21st February 2018

Dear Parent / Carer,

I hope you and your family enjoyed the half-term break, and that your child has settled back into school life well.

I know that Angela Barry, the new interim chief executive officer of SchoolsCompany Trust, which sponsors Goodwin , wrote to you recently, but I also wanted to write following some of the media coverage you will have seen about our school, and to reassure you.

First of all, I have every confidence that will continue on its upward trajectory. The school has been transformed in recent years. It has stunning new facilities, while academic standards, quality of teaching and behaviour are all improving. Ours is a school I am incredibly proud of and I am clear that the changes being made will not put at risk these improvements. In fact, they will ensure that the Goodwin Academy is a financially sustainable school that will build on its solid foundations, with standards and teaching quality continuing to improve.

We are very fortunate that Angela, an extremely experienced education leader, is supporting us through this period. Angela and I have been working very hard on our action plan alongside Lee Miller, who is highly skilled at effectively managing school finances. Lee is the deputy chief executive of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, which last month was rated the top multi-academy trust in the country by the Government in its GCSE performance tables.

I am sure you will be aware that our plan to reduce overheads includes staff restructuring. We value the contribution of every single staff member but the restructure means we will be able to operate more efficiently. Angela, Lee and myself are clear that the new model will mean the school has an in-year balanced position for 2018/19, and that our students still get a great education and excellent exam results.

To explain how this will be achieved, I would point to the success of , a non-selective school run by the Thinking Schools Academy Trust (TSAT) in Chatham. When TSAT took on the school, in September 2015, it had a significant in-year deficit of more than £500,000 and a net debt of £800,000. It had weak academic results and was rated Requires Improvement by Ofsted. Its problems were almost entirely down to a staffing structure that did not match its curriculum.

Lee and TSAT developed a new curriculum-led staffing model for the school that dealt with the historic annual overspend in just six months. In three years TSAT reduced the school’s costs by over £2m. Crucially, this was all done while the school’s exam results soared – the Victory Academy is now rated Good by Ofsted and its results are the best of any non-selective school in Medway.

Angela, Lee and myself are putting in place a similar model for Goodwin Academy. The new timetable will be more flexible, and therefore more efficient. Option choices will not start until Year 10. Teaching quality will not be affected. There will on average be 25 students per class for next academic year. We are streamlining leadership roles.

GOODWIN ACADEMY

HAMILTON ROAD DEAL CT14 9BD

T: 01304 403103

E: [email protected]

Goodwin Academy will continue to be a student-centred school that gives young people the very best opportunities, a broad and balanced curriculum and ensures they achieve the best outcomes possible. I want to develop further the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and in time to see Goodwin achieve Teaching School status. I see no reason to doubt this long-term vision.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support – and to reassure you that Angela, Lee and myself will be working hard every day to make sure our school is as good as it can be, for the benefit of the most important people in any school – our students.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Simon Smith Principal