Supporting our schools, whilst holding relevant leaders to account through constructive challenge is the primary mission of governance. The multi-layered nature of this function means that there are many important pieces of the puzzle, not least the volunteers who are critical to its success. Their support is crucial for schools to not only function, but improve and thrive, enabling ‘Ambition for All’.
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This week, ten leaders from across the Secondary and Primary Schools in the Brooke Weston Trust (BWT) gathered to celebrate completing the BWT Leadership Academy programme.
Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week helps to make a difference to the lives of children and young people across the UK.
At Brooke Weston Trust our mission is to transform educational performance and remove barriers to learning while providing opportunities for personal development. This mission cannot be achieved without our fantastic Estates and site teams who work relentlessly to keep our buildings safe, warm and dry… but more than that, they ensure that we are fit for the future, delivering school improvement plans on time, within budget and to the highest of standards. We spoke to a few of our Estates colleagues from across the Trust to find out about the role they play in improving our schools.
National Apprenticeship Week is a celebration of businesses and apprentices across the country, shining a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make on individuals, businesses, and the wider economy.
At Brooke Weston Trust, we believe that school menus should represent the diversity of our communities. An important part of this is our themed days which provide important and exciting learning experiences to allow children a taste of different cultures they might not be familiar with.
Beanfield Primary School have created a ‘Sharing Shed’ containing school uniform, coats, hats, scarves and shoes for its families to use when they need them.
The school has been looking at different ways it can support its families as the cost of living continues to rise. With funding provided by the Member Empowerment Fund from North Northants Council, the school were able to create a ‘Sharing Shed’ for children and parents at the school to use.
All items of clothing that make up the school’s uniform are now displayed outside, with the shed opening daily for parents to collect clothing as and when they need it. This will allow parents to help themselves to any items anonymously rather than having to ask staff first.
Sarah Fleming, Safeguarding and Behaviour Manager at the school, said: “We understand that some parents may face anxiety or might be too embarrassed to ask for help when they need it. However, this sharing shed takes away this factor and allows a safe place for parents to go to and use without any fear of judgement.
“At Beanfield Primary School, our team are incredibly passionate about being there for our young people and their families at times when they need it most. We are extremely grateful for this grant and would like to thank North Northants Council for providing us with the resources to really show our support and hopefully ease some of the financial pressures that our families might face.”
Cllr Jean Addison, who was involved in providing funding to the school, said: “Cllr Alison Dalziel and I are very pleased that we were able to contribute money from our Councillor Empowerment Fund to this worthwhile project. We understand the pressures that parents and carers are under during these difficult times, and we are sure that this project will be of benefit to parents and students at Beanfield Primary School going forward.”
The school also provide other means of support to families through regular food bank donations. If you would like more information on this, please contact the school at: foodbank@beanfieldprimary.org
Thinking of a Career in Teaching?
Train to Teach with Northamptonshire Teaching School Hub
The School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme is a one year teacher-training course which enables you to train and develop your skills in the classroom.
Our SCITT course is ideal for people who are eager to learn on the job and make a difference in their community from day one. As a trainee, you’ll be interacting every day with pupils and working as a member of teaching staff in a school local to you.
Our research-led programme is designed to give you plenty of practical experience as well as subject-specific training and a deep understanding of effective teaching methods.
You’ll be in the classroom from September 2023 and will benefit from the support of a trained mentor throughout your training. At the end of our programme, you’ll be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) and postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE).
We are recruiting now for September 2023 in Secondary phase subjects:
English*, Maths*, Geography* and History.
*Generous government bursaries available
Interested?
Join our forthcoming events to learn more: https://northamptonshireteachingschoolhub.org/articles/5753
Speak to our friendly ITT Advisor, Charlie: 01536 397013 or email itt@northantsTSHub.org
Or apply for your teacher training course today: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-teacher-training
Make a difference | Change Lives | Brighter Future
Year 13 student leader of Diversity and Inclusion, Isabel Offor, held the inaugural meeting with the newly appointed student Diversity Committee to discuss and share ideas to build an inclusive environment for all at Brooke Weston Academy.
Speaking about the role, Isabel said: "There are 20 students on the committee ranging from Year 8 through to Year 10 who are all looking at ideas on how to improve diversity and inclusion.
The first meeting went very well and the input I received from all the students was very insightful. It has allowed me to see issues from their perspective and how to go about improving diversity and inclusion at Brooke Weston Academy.
"I believe it's important to have a diversity committee here at Brooke Weston to allow the student body to embrace ideas that they feel made not be heard, and give them the opportunity to provide an impact that can benefit everyone."
Beanfield Primary School, part of Brooke Weston Trust, was delighted to receive some generous donations from local businesses, staff and volunteers, helping to provide support for the school’s families over the winter period.
Every year, Beanfield Primary School helps to provide support for its families, particularly over the festive season and at a time when they may need it most. This year, the school has been especially overwhelmed with the offers of donations, having received an influx of support compared to previous years.
Sarah Fleming, Safeguarding and Behaviour Manager at the school and organiser of this initiative, encourages families to reach out for support as and when they need it. During this academic year, Sarah has found that the requests for support have been higher than ever as the cost of living continues to rise.
To help support these families, the school were delighted to receive some generous donations provided by the local community over the Winter period. Donations have included:
Sarah said: “It is heart-warming to see so many individuals, companies and charities offer their support. The breakfast with Santa was the first time we have ever carried out such an event, all of which would not have been possible without Tata Steel reaching out and asking what they could do to help our families.
“Looking after the welfare of our children and families is at the heart of everything we do at Beanfield, and we are immensely proud and grateful to our community for working with us to provide our families with presents, food items and Christmas treats during the festive period.
“We have built up wonderful relationships with our families and are very humbled that they can come to us for anything that they need. The well-being team work tirelessly to support our families, not just at Christmas but all year round. We are very grateful to the staff that volunteer to make all this possible and thankful to the Corby community for always supporting us.”
Over the past few weeks, students from Corby Business Academy, part of Brooke Weston Trust, have enjoyed participating in a series of Christmas concerts, performing to more than 2,000 members across the Corby community.
Corby Business Academy (CBA) provided performances to other local schools in the area including Beanfield Primary School and Gretton Primary Academy (who are also part of Brooke Weston Trust) and to Priors Hall School, as well as its own school community, culminating in a grand Winter Showcase which was held on Thursday 15th December.
The Winter Showcase featured many ensembles from the school’s Music Department including the Concert Band, CBA Singers, Brass ensemble, Big Band as well as a joint effort of 'The 12 Days of Christmas' song sung by members of the audience.
The concert also featured some talented soloists including Corby Business Academy’s Year 11 students Holly who performed a rendition of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and Viktor who performed ‘The Snowman’ by Sia.
Other soloists include Michella in Year 8 on the clarinet, Atiya in Year 10 on the saxophone, Grace in Year 10 for her vocals and Courtney in Year 9 also for her vocals.
Simon Underwood, Principal at Corby Business Academy, said: “We are immensely proud of all the musicians who have performed over the past week. They have been such hard-working individuals who have represented the academy extremely well.
“It was excellent to see us all being able to celebrate the Christmas period together and to showcase our students’ talents.
“They did such a wonderful job performing in front of a live audience whilst also helping them to gain more confidence and improve their showmanship.”
Andy Burns, Chief Education Officer of Brooke Weston Trust tells us about his future-proofing plans for SEND provision
