Dear parents and carers,
Firstly and most importantly, I hope that this messages finds you well. As is custom, I write to share our Trust’s end of Term 3 Pillars of Excellence Newsletter, which I hope you may find time to flick through in the coming week. As always, it showcases everything that makes our Trust of Schools and organisations so special; your children, our students. Their achievements continue to inspire all of us across our Trust community and through our Pillars of Excellence. As an example of this, our culture, set by our whole community, was again encapsulated beautifully at our Trust’s Sports Awards Evening last night; celebrating the incredible achievements of young people from across our schools.
As we begin (hopefully!) to head towards Spring, we continue to be very busy across our Trust. I’m pleased to share with you our two most recent Ofsted reports. Firstly, the routine inspection shortly before Christmas of our Wincheap Pre-School, run by our Trust’s City View Pre-School and Nurseries group. We are delighted that the provision continues to be ‘good,’ and if you would like to read the report you can do so by following this link; https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50203368
We feel that the provision is summarised perfectly through the opening quote;
“Children are happy and have strong bonds with the staff. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed, allowing children to freely and confidently explore their surroundings.”
My sincerest thanks go to our colleagues at Wincheap Pre-School and City View for their tireless work and commitment to the young people and families they serve.
Likewise, many of you will know that The Canterbury Primary School was also subject to a routine Ofsted inspection in December. Again, we are thrilled that the school continues to be ‘good,’ and should you wish to read the report in full you can do so through this link; https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/136344
In terms of our Trust’s culture, it is celebrated in the reports opening paragraph;
“Pupils thrive in this school. They form positive relationships with one another and enjoy spending time with their peers, both in class and when at play. This is reflected in the comment of one child who said, ‘Everyone is really friendly here.”
Of course, this would not be possible without the dedication and care of our primary school colleagues, to whom I remain incredibly grateful. Also, without you and your children, our community, who help shape our values, our beliefs and support our philosophy so positively.
Then, onto The Canterbury Academy. The work on our new classrooms, student reception, learning resource centre and library are almost complete; with furniture being installed in the coming weeks. As we move through Term 4 the students and staff will begin to transition into the building, and Heads of School will write to you operationally to update you on this process as soon as they are able. The building is the most recent capital investment that has been made across the Trust in our students, their education and their futures; totalling some £15million in the last 7 years. We can’t wait for our students to begin using the new areas and, as I say, will transition carefully through this next term.
In the meantime, also, we have recently completed c. £200k worth of capital work around our campus to further improve its accessibility for all of our young people; regardless of ability or disability. By the time I write to you at the end of Term 4, I expect the new building and all of our accessibility work to be fully operational, and be updating you on further, significant, capital investment in facilities across our campus; all to be used by our community of young people and families.
Finally, may I take this opportunity, again, to thank you for your understanding through the recent day of industrial action in schools. As always, your support has been invaluable; as has the ongoing and open communication we’ve been able to enjoy throughout. Although it is likely we may face further disruption next term, perhaps most importantly, the challenges we shall face are always approached together and underpinned by a collective culture of empathy and absolute respect. When a culture of togetherness like ours exists across an organisation and through a community, as our young people show us all of the time, anything is possible.
I wish you all the very best for half-term and, as Heads of School will have already told you, we look forward to seeing our students back in our schools for a normal day on Monday, 20th February.
My best regards,
Jon Watson
Chief Executive Officer
