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Posted on: October 14th 2020

Food Bank update October 2020

A round up on how our fundraising has progressed and a thank you to all of our donors can be found on our Newsletters page or by following this link. 

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Trust celebrates successful allocation of funding to improve school buildings for pupils. Posted on: 7/10/2020

Trust celebrates successful allocation of funding to improve school buildings for pupils.

Trust celebrates successful allocation of funding to improve school buildings for pupils. The Redstart Learning Partnership (TRLP) is delighted to announce that they have been awarded nearly two million pounds in Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) money in this year's round of bidding. The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) is an annual bidding round for eligible educational establishments and this year The Department for Education (DfE) provided funding of over £434m for 1,476 projects at 1,243 academies, sixth-form colleges and non-diocesan voluntary aided schools.  The fund considers applications for keeping educational provider buildings safe and in good working order, including funding projects to address health and safety issues, building compliance and poor building condition. The CIF money received by the TRLP is being spent on new boilers and pipework at Winsham, Castle and Priorswood, new windows at Ashill and Holy Trinity, new roofs at Priorswood, Buckland and Holy Trinity, and a new fire alarm system at Redstart. The projects have been taking place over the last few months and should all be finished by the end of April 2021. This, along with a significant investment of around £400k for refurbishment work at Minerva planned for this academic year, more than £100k of investment planned or spent at Winsham since it joined the Trust, and very significant fencing projects at Holy Trinity, Redstart and Minerva last year (with a combined cost of around £135k), means that TRLP has done extremely well in securing capital investment in our schools over the last couple of years. This money will ensure that our school buildings and sites can continue to be safe and comfortable places for our pupils, and allow all our staff to concentrate on our primary aim of providing an outstanding education for every child.      Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
The Redstart Learning Partnership Governance Review Posted on: 27/02/2020

The Redstart Learning Partnership Governance Review

After the recent storms Ciara and Dennis and what has seemed an endlessly murky and wet winter, it’s a real treat to look out of the office window and see catkins blowing in the wind, the tree outlined against a pale blue sky. Better still, the nursery children have been out in the garden below the tree with Mr Burr, hunting for earthworms and hedgehogs. Ofsted doesn’t stop them enjoying this glimpse of spring and it’s so great for all of us to be reminded of what TRLP is all about – helping children to have a wonderful experience of learning that they can take with them throughout their life. Ensuring that we all remain true to the vision and values of the Trust is the responsibility of everyone who works with us but it is the Trustees and those who help govern the schools who are tasked with setting that vision and those values. It is a particular challenge in the education system that volunteers are asked to step forward and shoulder this responsibility. Establishing a system of governance that combines the elements of inspiration, leadership and compliance across such a complex organisation is a challenge with which MATs across the country have been grappling. TRLP Trustees have been reviewing, revising and consulting on the Trust’s governance structure since the end of the last academic year, seeking a way to find the perfect formula for a Trust that includes nine schools in widely different environments and contexts. The model has now been refined, with two main committees undertaking the key strategic functions demanded by the DfE, Charity Commission and Companies House, to whom the Board of Trustees are answerable. The Business and Audit Committee and the Education Committee are being strengthened and expanded with clear action plans and targets. We know that each of our schools is at the heart of the community that it serves. Key to success is the relationship of the school with the parents and members of that community and so it is appropriate that they should be invited to be part of new Teaching and Learning Committees that will support each school, looking at evidence of how the school is progressing and reporting up to the Trust’s Education Committee. Even this will be flexible, where the needs of small schools or vulnerable communities call for a different model and, of course, taking note of the distinctive nature of our Church of England schools. Please look out for information from your school in the coming weeks on how you could be part of the team. By Tess Gale, Director of Operations Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A message from the Trust Posted on: 31/01/2020

A message from the Trust

The Christmas break already seems a distant memory and January has been a long and busy month. To help make the return to work something to look forward to (even more), the second trust staff quiz took place on 10th January at the Cricket St Thomas Golf Club. Fourteen staff teams from all of the schools took part, tackling rounds on a range of topics from identifying the fiendish pictures of Mr Burr and Mrs Rogers in a range of national costumes, to sport, religious leaders, film, ‘linkee’ and the most popular and highest performing round by far, where teams had to identify different chocolate bars by tasting tiny samples. With dazzling compering from Mr Burr and his able assistant, Mr Heath-Coleman, combined with the technical expertise of Charlie Main, our hosts are waiting for a call from Channel 4 to commission a series. Despite some fierce competition (some extremely fierce, particularly in the ‘linkee’ round), the team from Holy Trinity proved victorious by a narrow margin from last year’s winners from Priorswood. With staff having clearly got a taste for competition (and chocolate), we now have a rounders match and BBQ set to take place at Holy Trinity in the summer term. If you catch sight of staff members limbering up and practising their rounders swing, you will know why. It’s always good to have something to look forward to and we are delighted to be able to offer something back to our hard-working staff who take such trouble to give our children something to look forward to each day at school.Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
Creating an Inspiring Curriculum Posted on: 24/01/2019

Creating an Inspiring Curriculum

Curriculum leaders from across the local area have attended sessions hosted by The Redstart Teaching School to consider some very innovative and transformational work around designing a new inspiring curriculum model to offer all our children.  Schools who are reviewing or renewing their curriculum, or were simply interested to know more, were invited to participate in the free sessions and to share their ideas and experiences.  The first session looked at creating a framework to the approach and how teachers can fully contribute to the curriculum design with the aim of creating a bespoke curriculum that is broad and balanced and contains rich first-hand purposeful experiences.  The first session was extremely well attended and delegates were encouraged to describe the kind of curriculum experience they want for their children.  The next session will look at how these ideas can be taken forward. The project is being led by Deputy CEO's of The Redstart Learning Partnership, Dale Burr and Sue Rogers.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
More Brilliant TA's Posted on: 1/05/2018

More Brilliant TA's

Another round of the Redstart Teaching Alliance Brilliant TA programme has come to a close with some fantastic feedback from delegates. TA’s from across the area were invited to attend the four day course which covered areas such as personal and professional conduct, teaching and learning, knowledge and understanding and working with others. The sessions were held at Redstart Primary School in Chard and Maiden Beech Academy in Crewkerne, which gave delegates a mix of age ranges to observe during their learning walks. The course feedback was extremely positive with many delegates finding meeting TA’s from different schools beneficial, especially those staff working in very small schools. The delegates commented on their increased confidence in working with children and with other staff and found it useful to discuss different strategies for SEN children. Other benefits included sharing stories and how others resolve situations; developing new ideas to use in the classroom; taking strategies back for their own practice; seeing different structures set up in classrooms and how these work, and managing different behaviours. Course organisers commented 'We were so pleased to welcome another enthusiastic cohort of delegates to the programme and look forward to finding out how the course will impact their teaching going forward'. The Redstart Teaching Alliance is planning to expand this successful programme next year.  For details of how to register for a place please email kwilson@redstartpartnership.co.uk Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
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