We are delighted to welcome Tessa Rollings to The Corinium Education Trust.

 

Following a rigorous recruitment process led by the Oyster Partnership, Tessa Rollings was appointed to the substantive post of Director of Finance and Operations from Monday 21 November 2022.

 

‘We are especially pleased Tessa Rollings has been able to take up her appointment so soon after her appointment. She impressed us in every task. She was well prepared and provided excellent exemplification. She inspired confidence. I am looking forward to working with her.’ Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO).

 

Tessa Rollings will initially work for The Corinium Education Trust part time on Mondays and Fridays while she works out a period of notice with her current employer. She will join The Corinium Education Trust’s Executive Team full time from the beginning of February 2023.  

 

Joining The Corinium Education Trust so soon enabled Tessa Rollings to take advantage of a short period of hand over with our Interim Director of Finance and Operations, Jonathan Webster, before he left to take up his new post. This definitely contributed to her induction and eased her into the role, as did her attendance at The Corinium Education Trust’s Audit and Risk Committee on Tuesday 22 November 2022.

 

Tessa Rollings is a well-qualified Chartered Accountant and very experienced Director of Finance. While her post at The Corinium Education Trust is her first foray into the world of education, she has a wealth of relevant experience in the charity sector. She has worked for large not for profit housing and care associations and environmental organisations, including the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. She is also a trustee of Rooftop where she currently chairs the Audit and Risk Committee.

 

‘My values and those of an organisation are very important to me, and being a parent, I’m motivated to work hard for an organisation that is delivering benefit to children. I feel that the ethos and values established at Corinium Education Trust fit very much with my own.’ Tessa Rollings

On Tuesday 15 November 2022, in The Cotswold District Council’s Council Chamber, The Corinium Education Trust hosted a local conference for schools in the South Cotswolds. Delegates from Cirencester’s primary and secondary schools were also joined by a group of primary headteachers from the Stroud Valleys. A total of 17 schools were represented.

 

‘It was lovely to welcome headteachers, school leaders and governors to our conference and to talk about ways in which we can all work together to support children and young people, their learning and life chances.’ Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead. 

 

The programme for the afternoon meeting focused on the recent White Paper, ‘Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers’, which is currently making its way through the House. In anticipation of the new Education Bill, Chiquita Henson, Trust Lead (CEO), Kirsten Harrison, Gloucestershire County Council’s Director of Education, and Jo Hunter, Interim Director of Education at the Diocese of Gloucester, reflected on the key issues and opened a conversation about what the future education landscape might look like locally. The discussions were engaging and productive.

 

‘I am especially grateful to Kirsten Harrison and Jo Hunter for initiating the discussion with me. There was definitely a shared understanding of the challenges all schools currently face and a determination to work together to find sustainable solutions.’ Chiquita Henson.

 

Roy Blatchford, Chair of the new Gloucestershire Education Forum, experienced school leader and consultant, also attended the conference. Roy shared some of the positive impacts on children and young people that can be achieved when school leaders and teachers work collaboratively and illustrated this with compelling examples from Essex and East Sussex.  Those attending the conference found him inspirational and we are all excited about the potential for a local and collaborative ‘Year of Reading’ in 2023.

 

‘Thanks for the invite and the opportunity! There was real momentum in the room - grasp it!’ Roy Batchford.

 

During the conference local school leaders considered the main themes in each chapter of the White Paper and discussed pupil attendance, behaviour and targeted support. The Corinium Education Trust’s headteachers shared some of the strategies they are using to support their pupils and they reflected on the benefits of sharing practice.

 

Towards the end of the event, and in the spirit of conversation, Chiquita Henson, invited those present and others who might be interested to continue the conversations. This was well received. She offered the following:

1. A reading challenge – A pilot collaborative project covering reading from 2-16.
   Action: working group to take this further – invitation to Heads and/or English/reading leads to first meeting on Thursday 8 December at 16:00 in the conference room at Chesterton Primary School.
2. A local solution – Collaboration and co-creation of a local solution or ‘blueprint’.
   Action: working group to explore the future education landscape and the potential for development – invitation to Heads and Chairs of Governors to first meeting on Tuesday 13 December at 16:00 in the conference room at Chesterton Primary School.

 

'I came away feeling positive. Thank you. The afternoon was fascinating.' Donna Mylechreest, Headteacher, Thrupp C of E Primary School

 

‘I thought Roy was inspirational and I’m looking forward to exploring the reading collaboration!’ Libby Pringle, Headteacher, Chesterton Primary School.

 

We are looking to recruit a new Clerk for our Local Governing Bodies to start from 4 January 2023, subject to the necessary employment checks.

 

We are a small multi-academy trust situated in Cirencester, serving the needs of families, children and young people in the South Cotswolds. The Corinium Education Trust is currently made up of four schools, one secondary, Cirencester Deer Park School, and three primaries, Chesterton, Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary School. The Corinium Education Trust will be opening a new primary school in Cirencester in 2024.

 

Each school has its own Local Governing Body which meets 6 times a year. Meetings are scheduled termly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00pm to 8:00pm within The Corinium Education Trust’s annual calendar. Dates for 2022-23 are provided in the letter to applicants, although some have already taken place. Our new Clerk will liaise with our Headteachers and the Chairs of each Local Governing Body to draft and prepare agendas and finalise the minutes of meetings. Papers for meetings are shared in a secure portal.

 

Our new Clerk to our Local Governing Bodies must:

• be well organised with a proven ability to work on their own initiative, under pressure and with discretion;
• ensure a high level of accuracy and confidentiality;
• have excellent administrative and communication skills and a positive can-do attitude;
• be familiar with Microsoft Office and have secure IT skills.

 

Experience of governance or the Clerk’s role would be useful but not essential as training will be provided. The Corinium Education Trust’s Governance Officer will continue to clerk our Trustees’ Board and Committee meetings and will provide induction, support and guidance for our new Clerk to the Local Governing Bodies.  The post is equivalent to 8 hours a week for 38 weeks a year (term time only). These hours will be worked flexibly allowing approximately 2 hours a week per school, but with the fixed commitment of scheduled evening Local Governing Body Meetings on set dates each term. This is therefore an ideal opportunity for anyone looking to work flexibly around other commitments or alongside another job. The Clerk will be expected to plan ahead, attend and minute all meetings. Following the pandemic, most of our local governing bodies have elected to conduct some meetings in person and some online in MS Teams. Furthermore, the allocation of hours includes time for the Clerk to engage in additional activities such as The Corinium Education Trust’s Governance Seminars, line management and quality assurance meetings.

 

Our new clerk will:

• Provide confidential, high quality, and timely clerking for The Corinium Education Trust’s Local Governing Bodies;
• Support all activities of The Corinium Education Trust’s Local Governing Bodies as required;
• Work effectively with the LGB Chairs, Headteachers and Governance Officer to confirm forward plans and set agendas, etc;
• Advise the LGB on constitutional legislative framework in line with The Corinium Education Trust’s overarching governance arrangements;
• Secure the continuity of LGB business and observe all confidentiality requirements.

 

We anticipate that the Clerk’s role will evolve as The Corinium Education Trust develops and grows and the Clerk will be expected to operate flexibly to accommodate ad hoc projects and analysis and to liaise with The Corinium Education Trust’s Governance Officer on these where appropriate.

 

>> Find out more...

 

Completed application forms should reach the school no later than 9.00am on Monday 21 November 2022, with interviews provisionally scheduled for Friday 25 November 2022.