Newsletter 9 - 2nd July 2021
Welcome to the penultimate newsletter of the year. Thank you once again to everyone for all you are doing to keep our schools going and do the best for our pupils in, what are still, very challenging circumstances.
A particular thank you to those colleagues who organised and delivered training at the recent Trust Inset day. Our ”Academies’ Day” at the end of June is always a Trust wide day. It is our sixth training day of the year as we have chosen to take an additional inset day instead of the usual 5 to facilitate some cross Trust training and networking and help to cement our working relationships and identity as part of UAT. As an academy this is absolutely within our rights.
It was brilliant therefore to see the business and finance teams working together and the staff from Neroche and UPS sharing the day and visiting each other’s schools. I hope in years to come, we will have more teams working together on our Trust Day. I also hope to be able to use this day to arrange a Trust wide conference with some inspirational speakers in the future, but this year, just like last, we have had to make the best of it. Despite this, I have heard some really good feedback from colleagues at all schools about a productive and engaging day. Thank you again to all who planed and contributed to the training which took place.
You may also be aware that we hosted members of all the local governing committees at Uffculme School’s theatre on Friday afternoon. Huge thank yous to Mandy (catering manager) and Lisa (premises manager) and their teams for arranging everything and looking after us so well as well as my PA Paula for organising the event. The afternoon was very well received and we were also lucky enough to welcome Hannah Woodhouse, the Regional Schools Commissioner who came to talk to governors about the benefits of working in a Trust as well as explaining the direction of travel nationally - which is likely to see all schools working in a Trust structure – potentially by the end of this parliament.
My part of the afternoon was a presentation in which I wanted to share some thoughts about the Trust’s vision and values: what it means to be part of UAT and what we sign up to for all our children and communities as part of UAT
The Headteachers of each school have contributed to this process so the thoughts that follow have been worked on collectively by all of us.
As a result I have given all of them a month off from contributing to this newsletter and instead, want to share with you what we have been working on. Please do get in touch if you have any questions but, in the meantime, please take some time to read the vision and values statements which make up the remainder of this newsletter.
Lorraine Heath, CEO