Leigh Academies Trust Summer 2019 | Issue 15 NEWS
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Leigh Academies Trust Summer 2019 | Issue 15 NEWS LAT Annual Primary and Secondary Sports Days 2019 Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities A message from the Chief Executive Since Easter, the Trust has been subject to a number of A few more important appointments have been made at routine Ofsted inspections of its primary academies. These senior level in the Trust since my last newsletter article. A have all gone extremely well, with inspectors lavishing big “well done” to all of the colleagues below who take up praise on the work of staff who provide the best start in life their new posts from September: for our primary-age children. You can read all about these successes in this newsletter. It is heartening that a trust › Clare Greene - Principal, Eastcote Primary Academy which started in secondary schools is now doing so well at › Katie Hall - Vice Principal, Eastcote Primary Academy primary level as well. We look forward to welcoming two more primary academies at Horsmonden and Paddock › Stuart Mitchell - Vice Principal, Dartford Primary Academy Wood from September. (from Minterne Community Junior School, Sittingbourne) › Charlotte Barnden - Principal Designate, Bearsted My congratulations to The Halley and Strood Academies, Primary Academy (from Horsmonden Primary School, who have been accredited by the International starting 1st January) Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) as World Schools and will deliver the IB Careers-related Programme (IBCP) from › Lorraine Mottram, Deputy People Director September to their sixth forms. At the same time, all of our primaries have now applied for candidacy to deliver the IB Please enjoy reading about all of the many highlights of Primary Years Programme. Like our secondaries delivering life in Leigh Academies Trust since the last newsletter just the IB Middle Years Programme, they will be visited by the before Easter. Overall, it has been an exceptionally busy, IBO in the autumn to take plans forward. productive and successful year. I wish you all a restful and enjoyable summer break. You have certainly earned it. Efforts to ensure our pupils achieve the very best outcomes at primary and secondary level this year have been With my very many thanks and best wishes, spectacular and staff and pupils alike deserve full marks for the work they have put in. We now wait to see the impact of all of this endeavour. Primary results are available in July and secondary results in August. For the first time this year, three of our secondaries will receive IBCP results, which are available earlier than A Level results and are published in Simon Beamish, early July. I look forward to celebrating academies’ success Chief Executive as well as planning further steps next year. Contents › Kent and Medway Training (KMT) ................................. 8-9 › Kent and Medway Training Primary and › A message from the Chief Executive ................................ 2 Secondary Awards Evenings ............................................... 9 › Bob Findlay: LAT's Starter for 10! ........................................ 3 › International Baccalaureate ........................................ 10-11 › Ofsted Inspections .............................................................. 4-5 › Maths Mastery Update ........................................................11 › Free Schools Update .............................................................. 6 › LAT Teaching and Learning Open Days .........................12 › Digital Worlds Curriculum at SCWA .................................. 7 › Careers Round-up ..................................................................12 › MTSA ............................................................................................ 7 › Healthy Minds at The Leigh Academy ............................13 2 www.leighacademiestrust.org.uk Bob Findlay Chairman LAT’s Starter for 10! A year ago LAT celebrated its 10th anniversary and With amazing teacher enthusiasm, International launched its 10-point Excellence Charter, proudly displayed Baccalaureate programmes have spread to every LAT in every school. This year, we delivered on every one of primary and secondary school. We are first in the UK, those 10 pledges, an impressive starter for 10. probably first in the world, to be teaching the IB curriculum across all 14 year groups and wherever you go, the We also hit some other big milestones: after an outbreak excitement is palpable. of multiple Ofsteds, every LAT school became good or outstanding. Student numbers rose to 16,000 and LAT Our interactions with business and our communities exam predictions this summer are our best ever. have also prospered, with great assistance from Sharon Waterman, Louisa Felstead and the central team. Every Despite recruitment agency poaching tactics, retention for secondary school made wider engagement one of its well over 100 leaders remains above 95% for the 3rd year in objectives and thousands of students have benefited. a row. Middle leader and senior teacher retention is also our best ever. One reason is that we continue to promote from If you have been counting, you will know I have reached within – I counted 20 promotions this year across our top the magic number 10 in my list of major milestones. There tiers of leaders and we appointed 5 new Chairs of academy are of course many more achievements at the trust’s centre boards from within. As we grow, 225 new teachers have and in our academies. We are fortunate to enjoy such an also agreed to join us this year to develop their skills. outstanding and productive team whose ambitions and new ideas continue to flow as we look forward to starting They recognise not only our very good schools but our afresh in September. continuing investment in professional development. While other schools risk running out of money, LAT has Our 16,000 students would wish me to thank not just strengthened learning resources and launched new our 2,500 staff but also all our hundreds of volunteers – well-being programmes. We now manage not only Kent directors, governors, mentors, businesses, community & Medway Training, the Southeast’s largest initial teacher groups and other partners, who make education training scheme, but also the Medway Teaching School opportunities for our young people so much better Alliance and the Kent and Medway Maths Hub, delivering than ever before. CPD for hundreds of schools. LAT is undoubtedly the place for teachers and other staff to grow. All these tens I have been talking about are just the starter – LAT bubbles with ideas about how to keep improving Our academies rose to 24, with 3 more under construction, education and connecting our students to the world so we have passed the milestone of 25 schools. Our revenue outside at every stage of their continuing school journey. budget for the coming year is £106 million, so we also crossed our milestone of £100 million annual income. LAT Roll on September and another exciting year – but first has more funds to invest than ever before. enjoy your well earned summer break. › Leigh Aspire ............................................................................. 14 › The Hundred of Hoo Nursery and Kids Club ............... 22 › The Halley Academy Social Action Group .................... 15 › Edexcel 'Page to Stage' Professional Development for English Teachers .............................................................. 23 › LAT Awards ............................................................................... 16 › Appointment of New Principal at Eastcote › Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) Event ....... 17 Primary Academy .................................................................. 23 › LAT Sports Days ................................................................18-19 › LAT Receives Wellbeing Award ......................................... 23 › LAT Primary Results 2019 (provisional) ....................20-21 › Performance Development ............................................... 23 › The Hundred of Hoo Academy Teacher Receives › Congratulations to our newly-qualified teachers ...... 24 Medway Youth Award .......................................................... 22 Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities 3 Ofsted Inspections Eastcote Primary Academy Tree Tops Primary Academy "Outstanding" “Good with Outstanding Leadership and Personal Development” On Monday 18th March Eastcote received the expected phone call from Ofsted to tell them that their full, two-day Since the Section 8 monitoring visit in October 2018, Tree inspection would begin the following day. Having had a Tops had been expecting a full Section 5 inspection. They one-day inspection last June with an acknowledgement received the phone call on Monday 10th June 2019 and that they had made “significant improvements” since the the inspection took place on 11th and 12th. last inspection, they expected to be visited before the end of the academic year and we felt they were ready. Tree Tops was the only LAT academy not yet judged “good” or better. In HMCI’s 2018 Annual Report, it was It was a thorough process, as they knew it would be - identified as a school that had not been judged “good” after all, they were evaluating themselves as “outstanding” since 2005. In fact, there are no records of this ever in every category. The two inspectors spoke to over a having happened since the school opened in 1974. hundred pupils, monitored a large number of lessons, This inspection was therefore crucial to the continuing scrutinised books, held meetings