OWN Trust Parent Portal - Issue 11 OWN Trust Update: 18th October 2023

‘Two Weeks to Remember’ – Reflecting back on June/July 2023

By Stuart Mansell, CEO, OWN Trust

The end of the summer term...

It’s approaching the end of the academic year and there is the usual hubbub of parent consultations, end-of-year reports, assessment outcomes being submitted, appointing new staff, saying goodbye to leavers, discos, etc., etc. It is never quiet in school. Having been in a state of ‘high alert’ for more than a year, the impact has been draining on everyone, and staff and children alike are more fatigued than usual. Jacki Mitchell (Headteacher at Woodston) is making the last plans for the transition to a new Headteacher (Becky Ford) and trying to take time to appreciate the two decades she has spent leading the school before her final leaving assembly.

Why ‘high alert’? Regardless of what the intentions are for Ofsted and the views of anyone involved (positive and negative), it has to be one of the most stressful systems I have ever encountered. Calls can usually come on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, meaning that on Thursday and Friday, there is a more relaxed feeling in school – working hard and doing great things with the children, but not on high alert.

The 1st Call...

Then, on Monday 26th June, the first school, Nene Valley, gets the call and is no longer on high alert. What does being on ‘high alert’ mean in this context? It means having one ear on the telephone in the office, regardless of what you are doing. The stomach ‘lurching’ when you hear the respondent saying, ‘I’ll just see if they are at their desk’. The realisation that in the space of 15 minutes you can go from diligently getting on with your job to having to deal with a complete reorganisation over the next 3 days. This is not reorganising to put on a show, but suddenly you are required to inform staff, inform parents, establish ParentView, send out letters, provide documents, and share timetables (of course you know exactly who is teaching what, to whom and when – it's a primary school after all – always so predictable…), release staff at virtually no notice to attend the inspector’s call, be free from class to be interviewed, contact Trustees, governors (are they available at 24 hours’ notice?), manage the emotional response of staff in school (not everyone copes with stress easily), whilst ensuring that the days continue ‘as normal’; everyone is safe, secure, happy, fed, and performing at their best. Not much of an ask.

The remainder of ‘the call’ day and the following two days are a bit of a whirlwind. Meetings, observations, interviews, letters, etc. whilst always remaining the perfect host. Trust staff respond as we knew they would – drop everything, support, and enable. OWN Trust is one organisation made up of different teams, and under pressure, they come together and show clearly how effective they are. Executive Deputies migrate to one school and offer support, advice, and release cover when needed. Headteachers come together to advise on the best approaches based on their own experience. Teaching staff immediately ‘swap’ schools to enable those involved the time out of class to be prepared. And at the end of the 2nd day (Wednesday) it’s all over (except we can’t tell anyone the outcome). There is pride that the school has been recognised for its strengths and that the inspector has been realistic, pragmatic, astute, and fair. Not all schools experience that, and it can add to the endless feeling of being on high alert.

The 2nd Call...

Thursday the 29th of June gives everyone a break, a return to normality, and to go back to doing the job we love. But it’s short-lived. Calls don’t usually come on Thursdays and Fridays, but the following week is an ‘industrial action’ week and everything changes – calls can come on Fridays! With just 12 school days remaining of her 30+ years as a teacher and 20+ years as a Headteacher, Jacki Mitchell gets the next ‘call’. Ofsted will visit on Monday and Tuesday the following week. It’s more notice, but that’s a negative. More time to feel nervous, more time to feel like you’re not quite ready. At the end of that day, the message is clearly given – don’t wear yourself out over the weekend so that you are at your lowest when they come; save yourself, and be your best on Monday and Tuesday. It’s hard to take that on board and staff are undoubtedly busy all weekend – family events missed, home ‘jobs’ and partners abandoned; it’s not necessary, but it’s human nature.

Monday and Tuesday are reminiscent of the previous week. The same hustle and bustle, the same heightened activity, the same nervous tension, and the same support from colleagues both within the school and beyond in the Trust. The nervousness and extra work were completely unnecessary as the outcomes were exactly as expected and made us very proud, but very much appreciated all the same. More silence about the outcome – sharing is not allowed and may result in a new inspection! We keep the celebrations quiet, and Mrs. Mitchell can go out on a high – eventually!

The 3rd Call...

Wednesday and Friday some of the schools are closed, at least in part, due to industrial action, and the end of the academic year is almost upon us. We’re now into leavers’ assemblies, transition days, classroom moves, etc. It’s Monday 10th July, exactly 2 weeks after the first call for an inspection, and only 7 school days left until the year-end. As CEO I’m visiting Orton Wistow and meeting with the Headteacher, Colin Marks. I leave around 11:30 a.m. saying’ looks like you have missed out on a call today’ and head back to the Trust Office. Fifteen minutes later, I sit down at my desk and a call comes through from the school office at Wistow ‘The Headteacher is on the phone to Ofsted’ – they haven’t missed out at all.

For the 3rd time in two weeks, one of our schools and the Trust staff gear themselves up for the final inspection. By now the response has become a bit more like a well-oiled machine. We know who is meeting who, who is releasing staff, what the focus will be etc. It’s no less stressful, but we have very recent experience of what to expect. By Wednesday 12th July, a completely exhausted set of staff are quietly celebrating another great outcome, before gearing themselves up for the final week in school.

And it's all over!

Looking back, I couldn’t be prouder of how everyone responded and pulled together, to show off what they do every day of the year, year in and year out. No surprises, just a sense of shared relief that we got through it when already so tired, and that everyone has been recognised accurately for what they do. At least everyone could 100% relax over the summer holidays and take a break from being on 'high alert' at last!

^{Photo by Luba Ertel on Unsplash}

OWN Trust First Trustees Meeting of the 2023 - 2024 Academic Year

By Mary Foreman, Chair of Trustees, OWN Trust

On Tuesday 19th September, Trustees, the CEO, Stuart Mansell, and the Governance & Compliance Manager, Jan Neish met for the first Trustees meeting of the 2023 - 2024 academic year.

A New Academic Year

Just as pupils returned to school full of freshness and enthusiasm at the start of September, so did OWN’s trustees to the first board meeting of the academic year. At the start of the year, there are annual ‘housekeeping’ types of jobs to fulfill, such as electing a new vice chair as well as declaring any interests, and completing the annual register of interests. After a careful and well-thought-out debate, Sally Williams was nominated and appointed to succeed David Perkins as vice-chair. I am delighted to work closely with Sally as she has an extensive and very impressive experience of working in schools.

The first Trustee meeting must cover administrative tasks such as considering terms of reference, committee memberships, accepting management accounts, and considering safeguarding – in this case making sure everyone had read Keeping Children Safe in Education and what changes have been in place since last year – these were all given due coverage and questions were posed by trustees and answered by the CEO.

Pupil Performance

However, the bulk of the meeting considered the report from the CEO and although data from last year’s pupils’ performance was shared and discussed, this is still provisional, and national data has not been made available in many areas. Although we are not allowed to use the word ‘Covid’ when discussing pupil performance anymore (or so it seems…) those of us who know schools and children well, are very much aware that just as ‘long-Covid’ still affects a percentage of the population, the impact of disrupted learning in school as well as pre-school experiences, still lingers on.

Generally, OWN Trust will be roughly in line with expected standards across the curriculum and in combined subjects at Key Stage 2. There is room for debate about pupil performance in reception, phonics and at the end of Key Stage 1 – but the national data will not be published until later this term. These children are likely to be our greatest area for concern where COVID-19 is concerned and I for one, look forward to the publication of credible research into the impact this disease has had on the development of children’s minds since their birth and early years. I know from previous research published by the Educational Endowment Foundation, that the poorest children in all schools have had the most adverse impact on their educational attainment and mental health.

Budgets

There was also a robust discussion on the Trust budget with uncertainty still facing schools about how fully the government is funding the teacher pay awards and what the implications are for increases in support staff pay. As ever, the cost of our utilities will remain a concern.

A further discussion of high interest was that of school rolls – numbers of pupils in schools across Peterborough are in decline post-Brexit. Pupil numbers in reception at Nene Valley remain strong and will do so in the coming years, but for Orton Wistow and Woodston, there are concerns. Wistow is full in reception this year, but the low intake last year will affect budgets in forthcoming years – and the forecast for the next few years also shows a drop in numbers. Meanwhile, for Woodston, there is a much lower intake of pupils this year, although pupil numbers are predicted to be higher going forward. School budgets depend on the number of pupils attending and if our reception class numbers are low, this has a significant impact on budgets in years to come. The western edge of the city of Peterborough still shows growth and this should help sustain pupil numbers at Orton Wistow, but the opportunities to increase the housing stock in the Woodston and Nene Valley areas are very limited (once the British Sugar site has been fully developed). Having said this, many children come from out of catchment to attend Woodston because of its excellent reputation.

Trustees remain very concerned about the number of children entering our schools with very complex needs that mainstream schools would not have admitted previously because special school places were available with all the facilities and resources available to make sure they could meet the needs of such children who deserve the right provision.

Ofsted

A rather large elephant in the room of any Trustee meeting is Ofsted! As a trust, we enjoyed three visits from our respected friends from Ofsted in a little over two weeks at the end of the summer term. At our meeting, we were able to celebrate the success of these visits and the publication of the reports for each school and the Trustees were delighted to share the ‘Rag-Rating’ for each school from the CEO as Green in all areas. The Ofsted reports are all now in the public domain and each school has many strengths that are celebrated. I was very fortunate to be able to attend each inspection and take part in the process for each school. I can confirm how challenging and rigorous they were, but how well they reflect where each school is. It was lovely to be able to celebrate the many years of committed service that Jacki Mitchell did for Woodston in her final year of being the headteacher there with a great report. As Trustees, we wanted to be able to celebrate with the staff of each school before the Ofsted reports become a memory, so plans are afoot for a Trust celebration of all our schools to say a very big thank you to everyone.

Growth

Although we are a small Trust, we still work very closely with other schools within the city. We always look outwards to see how we can link with partners outside Peterborough, and we are also seeking closer ties working with other small trusts. OWN Trust consists of 100% Good schools – as assessed by Ofsted in 2023. There are very few trusts with such an excellent reputation. I am looking forward to the rest of this academic year – getting into each of our schools every half-term to meet with staff and children and making sure OWN Trust remains the very best it can be. In the next few days, I will be visiting each school and very much look forward to meeting with Becky Ford, Woodston’s new headteacher.

To end this report, I include a quote from Orton Wistow’s Ofsted report from July 2023:

‘The multi-academy trust (MAT) supports school leaders and has a sensitive, ‘hands-on’ approach. MAT leaders know the school’s strengths and areas for development well and provide both support and challenge.’

This is an excellent summary of the way OWN Trust, our Trustees, and Governors work: sensitive as well as being able to provide support and challenge.

Curriculum Review Evening 27.09.23

By Trevor Goakes, Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust

On Wednesday 27^th September 2023, OWN Trust held a Curriculum Review evening. The event took place at Woodston Primary School and was very well attended by Governors, Associate Governors, Trustees and staff from all three schools within the trust.

Stuart Mansell (CEO, OWN Trust) welcomed everyone to the evening, especially new governors and Headteachers. Trevor Goakes (Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust) then followed by explaining who was presenting that evening.

Maths

The three Math Leads including the Maths Champion for the Trust started their presentation. Examples of Maths work was shared and demonstrated a common vision from all three schools. The leaders explained about how Maths has several similarities across the Trust (including the scheme it is based on) and how collaboration has improved what each school offers for their children.

Data summaries for the last academic years were explored with celebrations and areas for development identified. All three leaders led on a section about their school and those present were pleased to see how all three schools had celebrated similar strengths and that the schools had identified areas to work on. This led onto the final slide about future ideas for the maths team including more cross-school moderation and mathematical events along with a shared CPD focus.

Phonics and Early Reading

The second part of the evening was led by the Phonics and Early reading leads including the Phonics Champion for the Trust. They explained how a new scheme had been implemented across all schools in the Trust. This had immediately had an impact on consistency of the teaching of phonics across the OWN Trust.

They continued with how phonics is only one, although important part, in children having a love for reading. The leaders explained how the scheme worked throughout the day and the week, and how the children were reading and writing more. The children were enjoying their reading as they were becoming more successful as they read the book three times in a week focussing on different skills throughout the week. Assessment is used to track the children’s understanding and match them to an appropriate book. Parental Engagement has also been key in supporting the children with books being sent home electronically. The scheme also has useful videos for parents to watch to help their children learn to read.

Throughout the two presentations the six leaders were passionate and knowledgeable. They were also recognised for the positive outcomes from the latest round of Ofsted.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative evening with the added bonus of delicious refreshments. I would like to thank the six leaders for their hard work and super presentations. I would also like thank all those that turned up in their own time to listen and appreciate the hard work that continues in our trust.

^{Photo by Tamanna Rumee on Unsplash}

OWN Trust Community Group Meeting 23.05.23

By Fiona Schneider, Marketing and Communications Officer, OWN Trust

On Wednesday 20th September 2023, the OWN Trust Community Group, comprised of Stuart Mansell (OWN Trust -CEO), Jo Simmons (Orton Wistow Primary School - Year Six Class Teacher), Carly Pearson (Nene Valley Primary School - SENCO), Kelly Fenton-Bradshaw (Woodston Primary School - Class Teacher) and Fiona Schneider (OWN Trust - Marketing and Communications Officer) met at Woodston.

This was our first meeting back after the summer holiday and, after agreeing the last meeting minutes, we discussed four main points.

1. Tracking interactions across the Trust

Last year saw the introduction of a matrix for tracking interactions between everyone in the Trust. The aim is to ensure that every stakeholder has an opportunity to engage with Trust activities in one or more of the categories and that this engagement enhances the sense of belonging and strengthens the sense of community.

Interactions across the Trust fall under six main categories:

Professional Events
Professional Collaborations
Social Events
Inter-school Events
Community/Charity Events
Communications

I'm delighted to report that last year everyone, from children and parents to trustees and teaching staff, had the opportunity to be involved in some kind of interaction at Trust-level. Interactions included: Trust Development Days, CPD, invitations to social events such as the Quiz Night and Theatre Trip, receiving the OWN Trust newsletter, charity fundraising days, and much more.

There are areas for improvement, however, and this year we are looking to expand engagement amongst all members of the Trust community, particularly where opportunities have been identified. For example, we are holding a TA Training Day on 30th October 2023 for TAs from across the schools.

The matrix has been reset to record the coming year's collaborations. We discussed the need to make sure that we capture all interactions and, to this end, a form will be created so that people can quickly log when meetings have taken place.

2. Events for this year

Last year was the first year of social events becoming established. The most popular was the summer quiz night, although there was also lots of positive feedback from attendees of the Theatre trip and Nene Park Run.

This year, the Community Group is looking at organising something for each term, starting with the OWN Trust Celebration Night in November. Invitations to staff, trustees, and governance committee members have already been sent out for what promises to be a fabulous night when the Trust community can join together and celebrate their achievements so far.

We are also planning to hold another charity fundraising day in the summer. This year, it is the turn of Orton Wistow Primary School to choose the charity. More details about the Charity Day will be released nearer the time.

3. Community Representatives

We are delighted that Mia Downs will be joining us at the next meeting as an additional Community Representative from Woodston Primary School. Mia works as a Teaching Assistant and will be invaluable in ensuring that our community initiatives take into account the needs of support staff in the three schools.

We are hoping to also recruit 2 more Community Representatives from amongst the support staff at Orton Wistow Primary School and Nene Valley Primary School when we present at the TA Day on 30th October 2023.

4. Communications

The next stage of strengthening the sense of community in the OWN Trust is to develop a set of Guidelines for internal communications. We are a growing Trust based on three sites, and the challenge is to ensure that all stakeholders stay in touch and informed about what is happening. Plans are already afoot for a Trust App which will enable everyone to receive the latest Trust news via an app on their phone. There are, however, many other initiatives that will be brought together in one document, so that internal communications are clear, timely, accurate, relevant, inclusive, and accessible.

The next Community Group meeting will be held on 22nd November 2023 at Nene Valley Primary School.

Quality of Education Committee 03.10.23

By Sarah Levy, School Improvement Consultant, OWN Trust

The Quality of Education Committee met virtually on Tuesday 3^rd October. Although it was an autumnal evening, and the nights are drawing in, we were in good spirits and engaged in good professional dialogue about our recent successes with OFSTED and outcomes and asked challenging questions of each other on how we could improve further.

The meeting primarily looked at end-of-year outcomes for all reportable stages of primary school. There was a lot to celebrate. All three schools were achieving a good standard and where there was some under-performance, compared to national attainment figures, the positive progress measures highlighted just how successful the schools had been. We are acutely aware that attainment alone does not tell the whole story.

Our ambition for all pupils in all three schools to achieve highly was evident in the discussions that took place around the data outcomes. From these discussions, some possible areas to explore further were identified as strands that could secure even better outcomes going forward. They were:

Examine the EAL numbers in schools in more detail. Are numbers static? Are there significant numbers of languages? How are we assessing? Are the pupils new to the country? Are they speaking English at home? Are they 1^st/2nd generation families?
Pupil Premium. What are we doing to secure the best outcomes? Could we use Recovery Funding better? How are we raising aspirations? Two colleagues from Woodston are attending a conference soon. What will be learnt from this, and how can it be shared?
Assessment and Forecasts. Linking with Trevor Goakes’ focus work, how can forecasts become more accurate? How can we allow for changes in forecasts but not settle for low expectations? How do we moderate and validate within schools and across the Trust?
Gender differences in outcomes. Is this cohort specific? Is the curriculum right? What pedagogy is best?
Greater Depth Maths. Why were our outcomes lower than expected? How can we use the maths leads to unpick this? What support do schools need to address this going forward? How could the Improvement consultant be used here?

As you can see, we certainly go into quite some detail and have many ideas to consider. We will certainly not be able to do all of the above at once!

But also, we did celebrate the schools and their teams for all the hard work and dedication that went into a very successful year. The efforts of everyone haven’t gone unnoticed, and we wanted to acknowledge that.

We were reminded of the formal celebration plans set for November and hope everyone can be there.

Our next meeting is scheduled for 5th December 2023.

Issue 11 OWN Trust Update:

18th October 2023

This week's edition

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OWN Trust Blog

‘Two Weeks to Remember’ – Reflecting back on June/July 2023

OWN Trust News

OWN Trust First Trustees Meeting of the 2023 - 2024 Academic Year

Curriculum Review Evening 27.09.23

OWN Trust Community Group Meeting 23.05.23

Quality of Education Committee 03.10.23

OWN Trust Schools' News

OWN Trust and the Nene Park Horticultural Nursery

More News From the Schools

Nene Valley Primary School

Orton Wistow Primary School

Woodston Primary School

Introducing...

OWN Trust Community News

There's still time to let us know if you can come to the OWN Trust Celebration Night on Saturday 11th November 2023 at the Fleet.

Staff News

FAREWELL to the following staff members who have left:

WELCOME to the following staff members who have joined us:

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If you work in the OWN Trust and would like to contribute your A Day in the Life for future editions of the newsletter, please click here. We would love to hear from you!

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