On Wednesday 18 April 2018, Chiquita Henson, CEO, met with school leaders for the first official meeting of The Corinium Education Trust’s Leadership Group. She was joined by Carol Dougill, Executive Headteacher of Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools, Karen Venner, Headteacher of Chesterton Primary School, and Martin Doidge, Director of Finance and Administration.

 

After an initial celebration of the Trust’s launch on 1 April 2018, the group quickly got down to business. The first agenda focused on planning. Headteachers agreed the alignment of school calendars for 2018-19 and began to consider individual school’s Key Performance Indicators and MAT policies. It was evident colleagues are keen to work together and ready to challenge each other too!

 

‘I am very excited about leading The Corinium Education Trust. This is an innovative local multi-academy trust and we are committed to improving the learning and life chances of children and young people in the South Cotswolds.’ Chiquita Henson, CEO.

 

The journey towards forming The Corinium Education Trust started in 2015-16 when a group of local Headteachers and Chairs of Governors met to discuss new ways of working together and supporting each other. Following on from these initial discussions, a group of school leaders and governors continued to meet: they acknowledged the benefits of closer collaboration and planned to form a new ambitious family of schools in the South Cotswolds. It is hoped that The Corinuim Education Trust will continue to evolve, grow and flourish.

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'It was good to work with like-minded, passionate headteachers at the first leadership group meeting of The Corinium Education Trust. We covered the key areas of attendance, Key Performance Indicators, school policies and recruitment. It will be great to share ideas and good practice as well facing challenges together such as high attainment in a climate of diminishing funding in the future.' Carol Dougill, Executive Headteacher of Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools
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'Working cohesively with the other members of the leadership group of the Corinium Education Trust showed that together, everyone achieves more.' Karen Venner, Headteacher of Chesterton Primary School
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‘I am looking forward to meeting regularly with the Trust’s headteachers, supporting our family of schools and reporting on our progress to the Board of Trustees. We will continue to reflect on the quality of all aspects of our practice across The Corinium Education Trust, engage in professional discussions and bring about further school improvement by retaining an explicit focus on teaching, learning and assessment.’ Chiquita Henson, CEO

In February 2018, following consultation with Karen Venner, Headteacher of Chesterton Primary School, and the Local Authority, The Corinium Education Trust successfully applied to sponsor Chesterton Primary School and we are pleased to report that the school will officially join the Trust in September 2018. We are looking forward to welcoming staff, pupils and their parents into our learning community.

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Chiquita Henson, CEO, is already liaising closely with Karen Venner, to put a robust action plan together for the school which, following an inspection in September 2017, was placed in Special Measures. Furthermore, to ensure actions can be tailored to meet the needs of the children at the school and accelerate their progress, she has already appointed consultant, and former primary headteacher and experienced school inspector, Ken Buxton, to work with Chesterton Primary as a School Improvement Partner. He will be reviewing the provision made for pupils and will use his insights to make recommendations for further action.

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'I am delighted to be working with The Corinium Education Trust and I am looking forward to supporting Chesterton Primary School on its improvement journey.' Ken Buxton.

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The vision for The Corinium Education Trust is of an ambitious family of schools within the South Cotswolds that responds strategically to the needs of parents and children in our community and contributes fully to the provision of inclusive education across the different phases. Therefore, sponsoring a neighbouring school reflects the moral imperative shared by  the Trust’s leaders, their commitment to improving pupils’ learning and life chances and the Corinium Education Trust’s growth plan.

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Chiquita Henson and Carol Dougill, Executive Head of Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools, alongside the Trustees of The Corinium Education Trust Chesterton Primary School, were keen to help one of their neighbouring schools and were delighted that their decision to reach out and offer support and challenge to Chesterton Primary School was received so positively.

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‘Chesterton Primary is excited to be joining Corinium Education Trust. The pool of leadership talent across the multi academy trust will support and develop excellence and achieve greater consistency in all-through education for pupils from nursery to secondary education in Cirencester and South Cotswolds area. We are really looking forward to the future.’ Karen Venner, Headteacher, Chesterton Primary School. 

 

Geographically Chesterton Primary School is Cirencester Deer Park School’s nearest primary school and is equidistant between Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools. Approximately 25 Year 6 pupils from Chesterton Primary School transfer to Deer Park each year. We aim to build on these established links. Chesterton Primary School is an active member of Deer Park’s sports’ partnership’s ‘family of schools’ alongside Kemble and Siddington Primary Schools.

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The Corinium Education Trust is committed to working with Chesterton Primary School to bring about the improvement necessary to enable pupils to make progress, reassure parents of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and ensure that it is judged to be at least good in its next Ofsted Inspection.