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The First Federation Trust, Blackpool CE Primary School, Liverton, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6JB
A new headteacher is appealing for residents to send their children to his village school as it enters a bright new era.
Gareth Bemister, head of school at Bere Alston Primary, a First Federation Trust school, is optimistic that his pupils have a promising future as he rebuilds the school’s reputation following a downgraded Ofsted report and some maintenance needs due to covid.
Gareth is confident his vision of attracting more pupils and fostering renewed community links is achievable with a virtually all-new team behind him: ‘I have a wonderful teaching team supporting me. They are all enthusiastic and often in their new roles or first teaching jobs. Most are new to the school because the old team left for other positions in other areas of teaching and learning and nothing to do with the Ofsted report. There are a few of the old team remaining and I value their advice for continuity.’
Read more here.
More super fundraising efforts, this time from Sidmouth Primary School at the community swimathon! Two teams from the school swam a total of 212 lengths and raised nearly £400!
https://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/23092723.swimmers-make-splash-charity/
Seven-year-old Sam Webb is undertaking a pogo-stick challenge, hopping from his house to his school at Aveton Gifford Primary to raise money for Children in Need. He will be pogo-sticking the distance of 180 metres three times a week between half term and Christmas!
https://www.totnes-today.co.uk/news/sam-hops-to-support-children-in-need-569985
Three children at Brixington Primary Academy had a welcome surprise at morning assembly, when representatives from Raleigh Manor care home attended to award prizes to the three winners of the grandparents' day card colouring competition.
The competition was launched at the beginning of the month when the school engaged with Raleigh Manor to colour in 'happy grandparents' day' cards for the residents. The winners were selected from 55 entries, with staff and residents at the home taking part in the judging process.
Louise O’Sullivan of Raleigh Manor, said: “It has been a very rewarding experience for the residents here at Raleigh Manor to be engaged with the Brixington Primary Academy. It’s the perfect way to celebrate being a grandparent.”
Four representatives from Raleigh Manor including two residents attended the school assembly and awarded the winners their prizes of £25 worth of Soft Play at Ocean.
The school and the care home are planning more activities in the future to bring the two communities together.
Winners of grandparents' day competition receive prizes | Exmouth Journal
School joins First Federation Trust, welcomes a new Head of School and announces it is set to become a primary and preschool
Following a successful management partnership, St. Budeaux Foundation CE Junior School in Plymouth formally joined First Federation Trust on 1 July 2022. The school and its trust colleagues have been busy collaborating across all areas of school life and sharing expertise through the trust’s teaching and learning networks. The trust successfully appointed a new Head of School, Natasha Brooks, ahead of the new academic year.
Natasha joins the school having already spent three years as Deputy Head of School at Bere Alston Primary Academy – another school within the First Federation Trust family.
Originally from the Southwest, Natasha has been a teacher for over 25 years, working with children from across the primary age range. For 17 of those years, she has held various roles within management teams including senior leader, Acting Assistant Headteacher and, more recently, Deputy Head. She has taught in both small schools and larger three-form entry settings, spending many years working in London before returning to the Southwest six years ago.
Natasha Brooks, Head of School at St. Budeaux said, “These are exciting times for the school and me personally. Having been appointed as Head of School, I am really looking forward to leading the staff and children through this positive new chapter. I have been impressed by the dedication of staff in creating a learning environment that can be enjoyed by all. The children are vibrant, full of character and eager to learn, which are values that I will continue to promote as we go forwards.”
As one of the oldest schools in Plymouth, St. Budeaux has served the local community for over 300 years. Currently it takes children from the age of seven but from September 2023, it will be able to serve more members of the community as it opens to children from the age of two years and onwards.
Children that are due to start school in September 2023 will be able to apply for a place at St. Budeaux when the primary school applications window opens on 15 November.
Natasha added, “An exciting transformation of classroom spaces and play areas has begun. The new early years’ area will be bright and purposeful with adjoining spaces and outside areas for children to access with their teachers. We are creating a truly lovely learning environment for our new pupils. Combine that with our plans to enhance and broaden the curriculum and St. Budeaux children will get a real head-start on their educational journey and be well prepared for the future."
As a member of First Federation Trust, teaching staff at St. Budeaux can access tailored support in key subject and focus areas, and staff will receive access to training and professional development in subject knowledge and teaching practice. The trust is ambitious for its staff and is committed to supporting colleagues in their professional development. Last academic year it invested £79,800 in staff development and partners with several education colleges and professional bodies to offer staff comprehensive professional development pathways.
Trust membership has also created huge opportunities for the school to collaborate with colleagues from across the trust family of 19 primary schools.
Natasha continued, “Like us, the trust is passionate about learning and delivering a curriculum that broadens all children’s horizons. The whole school team is excited about this next chapter in the school’s rich history and ensuring that children across all primary school ages in the St Budeaux community and surrounding area can access the best possible education."
On Sunday, children from Brixington Primary Academy
visited a local care home to entertain its residents for Grandparents' Day. 20 members of the school choir attended with the Head of School and sang a variety of songs.
Young and old come together on Grandparents' Day
Today we are pleased to publish our Annual Review 2021/22. Parents and carers can learn more about us and our achievements and those of our family of schools.
Thank you to everyone who makes our schools work so well and our fab pupils for their hard work and enthusiasm!
South-West based First Federation Trust has welcomed two new schools to its growing family.
The two Devon schools, St. Budeaux Foundation CE Junior School in Plymouth and Whitchurch Community Primary in Tavistock officially joined on 1 July after working with the trust in a management partnership. Under that partnership, both schools were able to utilise the expertise of the trust including leadership support and access to its teaching and learning networks.
In total, the multi-academy trust now unites 19 primary schools across Devon and Dorset.
Kerry Bargewell, Head of School at Whitchurch Community Primary School said “We are thrilled to formally join the First Federation Trust and build on the solid foundation laid during the period of our management partnership. Support from the trust and collaboration with other member schools will enable our wonderful school to go from strength to strength.”
Mrs Lewis, Acting Head of School at St. Budeaux Foundation CE Junior School said “We are excited about joining First Federation Trust and the support and opportunities that collaborating with other schools across the trust will continue to give our school and its community. This collaborative approach has already improved curriculum design and delivery at St. Budeaux and we look forward to developing this further, as we seek to provide the very best learning experiences for all our children."
Chief Executive Officer of First Federation Trust Paul Walker described both schools as “welcome additions to our family of primary schools at a very exciting point in the growth and development of our trust”, which includes a mix of village, urban, community and church schools.
He added “Our vision is that every individual will aspire, flourish and achieve within the heart of their community. Fundamental in our pursuit of that aim is fostering close working relationships between colleagues across our schools, a comprehensive programme of training and development and our models of high-quality teaching. The evolution of these two partnerships recognises the benefits of our approach and the value schools derive from working with us.
“With our culture of collaboration and teamwork, our successful family of schools is further enriched by the contribution of the teams at St. Budeaux and Whitchurch.”
A West Dorset primary school has become the 17th school to join the First Federation Trust, a growing family of primary schools in the South West. It is also the first school from outside Devon to join the trust.
Portesham CE Primary School says that the move will bring ‘opportunities for collaboration’, and help the school improve its teaching and learning.
“Being a part of the First Federation Trust family will bring a host of benefits to our school, including tailored support in key areas, and staff training and development in subject knowledge and teaching practice. We are really excited about the opportunities for collaboration with colleagues from across the trust family of schools” said Vicky Prior, Head of School.
“For a small school such as ours, the support provided by the trust as we seek to raise standards across the school will be crucial.”
Chief Executive Officer of First Federation Trust Paul Walker added, “We are delighted to welcome Portesham CE Primary School to our family of schools and to have the opportunity to extend our impact into neighbouring Dorset. Our shared aspirations and standards will help us to focus on what is most important: providing all pupils with the best education, enabling them to succeed.
“This is a vibrant, rural village school that has experienced some difficulties recently. Our aim is to support the school and Vicky in her commitment to driving up standards, while maintaining the school’s identity which is so valued by the whole school community.”
Vicky Prior, Head of School added “Like us, the trust is passionate about learning and delivering a curriculum that broadens all children’s horizons and prepares them for their future. The whole school team are looking forward to utilising the expertise of the trust as we move forward on our improvement journey”.
To discuss joining our Trust, please call 01626 244920 or email admin@firstfederation.org.uk
The First Federation Trust, Blackpool CE Primary School, Liverton, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6JB