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Dear Collegues, 

I hope you had a restful and enjoyable Easter break and found time to recharge and spend quality time with family and friends. As we return to our schools, I’d like to warmly welcome you all to the Summer Term; a time of fresh momentum, renewed focus, and collective determination to deliver the very best for our children.

Term 5 is short; a total of just 23 teaching days until the Whitsun break, but we enter it with measured confidence. The hard work and consistency across the year so far have laid strong foundations, and we now build upon them with clarity and purpose.

We move almost immediately into exam season, with our first GCSE exams (Business Studies and German) taking place on Friday 9 May. On Monday 12 May, the full Year 11 cohort will sit GCSE English Literature, marking the beginning of the main exam period. Meanwhile, our Year 6 pupils will also be tackling KS2 SATs, starting with English papers 1 and 2. These are pivotal moments in our students’ learning journeys—and we know that, thanks to your guidance and support, they will face them with confidence and pride.

As always, we are ambitious for our pupils, and our collective targets reflect this. We continue to work towards 92% in PSC, 72% in KS2 SATs, and 53% in GCSE Basics (9–5). These are bold but entirely achievable goals—and they reflect not only the potential of our young people but also the power of our shared endeavour.

Leadership Appointments

I’m pleased to share several exciting leadership updates:

  • Kev Dyke has been appointed as Executive Headteacher in our secondary phase
  • Sam Wilkinson will take up the role of Executive Headteacher for Wembury and Yealmpton Primary Schools, initially for one year from September 2025.
  • Dan Kay has been appointed as Executive Headteacher for Ermington and Buckfastleigh Primary Schools, also for one year.

These appointments reflect our ongoing commitment to strong, stable leadership across our family of schools and our belief in the value of collaborative working models that support consistency, professional development, and pupil achievement.

Staff Survey – Your Voice Matters

A reminder that our staff survey remains open, and I encourage you to take a few minutes to share your feedback. This is an important opportunity for you to have your voice heard. Your responses will help inform how we support our teams, shape leadership practice, and continuously improve. It is quick, easy, and confidential—and your insights are invaluable in helping us be the best version of WeST we can be.

Remembering Treve Mitchell

I must now share some very sad news. We recently learned of the passing of Treve Mitchell following a short illness. Treve was a wonderful servant and ambassador—not only of Ivybridge Community College but also of the Trust as a whole.

He served as a Governor at Ivybridge for 25 years, including 20 as Chair, during which time he helped lead the school to become one of the country’s first academy converters in 2010. He went on to serve as a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee, offering his wisdom and guidance until stepping down in 2016. Even after this, Treve remained an active supporter and continued to attend Trust meetings until earlier this year.

Treve was the epitome of public service—dignified, wise, generous with his time, and always committed to doing the right thing for children and education. He will be greatly missed, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and all who knew him.

National Professional Qualification Conference

On Wednesday, we hosted the first round of conferences for our National Professional Qualifications, with a focus on the NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture. The session was expertly led by Justine Mason (Hele’s School) and Katie Patrick (Woodford Primary School). Their insight, experience, and thoughtful leadership provided valuable guidance and inspiration to all who attended. These sessions are a testament to the strength and expertise that exists within our Trust, and to the power of sharing and learning together.

As we embark on the Summer Term, let’s continue to champion collaboration, celebrate success, and remain firmly focused on what matters most—our children. Your continued commitment and hard work make a profound difference every single day.

Thank you all—and every success for the term ahead.

Best wishes, 

Rob Haring

CEO

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Last Chance to Participate in the Staff Survey 2025!

We are reaching the final days of our annual Staff Survey, which closes on Monday. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard and contribute to meaningful workplace improvements. So far, we have reached an overall participation rate of 56%, but we aim to surpass last year's 70% response rate to ensure a strong representation of staff voices in our future action planning for the trust and schools. The individual school/area response rates are shown below.

The survey is quick and easy to complete, taking only a few minutes of your time. Your feedback is invaluable and plays a crucial role in shaping the future of our trust. By participating, you can share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences, helping us understand what we are doing well and where we can improve. Your input will directly influence decisions to enhance our working environment, policies, and overall employee satisfaction.

Please take a moment to complete the survey and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Together, we can make a significant impact and create a workplace we can all be proud of.

Thank you in advance for your time and participation.

The Trust Executive Team

Many thanks, Joss

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Childrens Internet Use

Many of you will be aware of the Netflix show ‘Adolescence' and the manner in which it has raised the vulnerability of some young people to harmful online content, including misogynistic viewpoints. For anyone looking for resources to support themselves, or others, as parents, then our internet filtering provider, Smoothwall, has curated a set of  materials which can help.

To learn more, click here. 

Word Of The Week!

This week's word is "serendipity".

Definition: the occurrence of happy, unexpected discoveries or events that happen by chance.

Reason: The reason that we have chosen serendipity as our word of the week this week is because we often need to embrace change. The word serendipity reminds us to stay open to surprises and welcome the unexpected. Sometimes the best things in life come when we least expect them. 

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Recognition for IT Support teams

We would like to take a moment to recognise the work of our ICT support teams, who've had an extremely busy and productive year despite challenges, staffing shortages, and bereavements. Alongside the enormous quantity of day-to-day support they provide, there are many ongoing projects behind the scenes that require planning, preparation, and execution. In some cases, like the recent migrations of SIMS to new hosting, they are responding to an emergent issue at short notice without the luxury of choosing their own timescales. There are many more projects in the works that will provide improved efficiency, capability, and value for money across the Trust.

It is also worth noting that as time goes on, there are many more digital systems than ever before. For example, meal payments, access control doors, telephone lines, central heating systems... all of these everyday functions used to be stand-alone systems, and are now reliant on ICT support. There are many other examples on the list, and it’s only going to get longer.  

Here are just a few of the ICT teams’ achievements over the last twelve months:

  • 319 new staff profiles and licences configured

  • 840 new and replacement staff computers installed and configured

  • 400 new network devices deployed to upgrade 10 schools’ wireless networks

  • 150 physical phones replaced as part of our telephony system upgrades  

  • Over 61,000 ICT Support tickets completed  

All in a day’s work! But that's all been achieved with up to only 25 ICT support staff across the entirety of WeST’s 32 sites. That’s equivalent to around one member of ICT Support per 700 staff and students!

So, to all of our ICT team across the Trust, a genuine thank you all for your hard work, dedication, and success. 

Pete Spredborough

Head of Projects

IMPORTANT ITrent Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Action from 1 May 2025

Starting May 1st, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) will be introduced to the ITrent login process. This step is in line with the National Cyber Security Centre's advice to enhance protection against common cyber security attacks. MFA is a highly effective security measure, and MHR, the provider of ITrent, has mandated its implementation.

To help you get started, we have attached a document explaining how to log in using MFA. If you are unable to download an app to your phone, please inform your local administrator by April 30th, so that email authentication can be arranged as an alternative. 

Please note that disabling MFA via the app and using email authentication instead will only be considered in exceptional and limited circumstances.  This is because it provides a reduced level of security when compared to the App and the over-ride needs to be applied to individual accounts by the central team.  Local administrators will therefore carefully evaluate and consider the circumstances of each request before endorsing these for action by the HR Team.

Please click here for the booklet. 

Thank you in advance for supporting this important change, Julia Strang HR Data and Payroll Manager

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Active April

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Internal Vacancy: 

We are seeking an exceptional individual with vision, energy and inspirational leadership to join us as Headteacher at Coombe Dean School. Someone who will uphold our core values and guide our vision of Every Child in a Great School. In doing so, you will have the full support of a committed team of enthusiastic and dedicated staff and senior leaders, and be fully supported in your role through professional development opportunities and by the Trust's Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Director of Education and local governance.

For more information, please click on the link below: 

https://mynewterm.com/jobs/3547/EDV-2025-WST-08667

The closing date for applications is 9am on Tuesday 6 May and interviews will take place on Monday 12 May.

Recruitment update:

We are delighted to inform you of the following exciting career opportunities within our Trust:

Ivybridge Community College are seeking to appoint Casual Examinations Invigilators. Hours of work are by negotiation, to cover examination sessions throughout the year. The ability to work at least three days a week during the peak times in May and June. Full day, morning (start 8.30am) and afternoon sessions are offered. For more information, please click here. Closing date: 18 July 2025. 

Westcountry Schools Trust are seeking to appoint Secondary Initial Teacher Trainees (unpaid). Are you passionate about teaching and ready to make a significant impact on the lives of young people? We are seeking an exceptional individual with vision, energy and passion to join us as an Aspiring Secondary School Teacher, to uphold our core values and guide our vision of Every Child in a Great School. This is a 12-month, full-time, postgraduate programme in a Secondary School environment where you’ll experience a mix of study modules, live training sessions and classroom practice. Study modules can be completed at your own pace through our online learning platform, which will provide you with a foundation of theory to build your practice on. At every stage, you'll be guided by your own personal mentor. For information, please click here. Closing date: 20 June 2025. 

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