October 2023
Summary: 00:00 - 00:35 - Introduction 00:35 - 01:00 - Thank you to staff working over summer 01:00 - 01:20 - New catering offer and plastic bottle reduction 01:20 - 01:52 - Well done to Lees Brook Academy 01:52 - 02:27 - Leadership Conference and Festival of Learning 02:27 - 04:06 - Introducing Trust Talks … Continue reading October 2023
Summer 1 2023
Summary 00:00 - 00:30 Coronation celebrations 00:30 - 01:00 Culture Day at The Nottingham Emmanuel School 1:00 - 01:23 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors at Lees Brook Academy 01:23 - 02:21 Church of England church-school partnership activities 02:21 - 03:00 Visit from Rt Hon David Laws 03:00 - 03:27 Farewell to Sarah Bailey, Principal at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy … Continue reading Summer 1 2023
Spring 2 2023
Summary 0:00 - 00:34 World Book Day and other events 00:34 - 1:06 Bluecoat Trent Academy groundbreaking ceremony 1:06 - 1:23 Bluecoat Primary Academy Artsmark 1:23 - 2:08 Sad to say goodbye to Sarah Bailey, Principal at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, at the end of May 2:08 - 2:39 Bluecoat Beechdale Academy has secured a £1.2m … Continue reading Spring 2 2023
Spring 1 2023
Summary: 00:00 - 00:37 Love and prayers to people affected by the earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria 00:38 - 1:11 Bluecoat Aspley Academy's exhibition at Nottingham Light Night 1:12 - 1:38 Welcome to Mark Shipman at The Long Eaton School 1:38 - 2:22 Two successful recruitment events and current live vacancies
Autumn 2 2022
Summary: 00:00 – 00:10 Hello 00:10 – 00:35 Bluecoat Beechdale Academy Ofsted outcome 00:35 – 01:30 Student careers activities across our Trust 01:30 – 2:00 Working with the NSPCC 2:00 – 2:20 The Nottingham Emmanuel School awarded School of Sanctuary status 2:20 – 2:50 Christmas activities including Carol Concerts across our Trust 2:50 – Thank … Continue reading Autumn 2 2022
Autumn 1 2022
Summary: 0:00 - 0:33 Introducing new principals at Bluecoat Aspley, Lees Brook and Bluecoat Wollaton 0:33 - 1:04 Introducing the new Director of Safeguarding 1:04 - 2:05 Festival of Learning 2:05 - 3:15 Empower East Midlands Careers Event 3:15 - 4:38 Leadership Conference 4:38 - 5:05 Introducing the new Chief Finance Officer 5:05 - 5:47 … Continue reading Autumn 1 2022
Autumn 1 (3) 2021
October 2021 was our annual leadership conference re-start once again in a face to face environment after a pause of nearly two years. It was brilliant to gather the Principals from our nine Trust schools, alongside the Trust Board, members of the Central Team and the chairs of our Academy Advisory Boards. Having spent so … Continue reading Autumn 1 (3) 2021
Autumn 1 (2) 2021
Alvaston Moor Academy came into being this September. With a new Principal, a new uniform and a new approach to behaviour and a renewed ambition to see every young person at AMA succeed the term has got off to a flying start. Alvaston Moor (formerly Merrill Academy) lies in the heart of Derby City. It … Continue reading Autumn 1 (2) 2021
Autumn 1 (1) 2021
It has finally happened. Bluecoat Trent is now officially an Academy and open. After what feels like many years of planning just to get to the free school approval stage in June 2019, it is a wonderful moment knowing that our new Academy is finally doing what it was designed for; educating young people. I … Continue reading Autumn 1 (1) 2021
Spring 2021
Welcome to our three new schools who joined the Trust on 1 February. Long Eaton, Lees Brook and Merrill Academy, three large secondary academies in Derby and Derbyshire, joined us this month. I want to welcome all the staff, parents and young people that attend those academies and just say we are incredibly excited to … Continue reading Spring 2021
Autumn 2 2020
This month has seen us really grappling with growing Covid numbers. As we wrestle to keep schools open there is an increasing need to send groups of young people home. As schools we are becoming experts in tracking, tracing and sending close contacts home. We have a wide range of new words we are using … Continue reading Autumn 2 2020
Autumn 1 2020
After months of lock down being able to welcome children back into our academies has been such a joyful experience. Whatever the rights and wrongs of safety, the confusion of last minute opening guidance, there is no escaping the delight on the faces of our young people as they returned to school. We humans are … Continue reading Autumn 1 2020
Summer 2 2020
Our students are starting to come back into schools! Despite staying open for key worker and vulnerable children it has been so lovely to see larger numbers of students now attending school every day. Year 6, Year 1, Year 10 and Year 12 are now finally back with us and it is brilliant. I can … Continue reading Summer 2 2020
Summer 1 2020
What a month! The schools are quiet (apart from those with key worker children in them) staff are working from home and the daily Covid 19 statistics seem unimaginable. Just a few weeks ago the government put us all into ‘lockdown’ and we are now having to work out what all of that means. I … Continue reading Summer 1 2020
Spring 2 2020
During March we were incredibly privileged to host a visit by Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT (the schools, students and teachers network). The SSAT networks offer membership to schools in all phases of education across the country and worldwide. Establishing strong communities of schools that connect like-minded school leaders and teachers. For more information … Continue reading Spring 2 2020
Spring 1 2020
This year really began in style as the entire Trust met together in Nottingham’s prestigious Albert Hall. Our Festival of Learning was based around what being a part of the Trust really means and how working together we are better than working separately. Or as our mission statement puts it; “Working together, transforming lives.” We … Continue reading Spring 1 2020
Autumn 2 2019
This month over 30 leaders from across the Trust met together in central Nottingham and explored together some of the most important issues facing us in the education sector. Ably facilitated by Toby Greany and Jane Creasy we explored themes to do with vision, strategic direction, identity and culture. The opportunities of genuine curricular change … Continue reading Autumn 2 2019
Autumn 1 2019
So the new term has started and all the schools in the Trust are full of happy shiny youngsters proudly sporting their new school uniforms and new shoes. This is now my thirtieth September in teaching and the anticipation and excitement that I felt when I started in 1989 is just the same as the … Continue reading Autumn 1 2019
Summer 2 2019
It was such a pleasure to be able to open our second Staff Awards Ceremony on 27th June. Over 300 staff from across the Trust came together to celebrate the development of the Trust and their part in making it great. The awards ranged from Inspirational Teacher of the Year to Team of the Year … Continue reading Summer 2 2019
Summer 1 2019
It has finally happened! We have got it! The free school announcement that we have been waiting so long to hear has finally been made. We received formal notification from the Department of Education on Friday 14th June that our free school application has been approved! This is great news from two perspectives. Not only … Continue reading Summer 1 2019
Spring 2 2019
Archway Learning Trust hosted its first Student Awards ceremony. This was held in the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham and was attended by over 1500 parents, staff and guests. Over 500 students took part in a glittering evening of music, art and drama, culminating in a choir made up of students from across the Trust … Continue reading Spring 2 2019
Spring 1 2019
This month saw Archway Learning Trust host a visit from Geoff Barton, General Secretary of ASCL. We were delighted to be able to talk to him about our work on inclusion and to take him around our off site provision - Aspire. Inclusion is very much a part of what Archway stands for and runs … Continue reading Spring 1 2019
Autumn 2 2018
It is always good when external bodies demonstrate their faith and confidence in your work and over the last few weeks Archway has been lucky enough to have had not one but two such shows of appreciation. On Monday 26th November Amanda Spielman, HM Chief Inspector of Education visited Wollaton Park to film her piece … Continue reading Autumn 2 2018
Autumn 1 2018
It was such a pleasure to be a part of our annual Festival of Learning and meeting all the guest speakers and hearing their messages. It is always useful to stop and reflect on why we do the role that we do despite how hard we have to work and what setbacks we encounter. The … Continue reading Autumn 1 2018
Summer 2 2018
Last month I wrote about the amazing Ofsted reports we had received as a Trust this year. Every school or Academy is only ever as good as its staff and it was due to the hard work and determination of all that the Ofsted reports were as impressive as they were! Staff don’t really work … Continue reading Summer 2 2018
Summer 1 2018
It has been an incredible few weeks as two of our five schools within the Trust both had their Ofsted inspections - simultaneously! Having two teams with 11 inspectors across two days on sites a mile apart was a challenge. It is not an experience I wish to relive in a hurry! I am delighted, … Continue reading Summer 1 2018
Spring 2 2018
What an honour and privilege to be able to host the Secretary of State for Education’s visit to Nottingham last Thursday. The Right Honourable Damian Hinds MP visited Bluecoat Aspley Academy, as part of a number of events being hosted by the Trust on that day. The visit included a tour of the Academy showcasing … Continue reading Spring 2 2018
Spring 1 2018
Happy new year everyone! What a wonderful way to start 2018 with the news that The Nottingham Emmanuel School has joined Archway Learning Trust. The Nottingham Emmanuel School is based in Wilford Village close to West Bridgford. It is a 1,000 strong secondary with a strong faith ethos and a passion for transforming the lives … Continue reading Spring 1 2018
Autumn 2017
What a great way to start a new blog with the news that Bluecoat Beechdale has won the Nottingham Post’s award of ‘School of the Year’. After three years of sponsorship this wonderful school has shrugged off its past where underachievement was the norm and student behaviour was uncontrolled to take up its place as … Continue reading Autumn 2017