Dear colleagues,
A new school year always carries a particular kind of energy, and this one more than most. Coming back after the summer, I've been struck by how much there is to be proud of, and by the spring in people's step as term gets going.
Let me start with the summer results. Across the trust, at A level, Level 3, GCSE and Level 2, our young people achieved the strongest outcomes this trust has ever seen. At GCSE, that now makes three years of steady improvement. What matters most to me sits underneath the headline: a third year of improvement for our disadvantaged and SEN students. There is still a gap, but in some of our schools, students in the disadvantaged bracket are now outperforming national figures for all pupils. As someone who grew up in a disadvantaged household, that lands with me more than any league table position. When the full results are published in October, we expect to be among the strongest performing trusts in the South West, though honestly the numbers matter far less than what they open up. A good education doesn't decide a young person's future for them. It makes more futures possible, whether they choose to stay and add to the communities that raised them or head off further afield.
Callington, Coombe Dean, Eggbuckland, Hele's, Ivybridge, Plymstock, Sir James Smith's, South Dartmoor and others across the trust all had a great deal to celebrate this summer, and the credit belongs to students and staff alike. I'd single out Callington's best ever GCSE results and Hele's strongest attainment profile in the school's history, with particularly pleasing outcomes for SEND and disadvantaged students, but every school played its part.
I've said before that I don't accept the idea that results and happiness pull in opposite directions. Walking round our schools these past two weeks, I've seen the two go hand in hand. Young people arriving smartly dressed, ready to learn, pleased to see their friends, and clear that school is a place where they get on. That culture doesn't happen by accident. It comes from the professionalism, dedication and, more than anything, the genuine care our staff show every day. Last year we also recorded our lowest ever number of complaints, the third year running that they've fallen. When results rise and complaints fall together, it tells me we're getting something close to right.
A quick word on how we work as we start the year. Our approach is to keep decisions and resources as close to the classroom as we can. The centre sets expectations about outcomes, that children are learning, that schools are positive and lively places, that budgets are respected, and then trusts heads, teachers and support staff to decide how best to get there. That belief in professional autonomy is deliberate, and I think you can feel its effects in our schools.
We are also more connected to our communities than we've ever been. Our WeST Community Councils are into their second year now, bringing parents, community members and staff around the table alongside our trustees. Between them, they hold us to account and support us in equal measure, which is exactly as it should be.
Behind the scenes, our work to strengthen IT continues. We've now brought 22 of our 31 schools into the same Microsoft environment we use centrally, which makes sharing, communication and data security a good deal easier. Projects on this scale are never entirely without their lumps and bumps, as anyone who has ever waited for a system to load will understand, but we're pleased with the direction. The aim throughout is to put better tools in the hands of teachers, and in time and appropriately, our pupils, without ever losing the human relationship that makes real learning possible.
There's plenty on the wider front too. I'm looking forward to meeting again with the DfE Key Stage 3 Alliance Committee, and I've been glad to contribute to national work on data safety and governance through the Open Education AI project. Next Wednesday we welcome Leora Cruddas, Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, who is coming to see the work in our primary and secondary schools first hand. I'm also proud that my deputy, Naveed Khan, is representing us on the DfE's RISE project across the South West, a genuine chance for us to give something back to the wider education community.
We've welcomed a number of new headteachers, executive heads and a new Director of Primary this term. It was a pleasure to spend time with them at our start-of-year leadership event, where the sense of optimism was hard to miss. We start this year holding to the same mission that always guides us, young people leaving us ready to play a full part in society, every child thriving in a great school, and our values of respect, integrity and compassion underpinning how we treat one another.
Beyond results, the start of term has thrown up plenty worth marking. I was pleased to see Morley Meadow's Ofsted report land this week, with the school judged to have met the Strong Standard in all seven areas. That is a real recognition of the quality of what they offer, and Chaddlewood has also earned national recognition. Alongside these, our new Year 7s have settled in well. At Callington, staff described the new cohort living out the school's values on day one, and at Coombe Dean, the German department gave their Year 7s a proper introduction to the Schultüte tradition, a small touch that says a lot about how carefully first impressions are made. Eggbuckland's Year 11s have thrown themselves into Period 6 sessions already, and Ivybridge welcomed its new starters with older students mentoring them throughout the day.
There is warmth in the community side of things too. Ashburton's PTA are baking for the town's food festival, Oreston's PTA have kitted out the playground with new equipment over the summer, and Woodlands Park's friends association keeps quietly raising funds and passing on pre-loved uniform. Ivybridge continues to run its music centre for young people across the area, and Plymstock has launched a new strapline, Inspired by Our Community, which feels rather in step with what we're trying to do everywhere. These are not headline events, but they are the fabric of what makes a school belong to its place.
Thank you, as ever, for everything you do.
Nat Parnell
CEO
