The OWN Trust Community Group met on Wednesday 22nd November at Nene Valley Primary School. Attendees included Stuart Mansell (OWN Trust - CEO), Jo Simmons (Orton Wistow Primary School - Year Six Class Teacher), Kelly Fenton-Bradshaw (Woodston Primary School - Class Teacher), and Fiona Schneider (OWN Trust - Marketing and Communications Officer). Carly Pearson (Nene Valley Primary School - SENCO) was unable to attend on this occasion.

 

We were also delighted to welcome three new attendees: Mia Downs (Teaching Assistant - WPS), Emily Gray (Teaching Assistant - OWPS), and Lucy Fogg (Teaching Assistant - NVPS). We are grateful for their participation as their involvement widens how representative the group is of the OWN Trust Community.

 

We started by looking at actions from the last meeting and then moved on to discuss the standing items.

 

1. Tracking interactions across the Trust

We looked at the Trust matrix of interactions to date to assess any gaps and how they could be bridged. We also looked at areas where new initiatives can be developed. These include additional Interschool Events and Community/Charity Events. Going forward, parents will be kept up-to-date with Trust news through a brief round-up in the school newsletters. We will also explore setting up Trust Ambassadors and a Trust Children’s Council for pupil voice at the Trust level.

 

2. Events

The Celebration Night at the Fleet on 11.11.23 proved to be a success with positive feedback from those who attended. It was great to see staff from the three schools catching up with each other and enjoying the party. The Community Group agreed that this format and venue could be used for events in the future.

We looked at the results of the annual Staff Social Events survey, which gives staff a chance to feedback on their preferences and ideas for upcoming social events. It was encouraging that 94% of responders would be interested in attending an OWN Trust event, and we were pleased to see that several staff members have volunteered to help organise events.

We are exploring options for Spring and Summer Term events next year, and will advertise these in due course.

 

3. Communications

Fiona briefed the team on the proposed Internal Communications Plan. We agreed that it would be useful to establish Trust Display Boards in each school and a digital Staff Directory as soon as possible next term. The Internal Communications Plan will be written up and shared ready for the next meeting, which will take place on Wednesday 31st January.