13th September 2024
School News
At the beginning of the term Revd April Gold attended a Comissioning Service at St Nicolas Church for Ian Meikle the newly appointed Headteacher of St Nicolas CofE Primary, Nuneaton.
Pictured here with Revd Chris Routledge and Dawn Beasley (Chair of Governors).
Wilmcote CofE Primary has joined The Stour Federation Multi Academy Trust.
The Stour Federation has been actively supporting Wilmcote since November 2023, making this partnership a natural next step.
Headteacher Anita Twyman said: “This is an exciting new chapter for our school. Under the umbrella of The Stour Federation, we will be able to retain what makes our school special and unique, while also being able to increase the academic rigour for our students, and the resources and expertise of colleagues and leaders. We already feel that we belong.”
Christian Hilton, Chief Executive of The Stour Federation Multi Academy Trust, added: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Wilmcote into our Trust, come September. The strength of The Stour Federation lies in its ability to provide focused support and foster collaboration among like-minded schools. Having supported the school since November, we are really excited to be taking our partnership to the next level, with Wilmcote officially set to join The Stour Federation family.”
At St. Paul’s CofE Primary Nuneaton, they have made a decision to replace their weekly newsletter with a weekly podcast, in an effort at engage more families. Last Friday was Episode One and it featured their vicar, Revd Kate Massey.
The link to listen to it is here. The discuss the highlights of the first week back; things to look forward to and how school and church are working together.
The podcast has already been reached by 1400 people!
Headteacher Termly Briefing – Wed 18 September 2024
Don’t forget to join us for the Heads’ Briefing on Wednesday afternoon 18 September 14.00-15.30 on Zoom.
Agenda
Opening Reflection and DBE Update – April Gold
Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award Update – Elizabeth Howat, Head of AYLA
Heads’ Reference Group (HTRAG) Update – HTRAG Rep
DBE Services, Resources and Support now available – Joanne Evans
SIAMS and RE Update – Jen Jenkins
‘Best practise and top tips’ session – focus on SEND – Tracy McEwan SENDco at St Margaret’s CofE Junior, Whitnash
Closing comments
For Those New to Leading in a Church School…
See the Church of England Website for Core Key Documents
See the Coventry Diocesan Board of Education Website for Resources, Governance, Training and Events.
See the Cathedral Schools Team contact page for Coventry Cathedral Visits
Email any members of the DBE Team on church school matters and we’ll be happy to help!
Upcoming CPD for this Term…(Including Newly Added Events!)
Click on the links below to find out more and to book a place.
Led by Jen Jenkins, This session will introduce you to two models for spirituality that will work well in church schools. It will help you to link your spirituality model to your vision and to consider how the curriculum offers opportunities for spiritual development.
Small Schools Network Start Up – 23/09/24
Facilitated initially by Jen Jenkins, but with a view to this group being self-supporting, this builds on the response and engagement in the ‘mixed-age classes’ meeting that was held to discuss potential challenges around the New Agreed Syllabus in April 2024. Participants found it helpful to discuss the common areas of experience in small schools and share solutions and good practice. The DBE hope this will be a helpful model to continue into this new academic year, especially around delivering the New Agreed Syllabus for RE and Worldviews.
Led by Jen Jenkins, DBE RE and Spirituality Officer, these termly RE CPD sessions will focus on areas of the New Agreed Syllabus that respond to the needs of teachers as they emerge.
Termly SIAMS update – 09/10/24
Led by Jen Jenkins, DBE RE and Spirituality Officer, these termly sessions are intended to support those schools who are due for inspection within the next two academic years. The session will guide delegates responsively depending on what schools need, and there will be an update on any local and national information on good practice.
Half termly RE Clinic – Support for Delivering the New Agreed Syllabus -15/10/24
From September 2024 schools will be using the new RE Agreed Syllabus for Coventry and Warwickshire. This syllabus marks a significant shift in the way in which RE is taught and these half-termly RE Clinics, facilitated by Jen Jenkins, will allow RE teachers to get to grips with any challenges or questions in implementing this new approach in order to maintain high standards of provision.
Annual Headteacher Conference – 14/11/24
Global Christianity within ‘Understanding Christianity’ – New Materials – 20/11/24
Half termly RE Clinic – Support for Delivering the New Agreed Syllabus – 25/11/24
For the rest of the academic year – see the CPD programme here
Church School Leadership Training for Middle Leaders
It’s not too late to sign up your middle leaders to sign up for the DBE’s ‘Flourishing Through Leading: A Two-Year Online Programme for Middle Leaders’ – a self-directed online course with ‘touching base’ network meetings.
This programme, starting this term, is designed to explore the formation and develoment of the middle leadership role specifically in a church school context. It is free to DSA subscribing schools. Send them this link to find out more.
For the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org