DoWMAT NEWS Issue 6 The Diocese of Worcester Multi Academy Trust Spring Term 2020 Dear All, This has been a momentous term for all our DoWMAT academies with lots to celebrate, despite the unusual circumstances we now find ourselves in. Our academies have all continued to benefit from the support and collaboration across the Trust. As well as sharing good practice and attending joint training as a whole group of 14 academies, our Headteachers have also been collaborating across three smaller hubs – Malvern (Castlemorton, Malvern Parish, Powick and Madresfield Primaries), Evesham / Pershore (The Littletons, Offenham, Crowle and Pinvin First Schools, together with St. Barnabas First and Middle, and St. Nicholas Middle) and the Northern hub (Broadheath, Martley, St. Oswald’s and Netherton Primaries). This has allowed our academies to focus on specific projects relevant to their local cluster, such as the Curriculum and Early Years. Our central DoWMAT team continues to support each of our academies and all our Headteachers tell us that the support they are now receiving, as part of the multi academy trust, and the collaborative nature of the work amongst our academies, is benefiting their academy greatly and enabling them to ensure their offer to pupils and families is as strong as ever. This term, we have made two great appointments to the Trust: Mrs Sandra Jennings, who has been Acting Head of School for St. Nicholas CE Middle School on a year-long temporary basis, will, from April 20th 2020, take on the overall Headteacher post at the Pinvin Federation which includes St. Nicholas CE Middle School and Pinvin CE First School; and Mrs Cheryl Cunningham has joined us on our Central Team as our new Accounts Assistant. Both are extremely welcome and we are looking forward to working with them. Good news this term includes a successful bid by Powick CE Primary for lottery funding (£9,815) to improve their Early Years area and the completion of a Bathroom Management Area at St. Oswald’s CE Primary funded by the Local Authority. Both will improve the daily experience of pupils in these academies. Also, at Crowle CE First School, 4 children have reached the semi- final of the BBC Radio 2’s 500 Word Competition! It’s not all good news, however. We had some severe flooding at Netherton due to the rain caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis, earlier in February. Happily, this is now in hand and our insurers have agreed to fund flood defences - so there is a silver lining in that particular cloud. Finally, it is impossible for me not to mention the current situation we all find ourselves in with Covid-19 and the school closures. Despite the challenges, all our academies have been amazing, working together to share information, looking after one another, providing a high level of daily care for our most vulnerable children and for those whose parents are key workers, and sharing home learning activities for families at home. I am sure you will want to join me in saying a big thank you to all the staff who, despite the worries we all have at this moment, are turning up for work with smiles on their faces or supporting from home, those who are making resources, creating on line home working activities, making phone calls and generally being available to offer help and support. I keep hearing of lots of exceptionally creative things happening in each of our academies at the moment; from the mystery storyteller reading to the Reception class at Powick via Zoom each Friday to the entertaining video by the staff of St. Nicholas to make sure their pupils don’t forget what the staff look like – check out the following address to see for yourself! https://www.facebook.com/114989416567579/posts/252471872819332/?vh=e With the lockdown now set to continue for some time, I would like to reassure you that we are all monitoring the situation daily and will keep you as informed as we can – especially when we get to the end of the strict lockdown procedures we are currently experiencing and we see our academies reopening in line with Government guidance. Regards, Claire Davies CEO DoWMAT Broadheath CE Primary School, Broadheath - Castlemorton CE Primary School, Malvern - Crowle CE First School, Pershore - Madresfield CE Primary School, Malvern - Malvern Parish CE Primary School, Malvern - Martley CE Primary School, Martley - Netherton CE Primary School, Dudley - Offenham CE First School, Evesham - Powick CE Primary School, Malvern - St. Barnabas CE First and Middle School, Pershore - St. Oswalds CE Primary School, Kidderminster - St. Nicholas CE Middle School, Pershore - Pinvin CE First School, Pershore - The Littletons CE First School, Evesham Ofsted News Ofsted have now closed their doors in response to Covid-19 and won’t be inspecting schools for some time, but they somehow managed to visit 6 of our academies beforehand! The format of recent inspections has changed massively since the introduction of the new framework in September 2019 and so these academies have had a very short timescale in which to review and implement changes to the way they are teaching Reading, in particular - and subjects other than English and Maths. In the past, inspections focussed quite heavily on assessment data, but now there is much more emphasis on how the teaching is delivered and whether approaches are consistent across all classes. Despite this scale up in expectations, the inspections went well and staff and Local Academy Board members were generally pleased that Ofsted recognised all the hard work staff had been putting in to meet these higher expectations. In each academy, inspectors found lots to celebrate – and, of course, provided strong advice on how staff could improve their provision even further. Safeguarding in each academy was found to be effective. As a Trust we are exceptionally proud of all our staff, children, families and Local Academy Board members who have worked so hard to make our academies such special learning environments. You can see some highlights from the inspections below. All reports (except the final two mentioned here) can be found in full on the Ofsted website – or on the websites of our individual academies. The Littletons CE First School – January 2020 GOOD Inspectors highlighted the fact that the pupils ‘thrive’ at the school and ‘the headteacher’s calm and supportive approach makes everyone feel welcome.’ The resulting report said: “Pupils at this small, rural first school are very happy. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour; which pupils live up to. They live and breathe the academy’s values of caring, honesty, perseverance, respect and responsibility. Pupils are polite, kind and helpful to each other. Parents and carers say that their children flourish here [and] are nurtured and supported well to understand the wider world and their part in it as they grow up.” The report praised the school’s teaching of reading, writing and maths, ‘Pupils love reading. There is a real buzz about reading in school’. Ofsted comments that the curriculum is ‘consistently well planned and delivered’ and ‘pupils behave well in lessons because they know what is expected of them.’ The report highlights the fact that ‘pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support to succeed.’ Offenham CE First School – January 2020 GOOD Inspectors felt this was a happy, ambitious place for pupils to learn. One pupil explained, ‘We take behaviour seriously at this school’. The inspectors agreed. The report praised the academy’s approach to reading, ‘Leaders have made reading a priority. Pupils read every day. Parents are shown how to support their children with early reading and almost all do. Staff encourage pupils to read different books. Regular storytime helps capture pupils’ imagination and promotes a love for reading. Pupils who fall behind are given extra time to read to an adult in school. Pupils read books that match the sounds they learn in lessons.’ The report also highlighted the fact that the academy had designed an exciting curriculum, despite the challenges of mixed age teaching. ‘Pupils enjoy the range of extra-curricular opportunities offered. The ‘Eisteddfod’ festival allows pupils to demonstrate their creative skills, such as in poetry, music and baking. The annual visit to the Houses of Parliament for older pupils is particularly memorable and purposeful. Post-visit, pupils are voted into positions such as ‘Prime Minister’ and other ministerial roles. This provides a real purpose to their learning about democracy, and helps to develop pupils’ leadership skills and contributes to their personal development.’ St. Barnabas CE First and Middle School – January 2020 REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT This report recognised the hard work of the new leadership team in stemming the previous decline of the academy and in ‘implementing suitable plans to drive improvements across the school.’ Inspectors recognised the strengths in Early Years, ‘Staff gain a strong understanding of children’s needs quickly and plan to meet these needs very well. Staff model language carefully to help children develop their communication skills rapidly. Children have a wide range of learning experiences to develop all areas of their learning. For example, forest school sessions develop children’s understanding of the wider world. Staff and children develop warm and supportive relationships. Because of this, children are confident and are not afraid to tackle the challenges of the ambitious and well- sequenced early years curriculum. ‘ Curriculum leaders were praised for their work in revising the planning for the curriculum and basing this on prior learning. However, inspectors felt leaders now needed to ensure work was sufficiently challenging and that the recent changes in approach and progression were being followed in each class.