Achievement & Curriculum Update

I'm pleased to share some important updates about our Trust's recent activities. The Achievement & Curriculum committee reviewed each school's autumn term data. They looked at the School On A Page documents, which give a clear picture of how each school is doing and where they're making progress. It was highlighted that these documents are shared with Headteachers and Chairs of Local Governing Committees in their regular meetings. This helps everyone involved in monitoring to have the same understanding of each school's situation and brings together both internal and external monitoring from a range of evidence.

The committee also looked closely at the end-of-key-stage data for EYFS, Phonics, KS1, and KS2. We talked about how we can use this data to spot trends across the Trust. While Trust level trends are useful for planning training and using resources, we also remember that each school has its own unique situation, so we make sure our support is tailored to each school's needs.  Analysis of the data shows that there are schools where we need to continue to make additional progress to secure better outcomes.  Our Director of Education highlighted schools that have begun to use the CUSP scheme and the difference in attainment that has been made so far.

I'm happy to report on the progress we're making with our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum work. Having made investments into the indoor and outdoor provision, we've started an EYFS Network with Early Excellence.  It is positive to see our schools working together and the Trustees agreed that the investment in this area is worthwhile.

The committee heard about how Trust resources have been used to provide training opportunities including leadership training for Deputy Heads, support for new teachers (ECTs), and the use of the Teacher SEND Handbook with Headteachers which is developing universal provision for all children as well as supporting children with additional needs.  The investment made to implement Teaching Walkthrus is having a further positive impact and the committee heard about the greater and quicker use of the platform that Headteachers and their teams are keen to implement.  Finally on this point we discussed the planned training in September, for all job roles, which will be led by Bradley Busch, as recommended by two of our school leaders.

Attendance is still a key focus for us. Our schools are doing everything they can to make sure pupils attend regularly, and all but one school are doing as well as or better than the national average. However, we know that national attendance levels are still low, and our schools in areas with more disadvantaged pupils face bigger challenges.  We extend our thanks to everyone for their continued focus on this area because we know that barriers increase when children are not in school.

We've added a new module to our safeguarding system which gives us a much clearer picture of what's happening in each school. This shows us which schools are dealing with more safeguarding cases and which ones need more resources to support families.  The introduction of a Safeguarding Network will provide opportunities to discuss common issues and receive peer supervision.

During the meeting we reviewed and ratified three policies, these will be shared on our Trust and School websites and employees in school are updated on changes.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support. Together, we're creating a strong educational foundation that will benefit our pupils for years to come.

Mark Crane

Chair of Achievement & Curriculum Committee