Dear colleagues,
A thoughtful sort of week, this one, with a good deal of time spent on something we keep coming back to: character. We've long held that good outcomes matter because they get a young person over the threshold of an opportunity. But it's character that helps them stay and thrive once they're through the door. That doesn't happen by accident. If we want every child to have a fair chance at the leadership opportunities that build character, we have to design those chances in deliberately and keep track of who is getting them. That work moved on this week, and I'm very pleased with this.
I also had my regular meeting with trade union colleagues and our staff professional associations. Having once been a workplace rep myself, I really value these sessions. They are conducted properly, with the right mix of challenge and support, and they often surface things we haven't yet spotted. This week's was genuinely encouraging, and I came away reminded of how much a close working relationship with our associations benefits everyone, employees and organisation alike.
Two other strands of work kept me busy at headquarters. It was good to welcome John Lunn from the Ted Wragg Trust, a fellow data enthusiast, to talk through how we get better at knowing the numbers behind our organisation as well as the day to day work in front of us. We're collaborating closely with Ted Wragg on several projects, including how we share the right information across trusts and with local authorities. From there I went into a working lunch with an IT team helping us push forward on safe, governed use of artificial intelligence. I'm convinced this will improve the quality of work for our staff and learning for our students, but it needs care. Ignoring it would be reckless; charging in without proper guardrails would be just as reckless. We're holding that balance carefully, with trustees keeping us reflective. There are some exciting developments here that I hope to share before long.
I spent time in a few schools this week, but South Dartmoor Community College left the strongest impression. After talking technical detail with an IT colleague, I walked the school with headteacher Jen Veal, who introduced me to staff and students behind a real success story in attendance. Their Year 9 figures sit several percentage points above other year groups, other WeST schools, and the national picture. What struck me was the reason. We make the phone calls and chase the codes, but the real driver is simpler: young people come because they know something worthwhile is waiting when they arrive. Getting the offer right is the work that matters most.
We're also developing a strand across the trust called Outward Mindset, run with the Arbinger Institute. In short, it's about flipping the instinct to hunker down and excel in your own corner, sometimes at others' expense, towards asking how you can help other areas of the team thrive. High functioning teams tend to come from people working with each other rather than against. 
It reminds me of the old story about the long spoons: people who couldn't feed themselves managed perfectly well once they started feeding each other. That idea sits close to the heart of how a trust should work. The reason we say "stronger together" is that some things are only possible because we are a trust, visiting each other's schools and borrowing good ideas freely, deploying staff across schools to develop them and play to our strengths. That's how we end up worth more than the sum of our parts.
There has been plenty going on in schools too. Greenpower racing took two South Dartmoor teams back to Castle Combe, with the Year 11 team much improved on last year. At Ivybridge, Lilia in Year 8 is now the Devon Gymnastics Under 14 Champion after a flawless run, and the college's Duke of Edinburgh volunteers picked up their Volunteering Certificate for the year, a fair reflection of the time they've given their community. Plymstock's Year 10 students completed their Silver expedition on Dartmoor through heavy rain and fog, while two Hele's School Post 16 students have been named Plymouth Youth Awards finalists after helping a neighbour during a house fire in Plympton. Quick thinking and real courage from both of them. Callington's production of Matilda is in rehearsal, and Coombe Dean is gathering messages for National Thank A Teacher Day on the 17th, which feels like a good prompt for all of us.
The primary phase has been just as busy. Buckfastleigh's Year 6 spent the week at Pixies Holt on Dartmoor, full of orienteering and adventure. Oreston's nursery children pulled carrots and potatoes from the school allotment and hunted for minibeasts, and their Year 6 students built rockets with the Royal Navy. Plympton St Maurice's Year 2 class explored Kent's Cavern as part of their Stone Age learning, and staff there gave up an evening for PE training ahead of next year.
Next week I'll be paying attention to how the character work translates into something practical in schools, rather than something that lives only in a plan. As ever, thank you for everything you do.
Warm regards,
Nat Parnell
CEO
