On Friday 8 March 2019, Chief Executive of The Corinium Education Trust, Chiquita Henson, officially launched InCET, a new online portal to leaders, teachers and support staff at Cirencester Deer Park School’s in-service training day and just a fortnight later it has already had over 300 hits!

The portal, which is designed to support teaching and learning, had already been launched across the Trust’s three primary schools on Friday 15 February 2019 and, as a consequence, it had already seen some keen activity.

"It is wonderful to have discussions with all staff across the Trust, to share expertise and ideas on a wide range of topics. IT keeps our educational focus broad and outward looking rather than just solely focused on our one school." Anna-Mai Armstrong, Head of School, Kemble Primary School.

Teachers have responded to the initial moderation of pupils’ work from Years 3, 6 and 8 and many primary colleagues continued their group discussions following their Maths Inset session ahead of our first MAT-wide Maths Review on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 February.

InCET is a tool that now links all staff members of our learning community together in a virtual space. It enables teachers and support staff to engage in meaningful and professional conversations about teaching, learning and assessment. It facilitates discussion across and between schools and enables colleagues to share ideas and resources. Furthermore, it provides access to key documents, supports continuing professional development and records meetings.

The portal has been developed as a result of Chiquita Henson’s vision and The Corinium Education Trust’s successful bid to the MAT development and Improvement Fund in 2018 and delivers some important goals.

"I am really pleased with the initial response to the portal and teachers’ readiness to keep in touch with each other and follow up their initial training and discussions. It has already generated healthy debate about standards of writing and what good teaching and learning looks like across The Corinium Education Trust. As we develop its use, it will make everyone involved, an active member of The Corinium Education Trust  and, by putting people from different schools, in touch with each other it will promote a stronger sense of belonging to our wider organisation." Chiquita Henson, CEO.

At Chesterton Primary School, staff are committed to helping pupils learn beyond the confines of the classroom.

On Monday 18 March 2019, teachers, Becky Morrison and Sally Terry, took Years 1 and 2 to Bristol Zoo. In addition to seeing all of the animals, the children also took part in a special workshop and had the opportunity to hold giant cockroaches!  Their visit focused on science and helped them identify and name a variety of common animals and draw comparisons between them and their different habitats.

The pupils had a great day out and, subsequently, they have been encouraged to recount their experiences orally and in their writing: ‘We travelled to Bristol Zoo on a coach, but it took us one whole hour. First we saw a lion, but we didn’t hear a roar from the lion as luckily it was kept behind glass so it couldn’t eat us. My favourite part was seeing the butterflies because the butterflies were so beautiful. We saw lots more. While we had lunch we saw a duck. It went under my chair.’

On Friday 8 March, as part of the 'Where we live' topic, pre-school children at Chesterton Primary School went on a bus trip to town and visited The Triple Two café. The children looked at different buildings and places in the local area, some of the children spotted their own houses. Karen Venner, Headteacher, said, "The children came back very excited and didn't stop talking about their adventure."

During their trip, pupils and the accompanying staff, talked to each other about the differences in the buildings. This developed their vocabulary and place knowledge. They were encouraged to use simple geographical terms. The children spotted churches, shops and even a fire station! In the café the children ordered their own drinks and cake. They showed good manners and really enjoyed themselves.

"We saw a coffee shop and a church. We did lots of walking." Phoebe

"I liked getting the hot chocolate. It was yummy!"  Logan

"I saw my house and Ava's house." Kamron

"My favourite bit was the bus." Darcey-Beau

Sadie Mullis, who organised the trip reflected, "We all had a lovely time and the children loved exploring what was in our local area."

On Thursday 7 March 2019 schools across The Corinium Education Trust marked World Book Day.

This year at Kemble Primary School parents were invited in to ‘Relax and Read’ with their children during the afternoon in the hall. Hot chocolate was served by the Kemble Parents Group and all the children were dressed as book characters. The hall was transformed into a giant reading room, with sofas, tables, reading lamps and bookshelves brought in just for the occasion.

"It was amazing" declared Louisa, mother of Olivia. Parents read with their children, teachers and other pupils read with each other. "This is all about reading for pleasure,’" said Mrs Armstrong (Head of School). "If reading is a chore then children won't be motivated to do it and it has been proved that being a good reader enhances a pupil's achievement in all areas of the curriculum. It was wonderful to see parents come in and relax and read with their children."  "It was great being able to read my Harry Potter book all afternoon, drinking hot chocolate,"  said Kit (pupil).

At Siddington C of E Primary School, World Book Day began with a catwalk of costumes. Pupils and staff represented a total of 47 different books/authors ranging from Roald Dahl to The Borrowers. Staff were dressed up as the pack of cards from Alice in Wonderland and the children listened to a chapter from the book. During the day reading was celebrated in each class with story sharing and storytelling. At break-time, children took their favourite books to share outside as it was such a lovely day. In addition, our Open The Book Team kindly judged a competition for the best ‘Book on a Plate’. The children brought these into school to add to our new library display. The two winners each received a £10 book voucher.

The afternoon saw the school hall transformed into a cosy lounge area with rugs, sofas and cushions. Parents and grandparents came to school to have a cup of tea or a mug of hot chocolate (kindly organised by the PTA)  whilst reading to their children. It was an amazing atmosphere. "Each child left school buzzing with a love of reading as well as their voucher to exchange for a book. We can’t wait for next year." Mrs Hamlett, Head of School.

To raise funds to purchase books for the school’s library, children at Chesterton Primary School also dressed up as characters from their favourite books. The day was organised by teacher, Sally Terry, in conjunction with Octavia’s Bookshop in Cirencester.  Headteacher, Karen Venner, said, "I had the pleasure of judging the best dressed book character and to select just two winners was a very hard as the children had gone to so much work with a great deal of imagination."

Fundraising for a good cause was also the focus for pupils at Cirencester Deer Park School, who over the course of two days raised (so far) over £1,800 for ‘Read for Good’ by taking part in the school’s annual Readathon. Encouraged to do so by the school’s librarians, the pupils indulged in reading for pleasure with a purpose and, like the children at Kemble Primary School, their efforts were rewarded with mugs of hot chocolate! Read more...

One of the Year 9 pupils said "Readathon 2019 was a fun experience! It gave us the opportunity to read all day for a good cause: raising money for books for children in hospital. Plus, we were supplied with hot chocolate and biscuits to keep us going! I recommend this to anyone who loves reading, or who wants to help a great cause."