We are delighted to confirm that Dame Fiona Reynolds, Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, has confirmed her interest in education locally by accepting our invitation to become Patron of The Corinium Education Trust.

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Dame Fiona Reynolds has a close association with Cirencester and the South Cotswolds and her children attend local schools, including Cirencester Deer Park. When she was first approached by Chiquita Henson, CEO, in 2016 she explained that she would be ‘delighted to help’ and she has recently commended the ‘great progress’ we have made.

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As Patron of The Corinium Education Trust, Dame Fiona Reynolds will be kept informed of developments and outcomes. She will endeavour to attend key events in the Trust’s calendar, such as our annual Celebration of Achievement Evenings, when her busy diary allows. For her first engagement within the Trust, we are hoping that she will be able to join us for the official launch of The Corinium Education Trust in September 2018 (date to be confirmed).

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‘Little matters more to us as parents than our children’s education, and in a changing world that is becoming ever more important.   The Corinium Education Trust is a very contemporary response to the need to work across all ages, abilities and family circumstances, to join up the dots across and between schools, and to offer all children the chance to experience inspiring teaching and learning.  As a former Deer Park parent I’m proud to be Patron of the Trust and I wish everyone involved every success.’ Dame Fiona Reynolds.

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‘I am thrilled Dame Fiona Reynolds has accepted our invitation and I am grateful to her for the commitment she has made and the support she has shown for all through comprehensive and inclusive education in Cirencester and the South Cotswolds.’ Chiquita Henson, CEO.

Following a successful bid, The Corinuim Education Trust has secured additional funding from the MAT Improvement and Development Fund (MDIF).  This will give the newly formed multi-academy trust a significant boost and will help accelerate plans for school improvement.

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Chiquita Henson, CEO, prepared the bid in conjunction with other school leaders, the application for additional funding focused on further improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across all schools within The Corinium Education Trust. It reflected the Trust’s school improvement model which is based on strong leadership, effective collaboration and a rigorous and on-going cycle of self-evaluation.

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‘The value of schools coming together is that we can improve together. We are very pleased that our ambitions for success have been supported by the MAT Development and Improvement Fund. This support will enable us to even further enhance the quality of what the Corinium Education Trust offers for young people.’ Graham Russell, Chair of Trustees.

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The specific focus for this school improvement plan is on the leadership of teaching, learning and assessment and is informed by the work of Michael Fullan (‘Leading in a culture of change’, 2001). Individual schools within The Corinium Education Trust are resilient and reflective: with hope, energy and enthusiasm and by building relationships, understanding change and achieving coherence the Trust’s school leaders aim to ensure ‘more good things happen and fewer bad things happen’.

 

The Corinium Education Trust’s school improvement model, based on a rigorous and on-going cycle of self-evaluation and a commitment to tightly timed ‘plan, do, review and audit’, will help the leadership team drive and deliver the vision for the quality of education at every school within the trust by:

 

• Engaging actively in research for learning;

• Developing a coherent and regular cycle of lesson reviews undertaken by leaders and teachers;

• Exploring the principles of ‘lesson study’ and tailoring it to our local contexts;

• Training would-be inspectors, critical partners, peer reviewers and a team of cross phase learning coaches.

 

‘I am absolutely thrilled our bid for additional funding to support our schools was successful. Our emphasis on building capacity in our first year will ensure that our school improvement activities are deeply embedded across our MAT, and are sustainable and effective. To aid communication across the MAT and help us disseminate best practice and share successes, we also plan to create an interactive portal which will be accessible to all members of our learning community.’ Chiquita Henson, CEO.