Opening the Case

By Sally Williams, Vice Chair of Trustees, OWN Trust

Last weekend, I was listening to Radio 4’s ‘Saturday Live’ programme. One of the guests, Mary Beard, the classical historian, described a childhood visit to the British Museum. Like many children still today, Mary was ‘dead keen’ on the Egyptians, but museums in the 1960s were not so child-friendly and interesting artefacts were kept in closed, high-up cases. One of the artefacts was a piece of Egyptian cake – irresistible viewing, were it not for it being out of reach. Unusually, a curator came over and lifted the ancient cake down from the case to show the delighted young Mary.

An interesting anecdote, maybe, but how does this relate to OWN Trust? Well, Mary pinpointed that moment as the one that brought about her fascination with the ancient world, leading to her acclaimed career as an author, academic, and teacher. This encounter with the generous curator showed her that people are there to ‘open cases for other people’ – literally and metaphorically. At OWN Trust, I believe, we are ‘case openers’ for each other, students and colleagues alike, so that we can all access the wonders of learning, beyond just what we already know and experience, beyond our own environment.

For me, at school, that ‘case’ was language, both English and foreign languages, with their fascinating ability to transport you to other times, places, and cultures. I was the first in my family to go to university and was encouraged to study Business and French, rather than a pure language degree – better job prospects, it was felt. Indeed, a business career ensued, until, in my mid-30s, with three children of my own, I completed a PGCE and entered the wonderful world of primary education and of opening cases for brilliant young minds.

Still today, language remains the case that I want to open for others. I now teach English to adults, who are newly arrived in England or who have not had access to schooling. For them, like us all, language, and the ability to communicate in all its forms, hold such power. This was discussed in Fiona Schneider’s excellent blog (Communication and Community, March 2023).

Yet many children, and adults, have difficulties in this area, not just because they may have a language other than English as their first language, but because they may have individual challenges or they are affected by environmental factors. Studies have shown how socio-economic disadvantage is a key predictor of poor literacy development in children and that this can be intergenerational. The National Literacy Trust runs an Annual Literacy Survey. In 2023, their survey showed that only 43.4% of children enjoyed reading in their free time, the largest drop since their surveys began in 2005. The lowest enjoyment levels were amongst those children in receipt of Free School Meals.

As a headteacher, I was driven to address such inequalities. Now as a trustee, I am proud to be part of OWN Trust’s vision to transform aspirations, change attitudes, and raise achievements for our community through our passionate belief in the power of education (OWN Future 2022/27). It is the Trust Board’s job to bring a strategic perspective and robust challenge and structure, and to ensure that all our students receive an excellent education. On a recent school visit, with Trevor Goakes and OWN Trust Members, I was able to see a real joy of learning (and teaching) in our schools. There was also a common language evident across the schools, making aspirational teaching and learning accessible for all, adults and students alike.

We are all learning from each other. Indeed, in that same radio programme, Mary Beard went on to describe how one of the joys of teaching is how much we, as adults, can learn from children. This is something that certainly resonates with me. It was so often the case that, after lessons and discussions with students, I ended up rethinking topics that I thought I had got sussed and pondering the insights of a child’s perspective.

^{Photo by Lee Jeffs on Unsplash}

Governance Volunteering Update May 2024

By Jan Neish, Governance and Compliance Manager, OWN Trust

At OWN Trust, our values are "Opportunity. Work Together. Nurture." These values drive our commitment to providing opportunities for people at all levels to come together for the common good. The aim of this update is to keep you informed about the activities of our volunteer Members, Trustees and Local Governance Committee Members.

New CEO Interviews

In March, local governors played an integral part in the interview process for a new CEO at OWN Trust. We are grateful to Adam Green and to Timothy Kujiyat for their involvement. It wasn’t just a one-way process either and Tim came away from talking to the candidates with some ideas to pursue in his role as premia governor.

Members and Vice Chair Visit OWN Trust Schools

On 8^th May 2024, our three members, Christine Moss, Maxine Ward and Cathy Brown, and the Vice Chair of Trustees, Sally Williams, had a full day visit to our schools and introduced themselves to the central team. The role of a Member is to ensure we are doing a good job but not to get too involved. Their role is often described as 'eyes on, hands off' and Executive Deputy Headteacher, Trevor Goakes, made sure they had plenty to see and a lot of children and staff to meet. Many thanks to all the staff and pupils who welcomed Cathy, Maxine, Christine and Sally to their school.

You can read more in Trevor’s write-up here: OWN Trust Members and Vice Chair of Trustees Visit to the Schools

Chair of Trustees Visits OWN Trust Schools

Last week, staff and children may have seen Mary Foreman, Chair of the Trust Board in school. Mary visits all three schools at least once a term as part of the trustees’ monitoring role and always speaks highly of the welcome she receives.

Local Governance Committees and Pupil Voice

This term, in addition to all the other valuable work they do for their schools, local governors have been focused on the “Our Family” part of OWN Trust’s vision and values. Having heard and discussed input from staff and parents, this term their commitment is to 'hearing the pupil voice' so children may see them in school and have an opportunity to share their views.

Thank you!

Thank you again to everyone who undertakes volunteer governance roles at OWN Trust.

If you or anyone you know would be interested in volunteering with us or want to find out more, please visit: Governance Volunteering Roles at OWN Trust

CPD Activities Update May 2024

By Nick File, Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust

All schools have introduced WALKTHRUs as a toolkit to support good classroom pedagogy.  These tools and processes have been very useful and have had numerous success in classrooms and with individual teachers.  The next step is to ensure that these are consistently implemented across the trust.

During the summer term, five senior leaders from OWN Trust have started an Instructional Coaching course run by the Ambition Institute.  The purpose behind this is to strengthen the implementation of teaching and learning in classrooms.

From September, each school will have a Teaching and Learning Coach with strong coaching knowledge and skills.  Initially, the Senior Leadership Teams in schools will be coached, ensuring that the skills of the School Coach are filtered down to phase leaders.

The impact this will have will be a strong, consistent coach-based implementation of any further CPD.  This method has research-based evidence proving it to be successful.

Trustee Board Meeting 30.04.24

By Mary Foreman, Chair of Trustees, OWN Trust

The most recent meeting of the Trust Board had an unusual twist to it as the parkways and linking roads around Peterborough were at a standstill because of an accident somewhere that affected everyone during rush hour and beyond, meaning some of our trustees decided to park up (sensibly) and walk to our venue at Woodston Primary School. This delayed our start until everyone could be gathered and shows how much impact one problem on a parkway can have. It also demonstrated the commitment of our trustees to attend our meetings even when circumstances are conspiring against them.

Although two of our trustees sent apologies, we were able to welcome our incoming CEO for September, Lorraine Greco, who was a virtual attendee. Lorraine is enjoying an extended induction period to the trust, including being able to attend our regular meetings – either in person or by video link. This means she will have a thorough understanding of the way OWN Trust works before she joins us full-time in September.

As usual, the CEO report has shared ownership with other members of the leadership and central team, which makes for clarity in the information provided to trustees.

Of the issues discussed, trustees raised concerns about the lack of fairness and transparency of the CIF bid process as once again our bids were rejected. The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) supports projects that address compliance, health and safety issues, and maintenance needs and is administered by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). £450 million was made available for 866 projects but unfortunately, OWN did not benefit, although we are appealing the outcome of one of our bids.

School places for September admission to reception have been confirmed and Trustees discussed the implications for Trust schools where there is a mixed picture for the intake. A concern for many schools in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire will be surplus places and falling rolls and, of course, the implication will be decreasing budgets because of this. Difficult decisions will have to be taken and OWN has decided to agree with the local authority to cap the intake at Woodston to 60. In line with the national trend, there has been a general decrease in birth rates since 2016 and although the city is still growing with housing developments, this will not necessarily bring an increase in the numbers of children joining our reception classes. New schools are planned as part of the expansion of Peterborough, but falling rolls are already affecting schools in established areas of the city. Trustees questioned the CEO as to whether the local authority has plans to manage surplus capacity – and the viability of schools - but he was not aware of any move to do so. Trustees concluded falling numbers are a real risk, and we should plan and prepare for such eventualities and the opportunities and threats this may bring.

Alongside concerns relating to pupil numbers, trustees also debated the changes to academy approvals from September 2024 and what this means for the growth of the trust. Trustees remain confident the work being carried out by the Growth Strategy Group is strong.  Representatives attended the MAT Growth Conference in London at the end of April and found this extremely useful.

Trustees moved on to have a robust discussion of the standards data provided by the schools. We were reminded once more of the impact of COVID-19 as our current Year 6 cohorts, about to face their SATs, had no Key Stage 1 data at their transition point to Key Stage 2 but also acknowledged our schools had worked hard to ensure gaps in children’s knowledge were addressed in the ensuing years. Our scrutiny of data begins at the school level through our local governing committees’ involvement with their schools and by facilitating discussions with the headteachers. Governors then have opportunities to attend the Trustee’s Quality of Education Committee meetings.

Our Local Governance Committees are also discussed at our board meetings and this time we examined the budget position of our schools in great detail. Budget monitoring is delegated to our local governors, and trustees considered how their effectiveness and ability to challenge the headteachers’ management of the budget can be improved.

Once again, our trustees brought their diverse knowledge sets to our board meeting and showed their analytical, leadership, and financial skills, thus keeping our senior leadership accountable for the ongoing success of OWN Trust.

OWN Trust's Estate Manager at the School and Academies Show 2024

By Fiona Schneider, Marketing and Communications Officer

OWN Trust is very proud that our Estates Manager, Craig Phillips, was invited to take part in the Schools and Academies Show at the Excel Arena in London on Wednesday 1st May 2024.

Craig was asked to speak as part of a panel discussion in the Sustainability & Estates Theatre. The topic discussed was Who? What? Where? When? And Why? Competency In Estate Management.

The discussion involved the following panel members:

• Kevin Foster, Development Director, LocatED
• Kuda Mika, Facilities & Infrastructure Manager, Olive Academies
• Craig Phillips, Estates Manager, OWN Trust
• Robin Harrison, Facilities & Resources Manager, Rushcliffe Spencer Academy

 The chair of the discussion was Jo Marchant, Estates Professional at The Boxing Academy.

The topics under discussion were wide-ranging and varied and covered several topics. These included Estates Career Development, School Business Leaders and Estates professional working relationships, and better resource management.

The event was a great success, and Craig was a superb ambassador for OWN Trust.

Highlights from the latest news at Orton Wistow Primary School, Nene Valley Primary School and Woodston Primary School.

Year 6 SATS Week 2024

By Trevor Goakes, Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust

Huge congratulations to all our year six children who took their SATs (Standard Assessment Tests). Across OWN Trust, our children came into their schools earlier than normal for a team breakfast. From toast to cereal to bacon rolls, there was an optimistic atmosphere amongst the children and staff.

Monday was the Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation tests. This was followed by the Reading paper on Tuesday, and then Mathematics with Arithmetic and Reasoning papers. As usual, the children worked extremely hard and showed great perseverance, and they answered as many questions as they could in the given time. A couple of children were unfortunately unwell at Woodston and sat their tests on a different day – but this did not stop their resilience to complete their papers.

The papers are now sealed and sent off for marking. We eagerly await the beginning of July for the results - 7 years of hard work. Well done everyone!

School in Residence at Nene Park Nursery - Day 3

By Nick File, Executive Deputy Headteacher, OWN Trust

Glorious and sunny, on Wednesday 6th March, ten children from each school in the OWN Trust returned to Ferry Meadows. It was the last learning day with the Schools in Residence project in association with Nene Park Trust.  There is still a celebration event on Wednesday 10^th July to look forward to. One of the aims of the project is to encourage members of the wider community to access the Park.

After a swift collection from each school, the children quickly chatted. Part of the day was to plant out into each school’s raised bed in the nursery.  Sunflowers, fennel and some other mystery plants were relocated from the greenhouse.

Kokedamas were the next challenge.  (No, I had not heard of them before either).  Before making their own, the children learned about soil and nutrients. Sticky? Can it be rolled into a ball? Does it break easily? – the children used a decision tree to identify; sandy, silty, loamy or clay soils. Great work and muddy hands all round.

If you are interested in making your own….

And the great thing about kokedamas is they are easy to water (just dip them in water) and you can hang them anywhere.

After lunch, in the shade as it was so sunny, the children did some pond dipping. 

A huge selection of pond life was discovered and identified using identification charts. The children also got to test the acidity of the water from 1 acidic to 14 alkaline. Luckily for the pond life, it came out as a 7, so not clean, but neutral and therefore great for bugs, if not children or adults!

At the end of the day, the sun had shone, the children had learnt some new language, used some tools and had to think scientifically. Just like school, but better! Thanks again to Vicky and Alex for delivering the content effectively and in a very fun way.  Sadly, we look forward to our last visit.

More News From the Schools

Here are some highlights of the latest news at the OWN Trust Schools. Just click on the links to find out more.

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

In this edition, we learn more about Becky Ford, Headteacher at Woodston Primary School.

Beginnings

I grew up in Lincoln and had many different ambitions that ranged from being a vet to a building society clerk. It was after completing work experience at the age of 14 in a local primary school that I decided I wanted to become a teacher and my future was set!

I am sad to report that I have very few happy memories of school. I much preferred the holidays and being able to do my own thing! If I had to pick out the best memory, it would be watching the frogspawn grow into tadpoles in a tank in the corridor, then eventually releasing them back into our pond. I was fascinated by the whole process.

Finding a vocation

The careers' adviser in school asked me what I wanted to do in the future and I had no idea. I could not give her any useful information to help her decide where to place me, so she plumped for a primary school I could walk to from my house. I spent two weeks on work experience and never looked back. I loved it and decided I wanted to teach.

I found out about the various routes into teaching and set about getting the qualifications that would enable me to follow this path. I was deeply unhappy at secondary school, so I left to attend Lincoln College where I completed my A Levels before accepting a place at Leeds Metropolitan University to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education. From here I moved to Croydon and taught in and around South London and Surrey for 6 years before moving to the Peterborough area to be closer to family. I secured my first headship at Elton Church of England Primary School and absolutely loved working there. I stayed until 2016, when I started to work in several other schools supporting with leadership. I did a short spell as an Executive Head but missed the sense of ‘belonging’ I’d felt working in one school, so after almost 3 years I returned to being a headteacher of one school.

My current role

I have always had a soft spot for Woodston Primary School. I visited Jacki Mitchell in 2012 and did a little bit of networking with some of the Orton headteachers and always came away from Woodston thinking what a wonderful school community there was. Indeed, Mrs Mitchell found an email recently that I had written to her in 2012 saying just that. My exact words were “I am slightly jealous of your wonderful school!” When the post was advertised, I visited and felt myself really drawn to the school. It is hard to explain, but it felt like I was always meant to end up here.

What I'd like to achieve

I want all the staff and pupils to be happy and successful. I want to provide them with the support and challenge they need to surprise themselves and be excited by learning. Most of all, I want everyone to believe they can do anything and tackle the world with confidence and a strong sense of self-worth!

What inspires me

During the last 5 years, I have had the privilege of working with a fantastic coach called John; he has since become a very dear friend. He inspired me to take control of my life and do things that would make me happy. His coaching enabled me to surprise myself and tackle challenges I previously wouldn't have believed possible. I took up running, lost 5 stone in weight, and ran the London Marathon in 2021 and again virtually in 2022. He also inspired me to go on and complete a course in coaching myself and I hope that I will be able to use these skills to inspire others as much as he inspired me.

The best thing about working with OWN Trust

The people and their passion to provide the highest quality services to everyone.

Message to my younger self

Do what makes you happy. Be prepared to work hard. Have confidence and try not to be swayed by what other people think you should do.

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

Staff Quiz Night 28.03.24

By Fiona Schneider, Marketing and Communications Officer, OWN Trust

On Thursday 28th March 2024, staff from across OWN Trust met for a Staff Quiz Night, which was kindly hosted by Orton Wistow Primary School.

Bethan Strike, Year 3 Class Teacher at OWPS, did a superb job of organising the whole quiz, writing the questions and leading the event on the night.

Eleven teams of approximately six staff members per team took part in an entertaining evening of friendly competition. Questions covered a range of topics, including music, film, geography, and much more. There were also some Taskmaster-style rounds where teams could earn a 'cheat sheet' for the next round.

Everyone brought food for the communal buffet which we enjoyed during the break. The evening offered a chance for colleagues from across the schools and the central trust office to catch up with each other.

The winning team this year was from Woodston Primary School, and this was their second year of winning in a row! Team members from the Woodston team have offered to organise and host the quiz next year in the Spring Term of 2025. Hopefully, that might give another team a chance of winning!

Thank you again to Bethan for all her hard work and effort.

End of Year Party 7th June 2024

Thank you to everyone who has booked and paid for their tickets to come to the OWN Trust End of Year Party on Friday 7th June 2024 at The Fleet.

We look forward to welcoming you from 7pm on the night!

^{Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash}

Specific times will be announced to those attending.

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