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Q: Identity or belonging – what would you choose? A: Both!

By Becky Ford, Headteacher, Woodston Primary School

As the new girl in ‘tOWN’, I have been on an exciting voyage of discovery, which started back in March of this year. I’d learned that Woodston Primary School was advertising for a Headteacher and something about this piqued my interest, so I made it my mission to find out everything I could about the school, and OWN Trust.

Finding out about the school was easy. I’d had some experience of working with Woodston in 2012 and remembered feeling it was a happy and vibrant place. In fact, I sent an email at the time to Mrs Mitchell telling her just how happy my visits to Woodston made me! When I visited again (11 years later), I felt the same overwhelming sense of happiness and something ‘pulling’ me in. Warmth emanated from every part of the building and the people. I felt that Woodston was a place where I could ‘belong’: a theme that Mr. Goakes, our Executive Deputy, wrote about in a recent OWN Trust blog.

If you could indulge me for a moment, I would like to hover over the concept of ‘belonging’ and share a quote with you from a book I’m reading, which states the following about human beings:

“We have evolved to form ourselves into groups with mutual responsibility and shared purpose, and to crave the feelings of belonging, meaning, and community such membership creates. This profoundly shapes our motivations and desires – even when, as is often the case, we don’t realise it.”

(Lemov, 2023)

You may be questioning why I am sharing this with you, and the answer is simple. Being part of OWN Trust is feeding my craving for belonging, meaning, and community on a daily basis and this is certainly having a profound impact on my motivations and desires.

OWN Trust has pledged an ongoing commitment to achieving a shared culture through ‘Our Passion’ in which ‘we strive to create a single sense of identity and culture’. In practice, this translates into a powerful collaborative learning culture, where staff and pupils take calculated risks and challenge each other in an ethos of high care. Sometimes ‘Our Passion’ means doing ‘tough’ things, but at OWN Trust, we do this with human hearts at the forefront, in a culture of psychological safety.

OWN Trust understands that people are its most important resource and significant investment is made in ensuring there is efficacy and understanding between people. Everyone shows up in schools as human beings, as well as educators of young minds. It is for this reason that I have quickly developed a strong sense of belonging, not only to Woodston School but to OWN Trust as an organisation.

Prior to taking up this post, I completed a Level 7 Executive Coaching Qualification and spent a great deal of time developing my understanding of effective organisational culture, authentic leadership, and ensuring people thrive within organisations. I spent many hours coaching a range of leaders and staff in schools to help them understand their own values and beliefs and how these drove their behaviours. My passion for people is nourished and nurtured within OWN Trust and this is very much reciprocated in the way in which I am supported and challenged. My passion is ‘Our Passion’ and that of everyone else within the organisation. A ‘single sense of identity and culture.’

I didn’t know it at the time (as is often the case, we don’t realise it), but I am now certain my coaching experiences led me to OWN Trust; a place of belonging. The synergy that exists between my values and those of the organisation, energises me and excites me so that I am profoundly motivated to do good work for the people I serve.

It was not my intention to write another blog about belonging, but it seems my reflections have naturally led me to this place. Having said that, perhaps it is not inconceivable to think that this is a blog about identity too. For hundreds of years, people have struggled in societies and groups where they’ve had to compromise their beliefs: denying their identity, in pursuit of the human need to belong. OWN Trust has created a very strong ‘single’ sense of identity, but they also do a beautiful job of valuing difference and allowing individuals to flourish within this. This is quite an achievement and an exciting prospect for our pupils and staff. 

I haven’t looked back since taking up my post on 1st September, only forward. In my voyage of discovery, I have found both myself and a place where I belong. My wish for you today is that (like me) you find yourself in a place where your identity is welcomed and you feel you belong. It should never be one or the other, and you owe it to yourself to expect both!

^{Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash}

Chairs and Vice Chairs Round Table 28.11.23

By Mary Foreman, Chair of Trustees, OWN Trust

On a cold and wintry night at the end of November, I was delighted to welcome OWN Trustee Vice Chair of Trustees Sally Williams, Chair of Governors Kirsty Cleworth and Ashleigh Berenyckj, and Vice Chair Adam Green to our first round table of this academic year.

Finding time to attend any meeting, let alone virtual meetings, is a challenge for those who choose to devote their time to public service, so it was a pleasure to spend time listening to accounts of how the first governing committee meetings of the year had proceeded and what the successes and challenges were.

OWN Trust has moved to a different way for headteachers to report to governing committees and this has been very well received. The chairs felt governors had a much stronger voice as they had direct input into agenda items by contributing their own reports rather than listening to the headteacher reporting. Of course, this puts greater emphasis (and challenge) on the local governing committee to be actively involved through visiting their school.

Naturally governing bodies considered how the Ofsted reports from last term impacted on the schools and how they are continuing to move forward. All three schools were inspected within a two-week window. With one school, Woodston, having a new headteacher in place since September – Becky Ford – and a new chair of governors – there is a wonderful opportunity to continue to build on the strong foundation Jacki Mitchell laid. Ashleigh has a clear intent to facilitate increased involvement from the parental community. Thanks must be given to Gordon Knibbs for his commitment and service as chair of governors prior to this.

There was a strong sense that our schools were being ambitious in their development plans, instead of playing safe after their visits from Ofsted. All GOOD in July!

A further discussion of the Trust staff well-being survey took place. OWN Trust is very clear staff well-being is pivotal in making sure we are an employer of choice for all employees no matter what their role. The feedback from our chairs will ensure OWN Trust shares all the commonalities and differences in the responses from staff so we make sure good practices and areas for improvement are known.

We moved on to discuss whether there were any barriers to schools in the trust moving forward. Our chairs and vice chairs were confident the new leadership structures within each school, as well as the role of executive deputies, would be embedded and highly effective. There was evidence that the flexibility of support our executive deputies provided across the three schools was already highly effective this term. New leadership structures within each school are also having a positive impact.

An interesting discussion about the growth of schools and the Trust ensued. All attendees shared their knowledge of building expansion (housing) within the catchment areas (and beyond) and how this may affect the number of children on role. We also discussed our capacity for growth of OWN Trust itself and I shared details of how we have been called upon by the local authority within Peterborough to provide support to non-academy schools within their sphere of influence as they have no capacity to provide it.

Our commitment to working closely with all our stakeholders continues. Communicating with and listening to our local governing committees is essential as we expand our role within and across schools in Peterborough.

Finally, we discussed Primary School Performance measures for 23 – 24 and how this may impact on each school within our trust. The lack of progress accountability for schools with very disadvantaged intakes may have a significant effect where there is a lack of Key Stage 1 baseline data after COVID-19.

OWN Trust Development Session 18.10.23

By Jan Neish, Governance and Compliance Manager, OWN Trust

OWN Trust was fortunate enough to secure Mary Abeyasekera as the speaker for our development session on Wednesday evening, 18 October, which we held at Delta Hotel at Lynch Wood. The topic was SEND Ordinary Available Provision and the room was filled with our trustees and local governors, trust associates, and governors from the local schools we work with as part of the Schools Partnership Programme. 
 
Mary spoke passionately about her own schooldays and SEN; about the support from her parents and grandparents, and her grandfather who read with her every night as she memorised the story, allowing her to function in school and disguise the fact she couldn’t really read; about kicking off in class if there was the chance she would be asked to read out loud or read from an unfamiliar book; of being expelled from primary schools (five of them!) and of the teacher who told her to ‘put that chair down and park your bum on it’ and then set about working out how to get Mary the support she needed. 

As I listened to Mary’s story from that point, it reminded me of the Arabian Nights tales where the djinn, finally released from centuries-long confinement in the bottle, explodes onto the page like a whirlwind: school, university, teaching, headship, national leader of SEND, Ofsted inspector (where they called her “the baby HMI” because she was so much younger than most), Director for SEND for Meridian Trust. And that’s just some of it! Mary has an adult diagnosis of ADHD – she calls it her superpower - and maybe that explains the pace and passion of her life and career after being released from her bottle. 
 
Mary took us through the Code of Practice, the unhelpfulness of labels, definitions, responsibilities, reasonable adjustments, and “best endeavours” where her insights on what this means for children, were so valuable. After all, that is what it’s all about. Schools are data-rich environments nowadays and we are expected to benchmark against this metric or that metric, but we were reminded that some children will never reach ‘expected standards’ in attainment, and how can you measure progress for a child for whom just getting through the front door and sitting in the foyer for an hour is a huge step forward?   
 
When we got to the Q&A session, it was pretty quiet as everyone was sitting there thinking “Wow!” but it was rewarding to see the Q&A evolve into groups talking about what these ideas mean for our schools, our children, and ‘we do this, what do you do’… You could almost hear the neurones firing.  
 
A huge thank you to Mary, and a huge thank you to all those who attended. I hope they found it worth turning out on a wet Wednesday evening in October. I know I did. 

SEND Group Meeting 09.11.23

By Carly Pearson, SENCo, Nene Valley Primary School, OWN Trust

The Trust SEND meeting took place virtually on 9th November, and we welcomed our new link SEND governors to the group. It was attended by the school SENCos, the OWN Trust CEO, the OWN Trust Governance and Compliance Manager, and the link SEND governors from each school. The Chair of Trustees usually attends but sent her apologies on this occasion.

The school SENCOs shared progress towards the actions outlined in the Trust SEND Improvement Plan 22-24, which was reviewed during the training day at the start of the term. This has seen the development of a Trust-wide Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) e-guide, improved partnerships with external SEND parent forums and delivery of parent/carer workshops in each school, increased alignment in the Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) processes in each school and developments in the use of standardised testing to be used diagnostically for individual learners and to help track progress. This is part of a two-year improvement plan and milestones will be reviewed again in the new year.

The CEO shared some useful information regarding the local SEND picture and unwelcome changes in staffing at the strategic level within the SEND and Inclusion Team at Peterborough City Council. SENCOs also gave feedback following the Trust Development session with Mary Abeyasekera (Executive Director of SEND, Meridian Trust) and our respective Ofsted inspections that took place in the Summer Term. The good quality of SEND provision in all three schools was celebrated and recognised.

Finally, we reflected on expectation vs reality of levels of SEND within our new EYFS (Reception) cohorts. Due to the proactive efforts of the SENCos in completing outreach work with feeder childcare settings, the majority of children with SEND needs were already known to the schools and therefore provision could be matched accordingly to support the transition. Challenges around resource deployment, capacity, and workload were also discussed following an unexpected rise in the number of new starters joining schools mid-year who have moderate to high levels of SEND and/or no previous educational experience.

Quality of Education Committee 05.12.23

By Sarah Levy, School Improvement Consultant, OWN Trust

The Quality of Education Committee met virtually on Tuesday 5th December 2023. Jan Neish clerked for the Trust and the meeting was chaired by Mary Foreman. Those also in attendance included the OWN Trust CEO, Stuart Mansell, headteachers from Woodston, Orton Wistow, and Nene Valley Primary School, the OWN Trust Executive Deputy Headteachers, and one of the governors, Amir Ghaffari.

We looked at the Pupil Premium numbers in the schools, and it was noted that the applications for Free School Meals in Early Years were low. There may be some parental awareness issues regarding the need to apply, or they may feel they don’t need to when Key Stage 1 meals are free anyway, not realising the impact on the school budget. The universal infant free school meals entitlement possibly hinders their understanding of why we need to pursue this.

We also discussed in detail the work needed regarding the publication of strategy statements for this targeted funding. All the schools’ champions are feeling the weight of this responsibility and are keen to work collaboratively. Becky Ford highlighted the need for a forensic understanding and analysis of pupil premium needs in each school and spoke positively about a recent Powered by Equity conference and the intention of attending a further conference in March.

We all recognise that parents of all pupils have high aspirations for their children and Pupil Premium is about overcoming any barriers.

An update was provided on the “Our Purpose” part of the Trust Improvement Plan. We acknowledged work already completed on quality assuring our curricula in each of the schools. We are excited about the work under development where we will be able to triangulate and form a consensus view on the quality of teaching. We recognised that the WALKThru resources are great for improving certain aspects of teaching, but are not a summative judgement or a tickbox exercise. Collaborative work with the headteachers, Executive Deputy, Nick File, and Sarah Levy will take place over the year to pull together an agreed system with shared language and expectations.

To conclude, we re-examined our Attainment Forecasts. We have used current data and baselined where we are now, with a full understanding that this will be revised and reviewed as more data becomes available after recent tests and following rigorous pupil progress meetings and Targeted Intervention Groups.

Our next meeting is scheduled for 12th March 2024.

Find out what's been happening across the OWN Trust at Orton Wistow, Woodston and Nene Valley Primary Schools.

Nene Park Horticultural Nursery - School In Residence Project - Day 1

By Nick File, Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust

On Wednesday 8th November, thirty children from the OWN trust schools began a twelve-month environmental project in association with Nene Park Trust. One of the aims of the project is to encourage members of the wider community to access the Park.

The day began with a coach ride starting from Woodston Primary School, collecting ten children and two members of staff. A small jump to Nene Valley and a further ten children and an adult joined. Finally, the Orton Wistow contingent combined and they all headed off to Ferry Meadows.

The first stop was the secluded Nursery Gardens. We were the first schools into this area and the children began with a treasure hunt-style plant search. Did you know historically early Americans used blueberries with milk to make grey paint? The children worked in mixed teams, one child from each school, so they started to make new friends.

There were also lots and lots of leaves!

Next seed bombs! Clay, mud, and seeds – what could possibly go wrong? In a classroom, there would be a mess everywhere – at the nursery, it mattered not. This was one of the favourite activities of the day. Muddy hands and getting in on the action. The clay keeps the seeds warm and safe until the spring when they can germinate. 

Just before lunch, the word of the day was coracle – which was important for the afternoon activity. Also, a few trips to the compostable toilet, which was a lot more pleasant than it might initially sound.

After lunch there was a small competition; boys v girls making willow fences. Coracles, fences, baskets, and cricket bats are all made from the flexible, lightweight wood–willow. This was the opportunity to use a holer, a pair of secateurs, and teamwork. The girls took an early lead as the boys had to carry their equipment further, but they soon made a strong comeback, so both fences were very impressive at the end.

All the children had an amazing first day with huge smiles on their faces. “Magnificent” was the best quote and a great summary of the day provided by one child at Woodston. Thanks to Vicky, Tom, and Alex for delivering the content effectively and in a very fun way. We look forward to the next trip in the Spring Term and building willow barriers at Nene Valley Primary.

You can find out more (and see some photos) about the nursery by using the links: Nene Nursery | Nene Park Trust or the trust newsletter OWN Trust - OWN Trust involved with the local horticultural nursery (own-trust.education).

You can see photos by visiting the three schools websites:

Schools in Residence project - Day 1 - Woodston Primary School

Orton Wistow Primary School - Schools in Residence project - Day 1

Nene Valley Primary School - Schools in Residence project - Day 

More News From the Schools

A selection of news posts from the OWN Trust schools. You can read more about what's been happening by clicking on the links.

Discover more about those who work at OWN Trust and how they got involved in education and what inspires them to do the job they do!

In this edition, we learn more about Aaron Shang, Director of Learning, Year 5/6 Class Teacher and Maths Lead at Nene Valley Primary School.

Beginnings

I grew up in Rochdale, Lancashire, and lived there until I went to university. My childhood ambition was to become a professional football player. As I got older, I wanted to be an actor, which I think probably set me up well for primary teaching.

I went to two primary schools, both very different but with teachers who I remember as being full of character, energy, and enthusiasm, even when having to manage children like me! Unfortunately, my final primary school eventually closed down, but it did become the set for Waterloo Road. It was clearly written in the stars for me! 

Finding a vocation

As I alluded to earlier, I was a bit of a cheeky chappy in school (putting it politely), especially in secondary school. However, I had a fantastic drama teacher. I always looked forward to his lessons and I was probably at my most well-behaved for drama lessons. This teacher inspired me to strive to become a better person and ultimately inspired me to go to university, where I studied theatre arts. His influence on me was always at the back of my mind, providing me with a constant admiration for the teaching profession and the aspiration to teach one day.

As I mentioned previously, I was inspired to study theatre arts at Middlesex University, London. Whilst there, I met a wide range of interesting people and made many contacts, which ultimately led me to work on a few different West End shows and theatres, such as Dirty Dancing and Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre and on Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium. I worked backstage during the shows, building sets, moving props, and scenery, etc. as the show went on. It was a great four years of my life with many interesting stories. However, every time a show ended, you were not always guaranteed a job on the next one as most of the crew and performers were employed by the show and not the theatre. So, when Wizard of Oz came to an end, I decided to finally start on the journey of becoming a teacher and finally return to normal working hours (or so I thought at the time!).

I found a job as a cover supervisor at Carshalton School for Girls, a secondary school in London, where I covered classes for teacher absences. I eventually became the cover manager the following year, organising the cover team and cover teaching too. This was all to gain experience to become a teacher. I had originally planned to do a PGCE in drama, given my background. However, my father-in-law thought that I would enjoy primary teaching and would be a good addition to the profession (he was a primary teacher, deputy, and acting head before going into leading a maths intervention programme in and around Cambridgeshire). I ended up on what was a brand-new teacher training programme at the time, in its first year, which was the Teach East course! That was around 10 years ago, and I have never looked back since! My father-in-law’s advice was correct and I have enjoyed every second!

My current role

Throughout my time at NVPS, I have been a Geography lead, phase lead, and maths lead. I also temporarily supported a previous headteacher as ‘operational manager’ in which I led lunchtime staff, organised day-to-day cover, and took on many deputy or assistant head responsibilities. All of these roles helped me to think beyond my own classroom and made me want to help improve and shape the school. I feel that my current Director of Learning position and my roles as Maths Lead, provide me with a great opportunity to continue to have an impact on the whole school and the Trust.

I hope to help shape the curriculum in the direction our headteacher and the whole school want to go, eventually working towards becoming an outstanding school, which I feel in parts we already are. I hope to provide staff with the support they need to learn but also to implement their style and personality into our school and Trust. I also hope to bring value to the Trust by offering my own experiences, ideas, and personality.

Inspiration

The children, first and foremost, inspire me to ensure they enjoy coming to school every day and are excited about learning. I'm also inspired by those around me: we are all working hard in a job can that can offer challenge and reward in equal measure, but the staff I work with do all of this together, as a team, and as a family. I see and hear stories of good deeds, hard work, and great teamwork every day, which is good teaching. You can’t get much more inspirational than that!

Working within the Trust

Communication is an invaluable commodity. Within the few years we have been part of OWN Trust, I have benefited greatly from a range of experiences: meeting with other Year Six leaders to support with SATs and moderations; meeting with the other fantastic maths leads to learn from them and share knowledge and now meeting with other Directors of Learning to learn and understand how we can continue to develop in our new role. Also, more importantly, occasionally getting together to have some fun and flavoursome beverages in a social setting as a community.

Advice to my younger self

Nothing, I probably wouldn’t have listened! Like Marty McFly, I would just make sure that I go on to meet those who inspired me…and maybe tell him to listen to his parents a little more!

Catch up on what's been happening within the OWN Trust community.

If you'd like to make any suggestions or comments about community activities within the OWN Trust, please have a chat with the OWN Trust Community Representative in your school:

Carly Pearson (NVPS), Joanne Simmons (OWPS), Emily Gray (OWPS), Kelly Fenton-Bradshaw (WPS) and Mia Downs (WPS).

By Fiona Schneider, Marketing and Communications Officer, OWN Trust

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.

^{Photo by Isabella Kramer on Unsplash}

Specific times will be announced to those attending.

Your feedback on the newsletter is invaluable for helping us to make sure that the content is relevant, useful and informative.

Please click on the button below to answer 3 quick questions about what you think:

If you have any queries or questions about the OWN Trust, please get in touch...

• For information about the OWN Trust, please email info@own-trust.education or visit https://www.own-trust.education/
   
• For queries about the newsletter, please email marketing-communications@own-trust.education
   
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• For information about OWN Trust policies, please visit the policies' area of the OWN Trust website.

You can also visit our website www.own-trust.education.