After today there are 12 teaching days until the half term break. Thankfully, we now know that the half term break will, indeed, be a genuine break without the requirement to provide ‘Educare’, and therefore an opportunity to switch-off and recharge our physical and emotional reserves.

Although we are only three weeks into a new term there is a real sense of fatigue. I sense that this is as a result of many things but I wish to mention two here. First is the fact that we have been working relentlessly for a sustained period of time without a break and working with a level of intensity that is not sustainable in the long term. Secondly, the move to remote education has forced us to adopt a new way of working with very little lead in time or preparation. We are having to learn and acquire new skills, at pace, and implement them with immediacy. Our teaching day therefore feels  very different and this will contribute to the sense  of tiredness. I mention this since I hope that as we become more accustomed and confident with our delivery of remote education, our resilience will grow.

I am pleased to share a poem along this theme that was brought to my attention by Leora Cruddas, Chief Executive Officer at the Confederation of Schools Trusts (CST) this week:-

‘The Miracle of Morning.’

“We’ll observe how the burden braved by humankind
Are also the moments that make us humans kind;
Let every dawn find us courageous, brought closer;
Heeding the light before the fight is over.
When this ends, we’ll smile sweetly, finally seeing
In testing times, we became the best of beings.”

Amanda Gorman

I understand that we might hear from the Prime Minister, through a public address, later today on a potential route map for reopening our schools. I suspect that this will begin with a partial reopening at some point in March, probably with more primary children first, with secondaries engaging in a partial return either just before or after Easter.

Regardless of how the route map unfolds we are certainly going to be busy with remote education for some time. As such I thank you for your tremendous efforts in this regard.

Best wishes

Rob Haring, CEO

Continuing recent articles to introduce the School Improvement Team, this week sees the spotlight fall on Richard Woodland, Director of Inclusion:-

For the last five years I have been fortunate to live within the Dartmoor National Park and feel privileged to be able to walk out onto the open moor straight from my backdoor. However, Dartmoor has been my ‘spiritual home’ for much longer. Ever since I started at Exeter University, where I studied Biological Sciences, I have escaped to the wild open spaces of the moor seeking rest and refreshment. That passion combined with a belief in the benefits of outdoor education for young people has seen me closely involved with the Ten Tors Challenge for over 20 years. Along with my wife and 5 year old son I have enjoyed getting to know our immediate moorland surroundings intimately through this period of lockdown.

Moving to professional matters I have always taught within ‘WeST’ schools. I trained at South Dartmoor Community and spent the first 11 years of my career there. Following my NQT year I became KS3 science coordinator and later that year, an acting Head of House (actually alongside one of WeST’s current Subject Leaders for Maths). I was fortunate to take on that position permanently and alongside colleagues develop the pastoral role into one with more of an academic focus as a Performance Leader.

In 2010 I joined the staff of Coombe Dean as an Assistant Headteacher with a responsibility for personnel. Later I became the curriculum Deputy Headteacher and shortly after that, in 2015 I became Headteacher. During my 5 years of Headship I was delighted to be able to develop the vision for WeST when the Trust underwent its Plymouth expansion. Throughout my 10 years based in Plymouth I was closely involved with the inclusion agenda, including a 2-year stint chairing the citywide Headteacher’s inclusion group.

A strong sense of social justice, a desire to create a more inclusive and compassion-focussed education system meant the opportunity to develop the new role of Director of Inclusion for WeST was too good to be missed. Whilst it has been a challenging year due to the pandemic I am committed to developing our Trust’s vision to provide fantastic opportunities for all our children and staff to flourish.

I have been fortunate to find myself doing an exciting, fulfilling role in a part of the world I truly love. My hope is that the work I do on behalf of WeST will allow others to experience such fortune.

Richard Woodland, Director of Inclusion

Recruitment update:

We are delighted to inform you that there are a number of exciting career opportunities within our Trust:-

WeST are looking to appoint an Assistant Director of Primary School Improvement to support the work of Richard Light within the School Improvement Team. This role will be from 1st September 2021 for one year on a 0.6 FTE. For further details please click here. Closing date 9am this Friday 29th January 2021.

WeST is also seeking to recruit a Clerk to the Governing Board. Salary: NJC Grade D (SCP 7 – 12) Actual Salary £1,187 – £1,310 per annum (pro rata of £20,092 - £22,183 per annum). Hours: 100 hours per annum. For more information please click here.

To assist with the roll out of mass Covid-19 LFD testing, WeST Core Services Team are also looking to appoint the following:-

  • Team Leader – grade E (£12.45 to £14.02 per hour*/£24,012 to £27,041 per annum)
  • Coordinator – grade D (£10.41 to £11.50 per hour*/£20,092 to £22,183 per annum)
  • Registration Assistant/Testing Assistant/Test Processor/Results Recorder - grade C (£9.81 to £10.21 per hour*/£18,933 to £19,698 per annum)
  • Test Site Cleaner – grade B (£9.43 to £9.62 per hour*/ £18,198 to £18,562 per annum)
    *An additional 12.07% holiday pay is added to the hourly rate of casual workers

Flexible working patterns and hours up to full time (37 hours per week). In addition, flexible locations across Westcountry Schools Trust at:

  • Callington Community College, Callington https://www.callingtoncc.net/
  • Coombe Dean School, Plymstock https://www.coombedean.co.uk/
  • Hele’s School, Plympton https://www.heles.plymouth.sch.uk/
  • Ivybridge Community College, Ivybridge https://www.ivybridge.devon.sch.uk/
  • Plymstock School, Plymstock https://plymstockschool.org.uk/
  • South Dartmoor Community College, Ashburton https://www.southdartmoor.devon.sch.uk/

If you currently work part-time within WeST and would be interested in taking up additional hours, or work full-time and would be interested in a partial or full-time secondment into any of the above roles, please apply subject to your line manager’s approval. Full details on how to apply can be found here.

Ivybridge Community College are looking to appoint an Assistant Principal - Director of English. This is a fantastic opportunity to take a major leadership role in leading and enhancing the Teaching and Learning of English. Pay Scale: Leadership Spine 12-17 / Permanent /Full-time. For more information please visit the College's website here.

Ivybridge Community College are also looking to appoint an exceptional individual to a newly created temporary position of Timetable Creator. The Timetable Creator is responsible for the overall management and creation of the curriculum timetable for the College, using specialist timetable software. Devon Legacy Pay Scales, Grade H, scp 34-38, £37,890 - £41,881 per annum (£8,445 - £9335 pro-rata, plus holiday pay). Annualised hours – 430 hours over 8 months (February to September). For more details please visit the College's website here.

Oreston Community Academy is advertising for the following:

Year 1 Teacher - 0.6 Temporary Maternity Cover MPS -Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays - Required from (8.03.2021) and Nursery Teacher - 0.6 Temporary Maternity Cover MPS - Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays - Required from (19.04.2021).

We are looking to appoint dedicated and enthusiastic teachers to join our friendly and supportive school team to cover the maternity leave of two of our Class Teachers.  Oreston Community Academy is a two-form entry good school within Plymstock and includes an onsite Nursery. For more information please visit the School's website here.

Estates Update:

Wembury School's new classroom build is under construction........ After over two years in the design and planning stages for a new three class modular building, the works have now started. See photos below, which show the foundations have been laid. 

The Contractor, TG Escapes started on the 11th January 2021. The design has been undertaken with Bailey Partnerships and funding has partially been with Devon County Council Section 106 funds along with WeST contributing the majority of funds for this £500,000 project. An internal layout plan can be seen here

The project is due to finish in May 2021. I will provide further updates as the project progresses......watch this space!

     

To all of our new starters— please tell us how we are doing.....

As part of the Trust aim of continual improvement, if you have started a new post with us recently we would be interested to know about your experience of the selection process that led to your first day.

A big thank you to those of you who have already taken 5 minutes to respond to our anonymous survey.

If you started your new role with the Trust after 1st October 2020 and have not completed our survey yet we would appreciate it if you would spend a few minutes completing the form by clicking here or via the QR code below.  It will remain open until 31st January 2021. 

If you would like to discuss this or encounter any problems opening the form please contact the HR Team at hr@westst.org.uk.

Thursday 4 February marks Time to Talk Day – the day the nation get talking about mental health.....

In collaboration with Time to Change, the charity Mind have provided some fantastic resources, tools and tips to help individuals and organisations get involved in the Time to Talk day within the workplace.

This year they are focusing on the power of small, knowing that a small conversation about mental health has the power to make a big difference.

The more conversations we have, the more myths we can bust and barriers we can break down.

You can get involved by simply showing your support with a virtual meeting 'Time to Talk' backdrop or by hosting a myth-busting mental health quiz with colleagues. For more information and to access materials, please visit their website here

 

Wellness Action Planning

We all know the popular phrase which goes along the lines of ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. But have you ever though about planning when it comes to your wellbeing and keeping well?

Materials from Mind suggest that having a wellness action plan can help to identify what your triggers and strategies may be for maintaining your whole wellbeing, in a physical and mental health sense. This gives more focus on a proactive and prevention approach.

Its different for everyone, but many like to prepare a personal plan on their own, they may then choose to liaise with their line manager / leadership team to explore what support at work may be useful. Others have been thinking about wellness as a whole team and sharing action plans for what strategies work for them as a collective team.

Take a look at the Wellbeing section on the Staff Portal for more details on this and other useful tools. A copy of the Wellness Action Plan template is available here and further details are available from Mind at: https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/5760/mind-guide-for-employees-wellness-action-plans_final.pdf

Virtual School Library

In partnership with the National Literacy Trust, Oak National Academy has launched its Virtual School Library. See their introduction below:-

"Every week a popular children's author or illustrator will provide you with free books, exclusive videos and their top three recommended reads.

Having access to a school library is really important for children. School libraries nurture a love of reading that can enrich children’s literacy skills, academic achievements and mental wellbeing. Our Virtual School Library will complement existing school libraries and will ensure that children have access to the magical world of stories all year round, whether they are learning at school or at home.

We’ve worked with brilliant publishers and inspiring authors and illustrators to ensure that the books and activities in our Virtual School Library will support children’s wellbeing through reading.

Join your local library service to discover hundreds more books and ebooks to borrow for free, and take part in fun online activities."

For more information please visit their website here.