remote learning in different ways. Mindfulness Mindfulness is one of the most effective ways to increase productivity, reduce stress, increase self-awareness, enhance emotional intelligence and reduce unhelpful emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes – our overall wellbeing. Mindfulness is essentially training our minds to pay attention in a particular way. It is the non-judgemental observation of the ongoing stream of information bombarding our brains. The more we practice any of the following exercises, which again can be done in a minute or two, the more likely we are to develop our ability to stay in the present moment, focus and cancel out some of that inner chatter that can create perceived threats for us. ● Clock watching exercise: Sit in front of a clock or watch that you can use to time the passing of one minute. Your task is to focus your entire attention on your breathing, and nothing else, for the full minute. Have a go – do it now. ● Mindful eating: This involves sitting down at a table and eating a meal without engaging in any other activities – no newspaper, book, TV, radio, music or talking. Now eat your meal paying full attention to which piece of food you select to eat, how it looks, how it smells, how you cut the food, the muscles you use to raise it to your mouth, the texture and taste of the food as you chew it slowly. You may be amazed at how different food tastes when eaten in this way and how filling a meal can be. This technique is also very good for digestion. ● Mindful walking: While walking, you concentrate on the feel of the ground under your feet and your breathing. Just observe what is around you as you walk, staying in the present. Let your other thoughts go, just look at the sky, the view, the other walkers; feel the wind, the temperature on your skin; enjoy the moment. Every member of staff feels hope and comfort from their leaders and each other. Every child feels hope and comfort from all teachers as soon as they see them in the playground. Every parent feels hope and comfort as they continue the interactions that have been built on over this period. Our learning community will thrive!
Alliance of Leading Learning: Professional Learning This challenging landscape calls for an evolution of new resilience for our teachers and leaders in schools. Professional Learning is probably now more important than ever and investing in supporting our teachers has been a major focus this term. Supporting our staff in navigating the challenges We have adjusted to the new learning needs of our teachers in the Trust by running “Base Camp” virtual training in online learning and rejuvenating the curriculum. We are actively sharing expertise across our nine schools to ensure consistency and exemplary practice. Adjusting to online training has been positively received.
“I just wanted to say how brilliant I thought the Base Camp CPD was. Being able to do it at my pace, watch the videos, pause have a go then return to the next bit was great. I really got a lot out of it.” Sally Wilmot, Deputy Headteacher, The Marches School. “I have shared a lot of the videos and readings you shared with us, with my friends in other schools and they commented on the support which we have had as a Trust.” Alison Davies, Teacher of Mathematics, The Grove School.
Building on our Gold Standard Professional Learning Programmes – supporting our school colleagues nationally and internationally. School leadership competencies and the leadership behaviours such as commitment, personal drive and resilience will in time bear testament to how our school leaders modelled these in navigating this new changing landscape. We are continuing to deliver our National Professional Qualifications and Governor training through our new interactive and engaging online learning platform, building on the momentum of our reputable international and national training.
“Anyone looking at becoming a Leader/Headteacher should attend training like this. Absolutley inspirational…” Chris Gibson, Debuty Headteacher, St John’s C of E Primary School
Alliance of Leading Learning: Professional Learning School leaders are intent on supporting school colleagues and the children in their care in the return to school. However, leaders are seeing the bigger picture and the need to be fully equipped to handle this role. Our unique international qualification for Headteachers in the Netherlands continues to run and our registrations for 2020 – 2021 in the UK are already on target. It is very much business as usual. “A leader is a dealer in hope” (Napoleon) and with the continued provision of exemplary professional learning we have embraced the challenges, adapted to change and are grasping the new opportunities yet to come in education. Teacher recruitment It has never been more important to recruit new teachers to the profession and to support them in their early years of teaching to remain in the education system. We have continued to recruit new Initial Trainee Teachers to our School Direct course through lockdown, adapting our interview process to be online which has been a revelation in the ability to interview people from all over the world. We have asked applicants to plan a lesson and talk us through it as if they were delivering to a class. We have bought into a package offered by Video Learning CPD UK which offers more than 100 lessons that can be observed to ensure that those applicants who have less school experience can be better prepared for the course. We have also bought an on line induction programme for the cohorts from TES which introduces the ITTs to some theory behind teaching, safeguarding and other important introductory tutorials. We have seen a spike in really good, quality applications since we have been in lockdown which we accredit to individuals having the time to reassess their lives. These applications have come from career changers who bring with them excellent skills in leadership and time management specifically. One such application has come from Jennifer Elliott who is a new parent from Sir John Talbot’s School and this is what she had to say.
“I am a former pupil of Sir John Talbot’s School and have returned to Whitchurch to live and to bring up my two children. After completing my A Levels I studied international business with languages at university before embarking on an 18 year career at a global luxury automotive company. I have thoroughly enjoyed working in a business environment and have put my language skills to good use. However, as the world has changed dramatically in the past few months I have had time to reflect and I have decided to pursue a more meaningful career that will make a difference to young people’s lives. I have applied to train to be a modern foreign languages teacher as I want to inspire future generations to learn and to enjoy languages. I am passionate about the benefits of learning languages and would love the opportunity to learn how to teach languages to secondary school students. The course structure and learning support system provided by the Alliance of Leading Learning seems excellent and certainly makes a career change both an exciting and an attractive option.” Jennifer Elliott
Spotlight On Learning: Celebration of Student Work Case study from The Grove School Elle Bools (7AST), went above and beyond to produce a model of the Globe Theatre. Warren Sylverster (7HWG), was set the task to create lyrics to promote a message. As you can see from his masterpiece, he has demonstrated the skill well, showing a wonderful level of empathy for what is happening in the world right now. Coral Bailey (9DJO), produced a wonderful piece of English comparison poetry work. The picture in the background is made from individual stickers and the mini soldier hut is made from a decorated box. Such a creative use of her time.
Fantastic examples of Year 11 Art by Katie Cledwyn-Davies (11FGR), Rosie Townsend (11EHA), Grace Hampton (11FGR) and Charlotte Benbow (11FGR).
Wonderful Year 9 art by Valeria Paslar (9ADA).
Spotlight On Learning: Teacher Innovation Shrewsbury Academy Case Study Virtual Classrooms - Mrs Ellis I wanted to collate my lesson resources in one place as students were still not accessing the correct work on the “mrrscience” website, even though I had sent detailed instructions with screenshots and links. I have been researching different platforms to enable me to do this and I have also been reasearching distance learning and ways that I could make it a little more student friendly, fun and engaging. I discovered “Thing Link”. “ThingLink is a digital tool that provides users with the ability to turn any image into an interactive graphic. Create multiple “hot spots” on specific parts of an image and turn that image into a multimedia launcher. Include video, record audio or provide a link to any website with the click of a button. Easily embed an interactive ThingLink graphic into any blog or website. ThingLink is a truly amazing tool that allows users to pack a lot of content into a small space” (https://www.gettingsmart.com/2012/08/5ways-use-thinglink-teaching-learning/). I created my virtual classroom and converted my tags to SVG files (Scaleable Vector Graphic). Doing this will enable the user to view my virtual classroom on mobile phones and tablets etc. Below is a screen shot and a link to my latest Business Studies lesson. https://www.thinglink.com/card/1333457472005865473
Students have to click the tags to access their work. Some are linked to my Google Drive, some to the internet. I have also tried to include some fun random stuff such as my dancing cactus!
Spotlight On Learning: Teacher Innovation Science Department Mrs Corfield uploaded videos to YouTube to support her lessons. These are available to view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls 7bZpJ0L0k&feature=youtu.be&safe=t rue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpo 2gn0UBqk&feature=youtu.be
Miss Allsop encouraged her Science students to undertake kinesthetic learning and to be creative with their experiments.
Art Department The Art Department have been posting a variety of photography tasks via email and social media, that have a local community theme and have encouraged students to take part in competitions on the local news.
English Department English teachers at Shrewsbury Academy have been creating videos to be uploaded to email, mrscience and Youtube. They have also been sending out links to Kahoot quizzes and Seneca learning before sharing a consolidation activity on a Friday. They have also been running weekly challenges.
Spotlight On Learning: Cross-Trust Webinars During Lockdown teachers in the Marches Academy Trust have shared their expertise through a series of webinars. These have been delivered using Microsoft Teams and have been extremely popular. In November 2019 a group of teachers identified as ‘Agents of Change’ attended a conference organised by The Alliance of Leading Learning. The purpose of this conference was to provide an opportunity for staff to come together to reflect and collaborate in order to identify change projects that could propel the school towards meeting its school development priorities. The staff subsequently ran independent projects in each school. The projects were specifically targeted to support the Trust development priorities of Teaching and Learning, Behaviour for Learning and Curriculum. The agents’ work was innovative, powerful and progressive; they focused on the heart of an issue in their school and worked to provide solutions collaboratively. The projects were hugely successful and it became clear that this work needed to be shared across the Trust so that all schools could benefit from the excellence of each project.
Spotlight On Learning: Student Perspective Case study from The Marches School Throughout lockdown students (and staff) have been flexing their creative muscles and engaging in learning in many different ways both in lessons and as extra-curricular opportunities. Students across all year groups have completely immersed themselves in learning in new and innovative ways. Art and Design: The Getty Museum Challenge Students have taken part in a series of challenges, that have both enthused and motivated learners of all ability ranges. Individuals were invited to submit their own modern version of a famous painting, rising to this challenge by producing some really creative outcomes. Science: Research and poem abridged example What can the moon tell us about our early atmosphere? Constant tectonic activity has recycled Earth’s crust and shifted landmasses. Weather has erased any damage that asteroids from billions of years ago may have caused on the earth’s surface. The moon, however, still has many craters that were created soon after the moon’s existence. This is because there is not the weather to erase these marks like there is here on Earth. For that reason, the surface of the moon is like a window into the early history of our solar system. By studying the chemical composition of rocks and soil on our natural satellite, we could obtain a glimpse of the Earth’s own geological infancy. What was the early atmosphere like and how was it formed? The early atmosphere was created whilst the earth was cooling, and gases were being released from volcanos. The early atmosphere was made up of hydrogen sulphide, methane, and ten to 200 times as much carbon dioxide as today's atmosphere. MFL “Improving speaking skills in Spanish independently at home has been difficult due to the current situation. In order to address this my Spanish teacher set our class a speaking assignment where we had to plan, write and record a tourism advert. We have been studying the cultural heritage of Hispanic countries this term so it was an opportunity to demonstrate our knowledge. Our teacher supplied us with the video and it was our task to provide a voice over in Spanish. In order to do this, I first watched the short video a couple of times to get an idea of what I should include. Next, I started planning my ideas and thinking back to everything I had learned in Spanish lessons about the culture and famous traditions of the country. Additionally, I researched some places to talk about and new words to enhance my vocabulary. After gathering all my ideas, I began putting them all together on paper so that I would know what to say and when. Finally I recorded myself speaking and sent it to my teacher through Office 365. This was a very fun assignment to do and I learned a lot from improving my Spanish speaking to learning about new things about Spain I didn’t know before.” Louise Jaeger, Year 12 Spanish. Favourite lesson in lockdown “During lockdown I have had lots of great lessons, but I have really enjoyed doing Food Tech/Textiles because I can choose whether I want to do a paper task or do some cooking. Because I have the option of what to do, I can spend more time cooking and developing my practical skills for learning. Over the past few weeks, I have made some delicious food!”
Trust Structure
Trust welcomes Carla Whelan, Headteacher of Oakmeadow In April 2020, The Trust welcomed Oakmeadow CE Primary School. “Being a part of The Marches Academy Trust’s vibrant learning community is a real privilege and being able to contribute to the forward thinking, ever developing community is a real opportunity. Since beginning my teaching career I have had a passion and commitment to contribute to every child I meet, positively influencing their learning journey and securing their love of learning. To now be able, in my new role, to have a wider impact is exciting. I began my teaching career in London in a large multicultural school and experienced 4 years working with a diverse community in Newham. During this time I led PE and sport and became the assessment lead. PE has always been a love of mine and still today I enjoy a game of netball! Following this I moved to Plymouth, which allowed me to experience a completely different context of two schools and gave me leadership experience as a team leader. When I started my family and had my daughter, Tay, I returned to Shropshire and taught for two years in a secondary school in Trench. It was a real opportunity to work in a secondary setting and be able to apply my primary skills to a ‘mini school’ set up, giving me a small insight to secondary life and particularly the social and emotional changes of a child moving into Year 7. It was a useful experience which I was able to take back to primary, when I returned to Woodlands Primary in Telford as Deputy Head. As a Deputy Head and SENCo (alongside many other coordinating roles) I was able to learn about leadership in a disadvantaged area. After two years as Acting Head I wanted to take on my own school and this was when I moved to Oakmeadow CE Primary and Nursery in 2013, again a totally different context and many different ventures and challenges. Since working in Shropshire I have taken roles supporting other schools, both small and large and now I hope to use this experience to support our fabulous schools in the Marches Academy Trust. I am excited to learn from the Trust, spend time not only in our primaries but our fantastic secondaries and work alongside the teams to look at how we can continue to strive for excellence and grow. Thank you for welcoming both Oakmeadow and I into the Trust. It is a very exciting future.” Carla Whelan
HR System Update Our HR team have continued to work tirelessly on integrating a new Human Resources management information system, iTrent. iTrent will radically improve the way our HR data is currently managed across the Trust for employees and administrators alike. The system will not only move away from the laborious manual processes currently used, but will encompass an employee self-service login feature which will place employees in the driving seat managing their personal data. Line managers will also have functionality in managing their teams. The pandemic has not gained us as casualties to its war. The function of Teams has proved a critical resource in accessing online training and regular dialogue with those involved in this project to ensure that the timeframes mapped out back in January, have remained unaffected. HR are now committed to compiling training material to support the various access levels appropriate to users across the Trust and will provide details on training sessions to support this over the coming months, in anticipation of the system release in the new academic year.
Staff Spotlight During lockdown staff have been proving their versatility by successfully expanding their roles into new areas. Mr Ward, The Marches School Medical Officer, has been leading on putting the risk assessment into practice and running resources, as well as making weekly calls to Year 10 parents since we went into lock down. Mr Ward said “I have to say everyone I spoke with had a positive and welcoming manner with me. If any parents had issues or worries, they were really pleased with the contact we were making and taking on board their concerns and rectifying them via Heads of Academic Progress or Teachers. Some parents were ‘up for a chat’ and I got the feeling that I was sometimes the only person they had had a conversation with that day other than their own household.” Mrs Pearson, Headteacher, said that as a result of this communication the school have been able to pick up any issues and get staff on finding the solutions quickly, ensuring that students kept engaged and part of the school community and were ready to start to come into face to face sessions.
Arbor Update For those who have never worked in a school it would perhaps come as a surprise to learn how much Senior Leadership Teams, Teachers and Support Staff rely on data and the ability to interpret it quickly. Additionally, our ability to communicate with families relies on simple systems - and the capability to send the right information in a way that is clear and understandable. Our previous Management Information System (MIS) enabled us to operate effectively, but often at the expense of many hours manipulating spreadsheets and managing data feeds from different systems. Having carefully considered all the available options to improve efficiency, and increase staff capacity to teach, the Trust have opted to roll out a new MIS called Arbor across all our Schools. Arbor has many advantages for our family of schools. Primarily, it enables teachers to focus where learning is most needed and automate repetitive admin tasks that would otherwise take up valuable teaching time. Arbor is also currently the only MIS available with a direct link to current Department of Education performance data. This link will increasingly enable us to benchmark our schools nationally, and enable us to ensure that we continue to provide the best outcomes possible for our students. All our schools have been working extremely hard during ‘Lockdown’ to understand and exploit the vast number of opportunities that Arbor has provided to improve the way we conduct business, including development of the Multi-Academy Trust Arbor ‘site’ which will allow us to bring all our data seamlessly into one place. Longer term, parents and carers will become more familiar with Arbor as schools begin to roll out the Parent Portal and Arbor App where information about Attendance, Behaviour, Progress and In-App Messages will be available at a glance.
Operations Update During the period of partial closure for the Covid-19 pandemic our Operations Managers have been working tirelessly in conjunction with site teams to ensure schools are safe and healthy environments for the staff and groups of students in school while also preparing for the wider return to school. This has been a real team effort, calling on the varied skill set across our Operations Managers and premises teams to review the guidance, prepare the risk assessments and develop operational plans with Headteachers for each school. This continues to be a key focus with auditing and continuous development of systems to ensure our schools remain safe and healthy environments for staff and students. There has also been a huge effort by members of the Finance team, working in conjunctions with Operations Managers to source the PPE and additional sanitising resources needed in order to facilitate the safe operation of schools. Operations Managers have continued to work on projects to develop school sites during this period, planning the scheme of summer upgrade works in our schools. A major project is planned at Shrewsbury Academy this summer with upgrades to the electrical supply and fitting a brand new school kitchen.
SEND Update It has been many weeks now of families developing strategies to manage the restrictions involved with COVID-19 and developing new ways to support their children with Special Educational Needs. Children with Education Health and Care Plans are now starting to return to their schools on a reduced basis and are starting to re-establish links with their staff and friends. For some children this has been very difficult, as routines have been very different. All schools will continue to offer support to help all children manage emotions. There are many resources available online to support families, these include the following links: ● https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-children-with-send-continue-their-education-during-coronaviruscovid-19 ● https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/coronavirus-supportingchildren-special-educational-needs-disabilities/ ● https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/coronavirus/resources/helpful-resources.aspx Useful Contacts
Sir John Talbot’s School The SEND Department will be hosting coffee mornings for families of children with Special Educational Needs, providing opportunities to meet the SEND staff.
Five top tips from Sir John Talbot’s School SEND Team: 1. Agree a routine with your child that you feel will be realistic, fair and easy to maintain. 2. Do not over think the home learning. If a bit of work is too tricky, leave it and speak to school about it. 4. Remember, that your presence and reassurance will be just as vital as home learning during this uncertain and potentially stressful time. 5. Take time to relax and have fun with your child! Tilstock CE Primary School The photographs show how children at Tilstock have personalised their tables with the clever use of transparent sticky paper, to enable them to feel ownership of their spaces, during the distancing in classes.
Tilstock CE Primary School Despite lockdown being a challenging and emotional situation, with lots of decisions and arrangements being made over this past term, children and staff at Tilstock CE Primary School have displayed such positivity. Staff have enjoyed embracing virtual learning, filming themselves reading and conducting Science experiments for the children and the schools weekly Friday Celebration Awards has been continuing successfully online. All the pupils have really embraced this period and worked hard with support from parents and staff on the resources provided. The school community has really supported the idea of sharing their home learning activities with each other through the schools Facebook page. This term also saw the site at Tilstock become the birthplace of some beautiful Mallard ducklings which the pupils enjoy following the progress of. Tilstock also received a wonderful donation of a colourful bell tent from Mrs Paterson in celebration of her upcoming 100th birthday, the children are looking forward to putting this new outdoor learning environment to use on return to school.
"Thank you for your continued support it has been amazing. It has been fantastic to see how much you care as a team for your pupils and their families. We have been watching the stories and updates from all of the teaching staff which has been lovely to see and has given us some normality in these uncertain times." "I want to take this opportunity to pass on my thanks to all the staff included in keeping the school going through this time, as I know the children have certainly benefited from the normality and the beautiful little friendships and unique bonds they have built during this time."
Lower Heath CE Primary School Pupils of Lower Heath CE Primary School have been working very hard through their home learning packs, and have also been thinking outside the box making the most of the skills children can develop through real world activities. Parents have been sending in lots of wonderful photos and videos to keep staff up to date with their children’s progress. Pupils have been busy enjoying a number of activities, just a few from a long list we could mention: baking, Science experiments, replicating areas of Forest School, gardening, writing research reports, art projects and much more! Lower Heath also held a Virtual Talent Competition, a really fun way for the children to share their skills and end the year on a fun celebratory high. A couple of stand out moments this term include Billy bravely taking part in a charity ‘Brave the shave’ fundraiser and more recently Thomas and Oliver along with elder brother Will achieving first place at the Ash Scarecrow Competition for their giant chicken!.
“We feel very lucky to be part of this school community; the teachers have been amazing throughout lockdown." “Amazing work from all the staff X wasn’t sure on the change of routine at first but she’s slowly adjusting we can’t thank you all enough for all the hard work put in place to keep the children, parents and staff safe through such a hard time we are proud to be part of the school.”
Grange Primary School The school community at The Grange has really thrived through virtual learning, with parents playing their part having shared an abundance of pictures to provide school with regular updates. Many of the children have also enjoyed listening to stories being read by staff virtually via social media and also hearing themselves being recognised for their accomplishments during the weekly Wow Wednesday celebrations. Many parents have been very complimentary about the support The Grange has provided, with many sending in thoughtful thank you cards which has really lifted staff spirits throughout the lockdown period. The Grange Primary School also received a generous donation this term of 9 laptops for pupils to utilise; these were kindly bought with funds raised by Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club. These will be utilised in the schools nurture space - a safe, sensory area for the children. The Grange is particularly proud of the kindness displayed by pupils, whether through baking cakes to share with neighbours; creating VE Day decorations for the community or donating clothes to those with an urgent need - the pupils have been a real credit to the school.
“Thank you to all the staff that have looked after X these past few weeks. He has gone to school smiling and come out smiling when this is a very strange time for us all. You are doing an amazing job and well done for keeping our children safe.” “Truly amazing work and thank you and your staff for all the effort you are doing.”
Longlands Community Primary School It has been a very busy term at Longlands Community Primary School with pupils, parents and staff all adapting well to the enforced changes. Pupils both in school and at home have really embraced exercise related activities, whether it be following along to Joe Wicks, partaking in virtual Zumba or having a go at online self defence classes. Longlands School Social Farm has gone from strength to strength through the spring/summer months, with the key worker children who were in school enjoying having some quiet time with the plethora of animals as well as helping to maintain the school allotment. Those pupils who have returned to school have now welcomed a further new addition - Reggie the tortoise! Many children have also celebrated personal success during this past term. Some have been the recipients of the much coveted Blue Peter badges. Pupils in Year 3 enjoyed making the headlines for their fantastic and entertaining news reports, in which they were challenged to record themselves reading a news bulletin relating to dragons ransacking the school! The broadcasts were hugely popular throughout the community.
“Longlands is like one big family, they have your back.” “I think the staff are doing a great job, I now realise how hard teachers work!” “Thank you to THE most amazingly hardworking, wonderful, kind, selfless Teachers and TAs at Longlands... love you all lots!!!!”
Oakmeadow CE Primary School At Oakmeadow CE Primary School, they have been lucky enough to see lots of smiling faces back in school this term and throughout the ‘new normal’, they have been so proud of their flexible staff and adaptable pupils. The school has put together a Recovery and Resilience curriculum for the pupils to support them in their return to school which has seen the children take part in fun, artistic, creative activities which focus on learning surrounding change, emotional regulation and mental wellbeing. Those children still learning at home have been hugely missed, but Oakmeadow has been continuing to try to make them still feel part of the school community through regular communication and tasks set online. The school has been so impressed by the commitment shown by their remote learners! The children at home have continued to watch Mrs Whelan’s assemblies online and alongside this, at Oakmeadow they have held virtual assemblies so all the children in their bubbles can still see and interact with each other. Year 6 have had a special picnic lunch to celebrate their time at the school and to send them on their way to the next part of their educational journey. Staff at the school have also even managed to fit in a cumulative marathon to raise money for a previous pupil of Oakmeadow who is unwell. The school cannot wait to have all the children back in again!
“Can I also just take the opportunity to say how impressed we have been with what Oakmeadow had put in place. Through conversations with friends I can confidently say that the provision support and feedback for parents and children at Oakmeadow is the best I have seen. Our children are extremely lucky and you should all be congratulated.”
Primary Sport Update Keeping children active during these difficult times. In recent months The Marches Academy Trust have been dedicated to ensuring that all pupils within Longlands Community Primary School, Oakmeadow CE Primary School, Lower Heath CE Primary School, Grange Primary School and Tilstock CE Primary School are continuing to stay active at home with their families during this difficult time. Over 350 pupils have been taking part in virtual challenges that have been set by various sporting stars which include gold Paralympian Richard Whitehead MBE and Mickey Bushell MBE. Liverpool boxer Tom Farrell set a burpees challenge for the pupils with some staff members from Longlands Primary School also taking part in the challenge. In the upcoming weeks we will also see challenges from former Juventus and England international footballer Lianne Sanderson. On 18th May 2020 all primary schools within the Trust took part in a Virtual Sports Day. Over 200 families took part in the online event which consisted of activities such as an egg and spoon race, welly toss and three-legged race. Longlands Community Primary School have invested in an online fitness programme which sets challenges that are pitched at different levels to ensure that they are accessible for all pupils from Early Years all the way to Year 6. Finally all primaries within the Trust will be taking part in virtual Zumba sessions. These will be accessible via the Trust YouTube account to help our pupils stay active over the summer break.
The Marches School The Marches School has really thought outside the box this term to try and continue with many of the prominent events on their school calendar. This year Sports Day went virtual with over 120 students taking part in up to 12 events; the annual Governors Rewards event hit the road with staff surprising worthy award winners at their homes; the annual Sponsored Walk also went ahead with a virtual twist, this year raising money for the students’ chosen charity the The Movement Centre in Oswestry. Students and parents have really been impressed with the creativity of lessons, a particular favourite is Mrs Bladen’s TikTok inspired dance routines which students really enjoy following along. This enthusiasm to deliver both an engaging and fun learning experience has really rubbed off on the students, with so many producing such a high standard of work at home. Some have even gone the extra mile, notably Year 10 student Keira Lee who produced and filmed a Science themed rap! Whether learning at home or in school it has been clear from the photos sent in to staff, that the students have really embraced the tasks set by their teachers.
“I know l don’t often message about positive things. I just wanted you to know that after mailing my concerns about X to her teachers this week, every one of them have gone out of their way to do a personal “check in” on her. I cannot tell you the difference it has made. I came home from a long day at work yesterday to smiles and laughter which l have not seen nor heard for weeks. It’s the small things that can make the biggest differences right now. I think you are all doing a tremendous job in unprecedented circumstances.” “We would like to thank all The Marches staff for the huge efforts they are putting in to engage with the students while they are off and for the support they have offered with the online learning platforms – it all seems very organised. It is also lovely to hear warm (and humorous!) messages from the Headteacher and the staff during the Easter holidays – really important for morale and feeling connected!”
Sir John Talbot’s School Changes have been afoot at Sir John Talbot’s School over the last term. After being a part of the wider school family for a number of years Mr Stonall has now taken up the lead as Head of School as Mr O’Toole now goes on to embrace new challenges as Deputy CEO of The Marches Academy Trust. The school has seen many highlights over the past term with staff and students really playing their part by supporting the local community through these curious times. Students created wonderful colourful banners which are displayed at the local fire station in support of key workers. Some students in particular have gone above and beyond in their local area supporting vulnerable residents through thoughtful gestures; taking part in charity fundraisers and applying skills learnt in the classroom to real life situations by making protective masks. Meanwhile a number of staff also turned their hand to making PPE over the Easter holidays, which was gratefully received by local care homes and hospitals. Sir John Talbot’s School also commemorated the 75th Anniversary of VE Day in style with students and families sharing photos of their celebrations on the school’s social media page. They really got into the spirit of the occasion creating bunting, cakes, poems and also went into great depth to learn the history around the important event.
“I’d just like to say a quick thank you for everything you’ve done for me during this difficult time! You really are amazing at your job! Without you right now my chances of good grades wouldn’t be as good if it wasn’t for you giving amazing feedback on my work and in genuine! So thank you!” “I think you are all stars in my eyes. Thanks for keeping the children going.”
The Grove School The Grove School has really celebrated the achievements of their students this term, through frequent sharing of work via social media and their website. So many students have produced work that reflects the key values at The Grove - integrity, creativity, empathy and excellence. A number of students have really tailored their home learning to reflect their future career aspirations which has been lovely to see, notably Tom McCarthy working on his woodwork skills and Jamie Williams putting time aside to develop his dog grooming skills. All the students should be proud of the dedication and commitment they have continued to show during lockdown. The Grove School also undertook their own community 5K challenge, encouraging students, parents, staff and the local community to walk, run or cycle. The aim of the challenge was to both lift community spirit through these difficult times and be able to support a local charity cause. The virtual event had fantastic participation and through much generosity the community managed to raise an impressive £1637 for the Market Drayton Foodbank - smashing their original £1000 target.
“Just a quick email to say what an outstanding job your teaching staff are doing during the school closures. I am home schooling my Step Son with the work provided, it’s outstanding! It’s all so personal and staff are on hand to help out. The Grove should be very proud of themselves!” “I wanted share with you what a tremendous support your SEN Department have been to my family over the last few weeks. Things at home have, at times, been incredibly difficult and I wanted to convey my thanks for the assistance I have received. The staff have all been so lovely, so supportive and put practical measures in place to get us back to a place of normality. I am very grateful that they are so skilled at what they do.” “Working via Teams has helped me understand the topics which we have started to cover as further maths proceeds to get harder. The teaching skills have been on point and the explanations have been super. I also enjoy the maths lessons as Miss Parsons helps myself and others engage in our learning during the teams maths lessons.”
Shrewsbury Academy It has been pleasing to see many students engaging with their teachers via email and phone at Shrewsbury Academy. With continuing development of infrastructure, teachers have more recently started to experiment widescale with being able to deliver lessons live via on-line learning platforms to enhance home learning. Through the school bulletin parents have been given an insight into life at school from those students who were able to return; we hope this blog has been of interest. Students have been enjoying partaking in a number of virtual competitions since lockdown commenced. The Art and English Departments in particular have been setting weekly themed challenges, receiving great uptake and a high quality of work. It has also been great to see students taking an interest in current affairs, particularly researching key topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout the pandemic Shrewsbury Academy has been playing their part by supporting key workers, displaying show stopping banners; the school has also donated spare materials to help those on the front line. More recently Shrewsbury Academy has engaged with the community further by organising a Virtual 5k Challenge, to encourage, students, staff and the community to get active and reap the benefits of exercise from both a physical and mental point of view. The school was so enthused by the level of uptake, with participants virtually clocking up the mileage to reach London, France, Germany and beyond.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support during COVID-19. X has really enjoyed attending school during this difficult period and it has enabled me to continue to run my business.” “Thank you so much for the continued communication and support. These are strange times but the help from Shrewsbury Academy has been amazing. I now appreciate just how hard teachers work and what an incredible job you all do.”
COVID-19 Next Steps September 2020 The Marches Academy Trust Position We remain clear that the approach across the Trust is cautious. As you are aware we are asking our learning communities to be flexible and to accept there will be a need for different approaches and timescales according to what is feasible. The Marches Academy Trust mantra: Keep everyone safe. Keep it simple. Keep it true to our local context. Our vision/hope for September is: Every member of staff feels hope and comfort from their leaders and each other. Every child feels hope and comfort from all teachers as soon as they see them in the playground . Every parent feels hope and comfort as they continue the interactions that have been built on over this period. Our Learning Community will thrive. Each school will have individual plans for September, which will be communicated by each Headteacher and will be posted on the schools websites. Transport Shropshire Council’s approach to school transport for September follows the guidance set out by the Department for Education and Department for Transport. The government (DfT) COVID-19 travel advice should be adhered to and can be found at the following link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers. The Council’s ‘Guidance for School Transport Provision’ should also be followed and this is published on the Council’s website and will be updated to reflect plans for September 2020 found here - https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/schooltransport/guidance-for-school-transport-provisionfrom-1-june-2020/ Wellbeing Shropshire Council have created a parent help line, please see the poster adjacent. This help line has been set up to enable parents to have a support service if they are concerned about their child returning to school in September.
T. 01691 664400 | E. trustadmin@mmat.co.uk W. www.marchesacademytrust.co.uk