Leigh Academies Trust

NEWSEaster 2020 | Issue 17

EasterHappy

Young Voices 2020

Another successful trip to the 02 Arena in London, as primary students from Molehill, Tree Tops, Langley Park, Oaks and Cherry Orchard Primary Academies show off their choir talents.

Continued on page 10 ...

Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities

www.leighacademiestrust.org.uk

The COVID-19 worldwide crisis is unprecedented in our lifetime. Every government announcement leaves us aghast at how disruption on this scale could have taken hold with so little warning. The untold effect on daily life and everyone’s futures is unrivalled since 1939 and WWII.

Schools are now at the front-line of supporting the national effort to fight the virus. Staff across Leigh Academies Trust have heard that call. I have been awestruck in recent weeks to see their selfless efforts to support one another and to help our nation get back on its feet again. We still have a long way to go, but with responses like those we have seen so far, we are sure to win.

The Trust’s efforts fall into two categories:

Take immediate steps to manage the current crisis:

This involves providing quality daily online learning for pupils of all ages using Google Classroom and other platforms. At the same time, we are providing safe statutory school-age childcare with a volunteer workforce in our academies for parents who need it. This offers academic subject-based learning, combined with other activities. Initially we are offering this in all academies so that pupils can attend the centres with which they are most familiar. As staffing levels become depleted, we will move to a hub-based model after consultation and in a measured way. At the same time, we are offering to extend childcare for some families into normal holiday periods. On top of this we are offering a daily packed-lunch service to all of our pupils on free school meals (FSM). Once available, we will roll out the government's FSM voucher scheme to affected families. Lastly, we are working hard on emergency regulations to ensure that pupils who would have been sitting exams still achieve the grades that they need and deserve this summer.

Begin planning now for the future:

We must ensure a strong start to the new academic year in September and get our academies firmly back on track through a period of reconstruction. September 2020 will not resemble September 2019, or any other September for that matter. Assuming prolonged disruption to business as usual, children will return to our schools in September having missed scores of normal lessons. All risk having considerable gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding.

On top of this, they will be out of their normal learning routines and still coming to terms with the impact of this crisis on their lives and families. Some will be returning to face important public examinations in summer 2021 and we must do all we can to make sure they are not disadvantaged. Powerful efforts now to plan for the medium- and long-term will ensure that we are ready by the start of the new academic year to emerge stronger than ever before.

Times of crises often bring out the best in us all. People rise to the challenge and show their true characters. We will do all we can over the coming months to support the national effort to get our lives back to what we took for granted only a few short weeks ago. We all have our part to play.

John Donne’s famous poem, For Whom the Bell Tolls, strikes a powerful chord at this moment:

No man is an island,Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,It tolls for thee.

Even at this difficult time, we thought it was very important to send you our normal termly newsletter showcasing all the usual items to celebrate across Leigh Academies Trust. Whilst everything seems to have changed utterly in recent weeks, all of us are confident that we will return to business as usual before too long.

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A message from the Chief Executive

Simon BeamishChief Executive

Contents

| A message from the Chief Executive

| Appointment of Academies Director for Medway

| New Principal at Wilmington Academy: Future Plans

| New Principal at Dartford Primary Academy: Future Plans

| New Principal at Hartley Primary Academy: Future Plans

| New Principal at Eastcote Primary Academy: Future Plans

| Leigh Academy Rainham

| Bearsted Primary Academy

| Snowfields Academy

| Stoke Primary Academy judged ’Good with Outstanding Leadership and Management’ by Ofsted

| Milestone Academy Judged ‘Outstanding‘ by Ofsted for the Third Time

| Milestone Students and Staff Attend Commonwealth Day Event

| LAT Five-a-side football events

| Young Voices 2020

| Mathematics Mastery

| Medway Training Schools Alliance (MTSA)

| Kent and Medway Training (KMT)

| International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Update from around the Trust

| International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme

| LAT Apprenticeships

| Third College Building at Wilmington Academy

| New Building at Dartford Primary Academy

| Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy

| New Building at Leigh Academy Blackheath (LAB)

| Marden Primary School (MPS) and Leigh Academies Trust

| Longfield Academy’s Young Ambassador, Max

| The Leigh Academy Students Enter Logo Design Competition for Bluewater Refill Me Campaign

| LAT Conference

| Mental Health Training Opportunities

| Vision 2025

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3Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities2

Appointment of Academies Director for Medway

Following a national recruitment search and rigorous selection process involving governors and senior executives from across the Trust, Emma Elwin has been appointed Academies Director for Medway. It is heartening yet again to see our own internal talent shining through a field of very strong candidates from across the UK.

Emma is currently Principal of the Hundred of Hoo (all-though) Academy (HoH) in Medway. She has been instrumental in the academy’s journey from ‘special measures’ to the 2018 Ofsted inspection, which assessed HoH as strongly ’good’ across the board, with ‘outstanding’ leadership and management. HoH joined Leigh Academies Trust (LAT) in January 2019 and has continued to go from strength to strength ever since.

Emma will be responsible for all seven LAT academies in Medway, working closely with principals, governors and senior leadership teams to drive further improvements across the board. From her leadership of an all-through academy, she already has excellent knowledge, experience and skills across the full age range.

This is the Trust’s third Academies Director appointment to add capacity to the central team as the organisation continues to grow and develop. From September, our team of Academies Directors will be organised to oversee academies as follows:

Tracey TruslerNorth West Kent and South East London

Debbie BiggendenCentral Kent and Special Academies

Emma ElwinMedway

The Trust will comprise nearly 30 academies in September with Bearsted Primary and Snowfields Academies opening as new free schools and Marden Primary proposing to join LAT. Emma’s appointment adds additional strength and further consolidates the hugely positive union of Leigh Academies Trust and The Williamson Trust, which took place just fifteen months ago.

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Mike Gore has been leading Wilmington Academy as Principal since June 2019. Starting from firm, fertile ground, he and his team have built a culture that provides opportunities to enrich teaching and learning at the academy through exploration and discovery. A growth mindset permeates through each of Wilmington’s four colleges while developing key International Baccalaureate (IB) learner traits such as communication, collaborative learning and other experiential learning skills.

Four College Motto’s

Minerva: ‘Believe in Yourself’Apollo: ‘Anything is Possible’Jupiter: ‘Don’t just fly, soar!’Olympus: ‘Strive Further, Reach Higher’ (Post-16)

With an unyielding belief in the IB philosophy, staff have seen at first hand the transformational impact that students gain from an IB education. In January, the academy underwent a quality assurance review from ‘Challenge Partners’, who captured the following quote from one of the Year 8 students:

”The Middle Years Programme character traits help us to be ready for the real world, and the academy cares a lot about us and what we want to achieve in life, not only about our results.”

It is feedback such as this that drives teachers’ passion for the highest quality of education for all.

Wilmington continually strives for excellence through its current aims for 2020:

ം Secure IB MYP authorisation;

ം Continue to develop international links with a partnership school in another country;

ം Pursue a nationally-recognised well-being award from the National Children’s Bureau;

ം Implement a robust three-year curriculum at KS3 and a two-year Key Stage 4 from September 2020;

ം Continue to improve student outcomes in all Key Stages;

ം Complete the new Jupiter building; and

ം Continue to provide visual and performing arts opportunities such as the production of Oliver! the musical.

As a member of Leigh Academies Trust for nearly eight years, Mike continues to be ambitious and is driven to ensure that the academy is true to the Trust’s motto:

‘ Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities’.

New Principal at Wilmington Academy Future PlansMike Gore

New Principal at Dartford Primary Academy Rebecca Roberts

Rebecca Roberts joined Dartford Primary Academy in September last year with a vision to make the academy the best in the local area, offering its children the best curriculum, the strongest starting point and as many enrichment activities as possible. The academy’s dogged pursuit of its ‘Determined, Persistent Achiever’ motto is being harnessed to enable its children to learn to change the world.

The vision for DPA’s future is one in which children, by accessing an International Baccalaureate education, will start to understand how they can change the world for the better.

The academy’s journey is truly exciting and the team is looking forward to seeing its vision of an outstanding school come to fruition.

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New Principal at Eastcote Primary Academy Future PlansClare Greene

New Principal at Hartley Primary Academy Future PlansNicole Galanis

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Clare Greene was appointed as Principal at Eastcote Primary Academy last September. Her vision is to continue to deliver the outstanding quality of education to the community that the academy serves. The key area of focus going forward is to deliver the IB PYP to ensure that the pupils are internationally-minded and able to contribute positively to the global community.

Nicole Galinis was appointed as Principal of Hartley Primary Academy in September 2019. It has been her mission to ensure that Hartley maintains its ‘outstanding’ status and continues to promote the vision of ‘Happy Positive Achievers’ across the academy.

Continued development of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme is a key focus this year, together with staff and pupil well-being. Hartley endeavours to nurture its children to empower them to manage their own, and others’, well-being and emotions, whilst ensuring that all members of the school community feel safe, valued and respected.

Through the inquiry-based curriculum of the PYP, children will develop into life-long learners in a global community, learning how to become internationally-minded global citizens and how they can make positive change to our world.

Leigh Academy Rainham

Development of this new secondary academy, at the eastern end of the Medway towns, continues to make strong progress. In early January, it passed another significant milestone when planning permission was granted by Medway Council. This decision was passed unanimously and will ensure that the new building has additional features to help address climate change, including additional solar panels and 16 electric car-charging points. Initial construction is scheduled to begin at the end of April, with installation of the main structure planned for September and completion of the entire building by June 2021. The Trust has completed the statutory local Section 10 consultation regarding delivery of education within the academy. The proposals were overwhelmingly supported by the local community, as reinforced by the 500+ expressions of interest received to date for places in Year 7 when the academy opens in September 2021.

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Bearsted Primary Academy

Despite relentless rain, Bearsted Primary Academy is standing tall and growing fast, on track to open in September 2020. It is a great experience to visit the site each month and walk through corridors and into classrooms, where very soon children will be exploring, learning, developing and growing into keen, ambitious learners, excited by school and thirsty for knowledge.

There were a large number of applicants for Reception, resulting in the academy being oversubscribed in its first year of opening. This was wonderful news and it is hoped to achieve the same for the nursery, which will also open in September, offering 26 places to three and four-year-olds. Staff have recently been very busy promoting the nursery, using the fantastic logo designed by the design team. Bearsted received more than 40 applicants for its two Reception teacher jobs and, after a day of interviews with five short-listed candidates, appointed two new teachers: Francesca Harrison, a newly-qualified teacher (NQT), and Jessica Thornton, who will lead the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Jessica said: ”I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed EY lead at Bearsted Primary Academy, and I'm excited to get started in September. I trained at Cambridge University, specialising in EY teaching, and since graduating I have had a wide range of experience teaching Nursery children

through to Year 2. The opportunity to take part in shaping a brand-new school is extremely exciting, and one which I feel very lucky to have been given. I believe that strong EY education is fundamental to igniting a love and excitement for learning, and I am looking forward to leading a talented, committed team at Bearsted, who will inspire and challenge young minds.”

Snowfields Academy

The windows are going in at Snowfields Academy and the building is beginning to look very smart, with a ragstone-clad sportshall and brick cladding to the elevations, sadly not shown below. The builders, B&K, are doing a wonderful job and have been (mostly) smiling through the rain.

Recruitment has now started in earnest and Dee Pickerill, Principal (Designate), has appointed excellent candidates with extensive experience of mainstream and SEN/ASD to lead English and maths; they join James Doddington, currently Interim Assistant Principal at Milestone Academy, who was recently appointed as Assistant Principal (Designate) at Snowfields. Thanks to all colleagues who are supporting the process.

Other teacher interviews are ongoing. Admissions are continuing to grow at a good rate and the academy is nearly full for Year 7. The team is working hard to build contacts within the local community; the managers at some local hotels and a vineyard are keen to work closely with them; and they are developing good links with their local neighbours, who are mostly health and care providers.

Shaping Lives, Transforming Communities 76

Stoke Primary Academy judged ’Good with Outstanding Leadership and Management’ by Ofsted

On Monday 13th January at 10.15 am Stoke Primary Academy received THE phone call informing them that they were to have a section 5 Ofsted inspection over the next two days. Even though Stoke is a very small school (the smallest in the Trust), with fewer than 100 pupils, two inspectors arrived on day 1, followed by the lead inspector alone on day 2.

The inspection started in earnest with the initial phone call which, under the new framework, replaces the traditional initial conversation on day 1. The call, which aims to build relationships early on, enabled staff to give the inspector a really clear picture of the school. They were also able to shape the ‘deep dives’ and, alongside the statutory reading and maths foci, to showcase the computing and science departments.

After that, it really was ‘all hands on deck’, but the fantastic team effort by absolutely everyone at Stoke and Allhallows assured success. Allhallows was included as Stoke’s Year 5 and 6 cohorts are taught at Allhallows. The next two days were really tough, but the staff team shone through, with fantastic support from the Directors of Improvement. Governors should also be thanked for giving up their valuable time and contributing to the ‘Outstanding judgement for leadership and management‘.

The new framework focusses on the questions ‘Why this? Why now?’, which, together with well-being, occupied many conversations with staff and children. Among many valuable learning points, the following were key:

ം The value of Principals’ forums and the information on Ofsted shared by Eliot Hodges and other colleagues;

ം The need to prepare a script for the call in advance, including identifying any preferred ‘deep dive’ areas;

ം The need to ensure that staff know what the final goal is, as well as the steps in between, and that they are able to answer the ‘Why this? Why now?’ questions;

ം The importance of matching provision maps to what appears in class and books;

ം The inspectors’ practice of forming a hypothesis on day 1 and testing this systematically across all areas on day 2;

ം The importance of using Ofsted’s preferred vocabulary, including ‘systemic’, ‘we are in the process of bringing this about’ (not ‘developing this’);

ം Ensuring that the IT team is on hand to support the school's wi-fi system throughout the inspection.

Finally, many thanks to the central Trust Executive, who supported us magnificently throughout the three days. How gratifying to be able to proclaim, for the first time in nearly twenty years, that Stoke Primary Academy is a ‘Good’ school with ‘Outstanding’ leadership and management.

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Milestone Academy Judged ‘Outstanding‘ by Ofsted for the Third Time

Following Ofsted’s ‘Outstanding’ judgment of Milestone Academy for the third consecutive time in December 2019, the Principal, Nigel Jones, decided to celebrate this fantastic achievement with all of his 200 colleagues and to express his sincere thanks to each and every member of staff.

The result was a celebratory afternoon tea in Milestone’s gym - which was all dressed up for the occasion - during professional development time in the last week of Term 3 2020.

The Principal welcomed the Chair of Milestone Board, Theresa Davies, and both addressed the gathered throng, reflecting on the process itself and sharing some wonderful messages of congratulation from fellow Headteachers both within and beyond Leigh Academies Trust.

Milestone Students and Staff Attend Commonwealth Day Event

Milestone Academy was represented at the Commonwealth Day Observance by students and staff from Milestone @ The Leigh. This annual service, attended by the Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family, celebrates the role of the Commonwealth and its 54 member countries. Attendance is by invitation only, and the attendees were treated to performances by Craig David and Alexandra Burke and listened to a reflection by Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua, who spoke about his shared Nigerian and British heritage.

Students who attended on behalf of Milestone Academy were asked to write an essay about the current climate emergency, and how they might address the problems if they were world leaders.

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LAT Five-a-side football events

During Module 3, the inaugural Leigh Academies Trust five-a-side football competition took place in the Goals football centre at The Leigh Academy, starting with the Year 7 tournament. All 11 of the Trust’s secondary academies took part in a high-octane contest.

A few weeks later, the Year 8 teams took part in an equally hard-fought event. Both competitions saw each team play a series of group games, with the two highest-ranked teams proceeding to the final to determine the overall winners.

Many thanks to all who took part and hearty congratulations to the victors!

The final results of the first two competitions, complete with photos, below:

In the final of the Year 7 boys’ competition between Longfield Academy and Wilmington Academy, Wilmington won 3-1.

In the final of the Year 8 boys’ competition between Strood Academy and Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy, Crown Woods won 3-1 after normal time.

In the final of the Year 7 girls’ competition between Longfield Academy and Stationers’ Crown Woods Academy, Crown Woods won 4-0.

In the final of the Year 8 girls’ competition between Wilmington Academy and The Hundred of Hoo Academy, Wilmington Academy won 5-4 on penalties, resolving a tie of 3-3 after extra time.

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Young Voices 2020

Once again this year, Molehill, Tree Tops, Langley Park, Oaks and Cherry Orchard Primary Academies sent choirs to the Young Voices Concert at the O2 Arena in London. The choirs began rehearsing back in September 2019, when the concert seemed a long way off, but the weeks soon flew by and, before they knew it, the concert day had arrived.

The Young Voices concerts are always thrilling and this year’s was no different. LAT’s choristers joined 7,500 other children in the songs they had been practising, together with some famous faces including Tony Hadley, lead singer of Spandau Ballet; Ruti, Winner of TV’s The Voice 2018; and British country duo The Shires. They were also treated to some superb performances by the dancers of Urban Strides.

A highlight, as always, was when Urban Strides Director Andy Instone invited all the parents to get up and dance with the choirs, followed closely by a pop medley and a collection of numbers by Queen. After another stunning concert, children and staff returned home exhausted but buzzing with unforgettable memories.

Roll on 2021 – the 25th Anniversary Season of Young Voices!

Mathematics Mastery

In February, the Trust conference provided an opportunity for all LAT maths staff to come together to attend maths-specific personal development (PD) sessions. Representatives from Mathematics Mastery delivered two sessions, one on ‘Mathematical Thinking’ and another on ‘Mastery at KS4’, among five sessions that afternoon.

All staff attended the Mathematical Thinking session, which focussed on the following pupil attributes:

ം Explore, wonder, question and conjecture;

ം Compare, classify, sort;

ം Experiment, play with possibilities, vary aspects and see what happens;

ം Make theories and predictions and act purposefully to see what happens, and generalise.

A further optional session of ‘Mastery at KS4’ was well-attended, allowing staff to investigate how the Mastery principles develop in KS4 from the foundation built in KS3, and helping them to understand how their current efforts with Years 7 and 8 can be further developed in Years 10 and 11.

Nicola Weeks of Mascalls Academy dug deep into the structure of talk tasks in a session on ‘Meaningful Talk in the Maths Classroom’, focussing on how purposeful talk can develop learning through the use of language and communication.

The other two sessions, led by Tom Bird (Longfield Academy) and Balaji Rajendran (The Halley Academy), covered ‘Variation Theory’ and ‘KS5 Problem Solving’; both sessions were very popular. Although not directly focussed on Mastery at KS3, they embodied the principles of LAT Maths.

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Kent and Medway Training (KMT)

KMT has just reached the half-way stage of the training year, with exactly 150 trainees on track for an award of qualified-teacher status (QTS) at the end of the year. Over half have already secured employment, 95% of whom will continue to work within consortium schools. KMT’s reputation continues to strengthen and spread, and KMT is currently processing a large number of applications from schools wishing to join the consortium, mostly in the Medway and East Kent area.

KMT is delighted to welcome Sefika Sakalli as its new Recruitment Manager. Sefika has already had a significant impact on KMT’s methods of recruitment and all LAT academies will shortly receive a welcome from her, together with copies of the KMT log and a link to the KMT website, which will be linked to all academy websites by Easter.

Sefika will be working closely with all three lead schools within the Trust to expand the number of high-quality trainees working within its academies.

Following a Google Inspirational Day back in October, Daniel Bull has delivered follow-up training sessions to the current cohort and a group of 23 achieved Level 1 Google accreditation last month.

KMT would like to offer sincere thanks to LAT’s academies and staff for their continued support with its initial teacher training (ITT) provision. Next year, this will be expanded to include an assessment-only route, an internship programme and part-time courses, developed in collaboration with the Medway Teaching Schools Alliance (MTSA).

Medway Training Schools Alliance (MTSA)

The work of the MTSA continues to grow in each of our three key priority areas.

Continuing Professional and Leadership Development (CPLD)

MTSA’s comprehensive offer of CPLD has grown throughout the year, with nearly 100 days planned this academic year, including the addition of the Ambition Institute suite of programmes and an increase in subject networks. A range of opportunities has been provided by the LAT Educational Psychologist team, while LAT Teach will be offered to the primaries together with an additional Middle Leadership programme to Trust academies. This has certainly made for a busy year, but the team has focussed on evaluation and quality-assurance processes to ensure that high standards of delivery are maintained. Particularly noteworthy was the visit by Dylan Wiliam, an event that prompted much discussion and opportunities for professional learning.

MTSA has been awarded around £70,000 through Sport England for teacher training for secondary PE teachers. 21 secondary schools have signed up as partners and the proposed overview action plan has been confirmed.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT): Recruitment and Retention

Following extensive discussion and consultation, MTSA made the decision to transfer its ITT training offer to Kent and Medway Training (KMT). This was a popular decision, particularly due to the strong reputation of KMT.

MTSA remains a key partner of KMT and a lead school for the latter’s recruitment, and is looking forward both to the expansion of its appropriate-body work and to welcoming NQTs from across LAT in September. It is also considering supporting the delivery of a suite of subject knowledge enhancement courses for those who need these as a condition of study with KMT.

School-to-School Support

MTSA has been pleased to run the central training for the most recent cohort of new Specialist Leaders of Education (SLE) and to welcome some key colleagues to our own team. We are delighted that our Local Leaders of Education (LLE) are participating in significant projects within the teaching school. These include the progression of the Artsmark Directory, managing an enhanced series of subject-specific networks and linking with a number of key partners, including Medway Council (on SEND, PSHE and RE), Victory Academy and the Royal Opera House Bridge (on Artsmark) and the Secondary Sports Partnerships (on Sport England).

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© International Baccalaureate Organisation 2018

International BaccalaureatePrimary Years Programme Update from around the Trust

The implementation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) is now fully embedded in the majority of our primary academies. New schools joining the Trust such as Paddock Wood and Horsmonden have also fully embraced the PYP framework. In the spring term many more of our staff participated in Category 1 training, with all of our academy staff looking forward to attending further training in September in preparation for authorisation. Our primary academies have the opportunity to come together and share good practice on a regular basis. Collaboration is a significant strength across our schools and has attracted positive comments in all of our most recent and successful Ofsted inspections. This has enabled us to further develop our approaches to learning and teaching, empowering our teachers to provide an inspirational and motivational curriculum, with the pupils at the very heart of all we do. As the majority of our academies enter the second year of the IB PYP, we are all preparing for final consultations and pre-authorisation visits. It is through these processes that academy practice will be assessed against the IBO’s standards and practices. All of our academies are already making very good progress against the criteria and are confident that our pupils’ educational experience will continue to be greatly enhanced through the IB PYP approach.

Middle Years Programme

The implementation of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) is now in its second year. Further staff training, development and opportunities for collaboration across all secondary academies have helped to develop approaches to learning, assessment and curriculum design, particularly as staff move towards a three-year programme.

Students are enjoying an enriched educational experience that not only helps to deepen their knowledge and enhance their skills but also affords them an international, global perspective, as they explore other languages, cultures and topical environmental issues. Across all academies, students’ average MYP grades are steadily increasing across all disciplines, which is very encouraging.

Rigorous two-day pre-authorisation visits have taken place in all secondaries, where progress has been measured against the IBO’s exacting standards and practices. Longfield Academy will be the first to undergo the final verification visit at the end of March, with others following suit this summer and autumn.

LAT Apprenticeships

LAT Apprenticeships started the new year by appointing Caroline Noon to the role of LAT Apprenticeships Centre Manager. Caroline joined us in February and has been pivotal in leading the team forward to get our programmes up and running. With a wealth of apprenticeships experience and industry knowledge, Caroline is an asset to our team and is enjoying working directly with our Apprenticeships Assessors and learners. Her career has included working with the London and South East College Group, MidKent College and Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI).

We are delighted to report that two programmes are already up and running - those for Engineering Technicians and Premises Maintenance Operatives - with all others to follow in the coming months. Our first cohort of new learners officially enrolled onto our Premises Maintenance Operative programme, which kicked off in February 2020. This group is made up entirely of LAT employees who are keen to develop their skills and knowledge by completing an nationally-recognised apprenticeship qualification. The learners meet weekly at The Halley Academy and work in the purpose-built facilities created specifically for this programme. The feedback so far has been really positive, with learners and their line managers already seeing the benefits of completing such a programme.

We have further programmes that are due to start in the near future (exact dates to be confirmed pending schools re-opening):

ം Teaching Assistant (Level 3);

ം Business Administrator (Level 3);

ം IT Technician (Level 3);

ം Commis Chef (Level 2).

We already have a great number of staff due to embark on the Teaching Assistant programme in the coming months and we are taking registrations for all programmes for a September 2020 start. If this is of interest to you then get in touch with the LAT Apprenticeships team!

LAT employees can register their interest or ask general questions by contacting info@latapprenticeships.org.uk. You can also visit our website for more information - www.latapprenticeships.com.

Third College Building at Wilmington Academy

Construction of the new Jupiter College at Wilmington Academy is progressing fast. Kier Construction are working well with academy staff to ensure that normal academy operations can continue while the new building is constructed. Since January, the roof has been completed, boarding and insulation have been installed in each of the elevations, and windows and doors are being fitted. By the end of April, external finishes and lower-level brickwork will be complete. Internal fitting-out has begun with the construction of classroom walls on the first and second floors, together with the installation of mechanical and electrical equipment throughout the building. More recently, orders have been placed for the new furniture and signage. All in all, everything is on course for handover of the building during the summer holiday.

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New Building at Dartford Primary Academy

As we closed for the February half term, the staff worked extremely hard to move over 100 years worth of history into our newly refurbished building. It is hard to believe what a truly outstanding job the contractors have made of refurbishing our tired Victorian building into a bright open space that our children deserve. The newly built dining hall and facilities have lifted the entire academy. We eagerly await the final phase of the refurbishment to complete.

Milestone @ Dartford Primary Academy

Following the recent December 2019 OFSTED ‘Outstanding’ inspection of Milestone Academy, it was gratifying to note the following comment in the Lead Inspector’s report:

“At the main school site and at each of the satellite provisions, pupils enjoy a highly personal, effective curriculum that inspires and enables pupils to make strong progress in their learning.“

This is a strong endorsement of the impact of the work being undertaken at M@DPA and at Milestone’s two other satellites at The Leigh and Wilmington Academies. How fitting it is that, with Milestone’s strong culture of learning confirmed by OFSTED, M@DPA was able to move in February 2021 into wonderful new buildings, which form part of the major works encompassing every aspect of the satellite’s operations. M@DPA is indebted to the relentless support provided over many years by Neil Willis, Chief Operating Officer of LAT, which has resulted in these brand-new, purpose-built buildings for use by its pupils and staff.

The M@DPA community has now moved into three excellently appointed, spacious classrooms, all with access to outside space and large windows that flood them with natural light. Each classroom also has an observation window beside each door, allowing adults to view the class without causing any disturbance to teaching and learning, and there are well-appointed offices to support the community.

Satellite Director Charly Hills, together with Assistant Principal and Director of Phase 2 Michelle Hilton, having opened the doors to pupils and staff on 25th February, had the further pleasure of hosting the Milestone Academy Board meeting some two weeks later. Prior to their meeting, the Board enjoyed a full tour of the new facilities and the Chair, Theresa Davies, remarked on how impressed they were with all that they saw.

Nigel Jones, Principal of Milestone Academy, added: “Having already visited the new M@DPA with the pupils in place, I can see how these new buildings match the culture of teaching and learning that already exists at M@DPA, as noted by OFSTED“. Nigel went on to thank DPA Principal Rebecca Roberts and her staff

for their inclusive collaboration with Milestone’s staff and pupils. He remarked that the new buildings, together with further new building developments across DPA, would afford wonderful opportunities for expanding this inclusive work between the two academies, both within and beyond the classrooms.

“Governors were delighted with the new facilities at Milestone @ DPA. The bright, vibrant new teaching spaces offer wonderful opportunities for young people to learn and develop under the Milestone umbrella within a mainstream academy setting. Already new doors have opened for opportunities of cross academy collaboration between Milestone students and staff and those of DPA.“

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Marden Primary School (MPS) and Leigh Academies Trust

The Governing Body of Marden Primary School (MPS) has agreed that, subject to consultation and completion of full due diligence, the school is interested in becoming an academy within Leigh Academies Trust (LAT).

LAT already operates several schools in the local area. Mascalls Academy is the most popular secondary school for Marden’s Year 6 pupils and it joined LAT in 2015. Paddock Wood Primary Academy and Horsmonden Primary Academy are also members of LAT. By joining the Trust, Marden will work in a cluster with these local schools and receive significant support from LAT. The Governing Body believes that there are a number of advantages offered by a formal alliance within a multi-academy trust and that it would allow MPS to offer seamless all-through education for children.

MPS has recently been judged ‘Good‘ by Ofsted. The school provides education for 265 pupils at present. Up to 40 reception places are available each year.

LAT comprises 13 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and a large special school. LAT also has 3 new free schools opening soon. All LAT academies are geographically clustered in Kent, Medway, Bexley and Greenwich. LAT also manages Kent and Medway Training, a large initial teacher training provider serving over 60 primary and secondary schools, plus Medway Teaching School Alliance, assisting 70 schools to provide professional development for teachers and leaders.

Full and detailed due diligence and consultation with all stakeholders, including the staff and parents of MPS will be undertaken over the next few weeks. This means that MPS and LAT will be finding out everything we can about each other before we both make a final decision.

Simon Beamish, Chief Executive of Leigh Academies Trust, said: ”This exciting partnership gives us the chance to strengthen community links for Marden. MPS, Paddock Wood Primary, Horsmonden Primary and Mascalls will be working closely together for the same families so that children receive the best

possible joined-up education. We look forward to developing positive professional relationships with new colleagues over the next few months while we explore the many benefits that this partnership can bring.”

Tracy Thomas, Headteacher of Marden Primary School, added: ”The Governing Body and I are excited by the opportunities that joining LAT will offer. The extensive operational support and focused school improvement advice will enable MPS to accelerate improvements to teaching and learning. There will also be greater potential to partner with local schools in the academy trust and to share good practice. I feel that, with the support and expertise offered by the Trust, we can drive further improvement at Marden and give our children the best possible start to their education.”

New Building at Leigh Academy Blackheath (LAB)

Work on the new building at LAB continues at full speed, despite challenges due to the recent inclement weather. External brickwork now covers much of the building, with windows and external doors in place.

It is very exciting to walk around the inside of the building as the internal spaces come to life, and easy to visualise daily life at LAB now that the classrooms, restaurant, library and theatre are all in place.

Comments on the contractors’ progress can be heard at break and lunchtimes as students monitor the daily changes taking place at their new school. Excitement is building as the date draws near when LAB will make its final move across the playground and into the long-awaited new build!

Longfield Academy’s Young Ambassador, Max

Max was lucky enough this week to learn that he had been chosen to be a part of the Young Ambassador programme with the National Autistic Society. This means that he has been chosen by the National Autistic Society, along with other people across the country, to represent autistic young people. The role of a Young

Ambassador is to fight to change society for people on the autistic spectrum. Previous Young Ambassadors have visited the Houses of Parliament to speak with MPs working on important campaigns to inform schools’, mental-health organisations’ and the public’s understanding of autism.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. Autistic people see, hear and feel the world differently from other people, and are autistic for life. Autism is not an illness or disease and cannot be 'cured'. The National Autistic Society is the UK's largest provider of specialist autism services and helps autistic people of all ages. They have been teaching autistic students for over 50 years and own and run eight schools across England, three residential homes and three centres in Gravesend, as well as offering community and respite support in Kent.

Max applied for the program because he wanted to give something back to the people that helped him get to where he is today. Despite a difficult start in education, he truly believes that he can make a difference for autistic people of all ages, as well as helping people understand autism better and how to support people who are autistic.

He enjoys talking about his autism and dispelling myths by answering people’s questions about his autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). The role was recommended to him by a friend who works closely with the National Autistic Society through her leading role in the ‘A Million Hands‘ project, run by the Scout Association. The Scouts have partnered with the National Autistic Society, which provides training for leaders.

The application process was completed online and Max needed to write a letter explaining why he wanted to become a Young Ambassador. In the letter, he talked about his troubled start to education, which did not embrace and support his autism effectively. To combat this, he watched historical documentaries with his father when he was excluded from school, developing a long-running special interest in military history. After his diagnosis, he was placed in an SEN-dedicated primary school, where the staff had a very good understanding of special needs and understood him. After moving to Longfield Academy, the teachers there supported him and gave him the independence he needed to succeed in his education.

He is now studying for A-Levels and aims to become a Young Leader for the Scouts, often supporting young people there with additional needs. After his application, the Campaign Officer phoned him to learn more about him.

On Monday, 10th February, he received an email offering him a position on the Young Ambassadors programme. He hopes to give something back to the people who have helped him and to promote wider acceptance of autism and autistic people, both today and in the future, and to prevent others from experiencing his own rocky start.

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The Leigh Academy Students Enter Logo Design Competition for Bluewater Refill Me Campaign

The Leigh entered three teams in Landsec’s ‘Design a Logo for the Bluewater ‘Refill Me‘ campaign competition, which also attracted entries from The Leigh UTC and Longfield Academy. The exceptional presentations by all the teams were highly commended, with the ‘Every Bottle Counts‘ team emerging victorious overall.

This was a great opportunity for all those involved. However, the journey is not yet over, as the ‘Every Bottle Counts‘ winning logo will be printed professionally and the winning team will return to Bluewater to sell their bottles, with all proceeds going to their chosen charity.Watch this space...

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LAT Conference

A bright and sunny Friday in mid-February saw another highly successful edition of the annual LAT Staff Conference take place. As in previous years, the event was spread across three different sites, with secondary teachers and teaching assistants at The Leigh Academy, those from primary and special academies at Longfield Academy and all the support staff at Strood Academy. In all, around 2,000 members of staff from across the Trust participated.

For all concerned, the event entailed a mixture of workshops based around personal specialisms and interests, together with keynote sessions. These were led by Jaz Ampaw-Farr at The Leigh Academy and Stephane Davis and David Beeney at Longfield Academy, all focussing on developing on thinking differently and enhancing the well-being of staff. Simon Beamish, CEO, delivered his annual address celebrating the diverse achievements of students across the Trust, as well as the opportunities being afforded to both staff and pupils alike through the International Baccalaureate programme.

Mental Health Training Opportunities

We are currently registering the name of anyone interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider for the courses running throughout 2020. If interested, please talk to your line manager in the first instance; once you have their approval, please send an email, copied to your manager, to Sonia Kendall, HR Operations Manager, at well-being@latrust.org.uk.

The two-day course will qualify you as a Mental Health First Aider.

Mental Health First Aiders have:

ം An in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect well-being;

ം Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental-health issues;

ം Confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress;

ം Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening;

ം Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to further support - whether that might be via self-help resources, or through us as the employer, or the NHS, or a mix.

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17www.leighacademiestrust.org.ukLeigh Academies Trust is a registered company, company no 2336587. An exempt charity.

Vision

2025

LAT has achieved much in its relatively short lifetime since 2008. We are now ready to think on an even bigger scale and look outwards to new horizons. We are educating sixteen-thousand young people who will be the adults of tomorrow, helping to shape our world for the better. That is a huge responsibility and is why our next set of goals - called Vision 2025 - will have at its centre the major social, economic and technological challenges facing the world today. Based on our strong moral foundations, it is our duty to educate pupils to face these challenges and to help make the world a better place.

Our Vision:LAT Excellence Charter

1 We will provide outstanding leadership and governance at every level so that all pupils attend an academy judged to be at least good overall by Ofsted.

2 We will ensure a rich, engaging and inclusive curriculum with effective teaching and high-quality learning resources across all subjects and year groups.

3 Regardless of their ability or personal circumstances we will ensure that all groups of pupils make at least good progress and diminish differences in their attainment.

4 We will develop pupils’ characters and attributes in line with the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile so that all LAT alumni obtain a collection of desirable qualities before they leave school.

5 We will ensure that pupils are well-behaved, confident and respectful in a safe and secure environment.

6 We will ensure a high-quality workforce and prioritise staff retention, professional development and well-being.

7 Through our “Business Promise” we will guarantee strong engagement for all pupils with industry and employers.

8 We will provide all pupils with a high-quality careers learning programme.

9 We will grow to support more schools in the region so that our pupils and theirs benefit and that standards improve across the board.

10 We will work with our own and other primaries to ensure smooth transition to our secondary academies.

Our Values

We care -about our pupils through our human scale approach to education, our staff and their well-being and the communities that we serve, driven by our high ideals and strong moral values.

We have boundless ambition -to achieve excellence for all and create confident young adults with high levels of resilience and integrity.

We work together -as one team in the belief that we are greater than the sum of our parts. We foster an enterprising culture through collaboration and in close partnership with industry and other educators.

We keep getting better -using our ‘can-do’ attitude towards continuous improvement and innovation.