“All students deserve a curriculum which mirrors their own experience back to them, upon occasion — thus validating it in the public world of the school. But curriculum must also insist upon the fresh air of windows into the experience of others — who also need and deserve the public validation of the school curriculum.” – Emily Style, ‘Curriculum As Window and Mirror’

At Brooke Weston Trust, we believe in ambition for all. We value every student equally and ensure that no one is left behind. A core part of this work has been the development and reorganisation of our primary curriculum to ensure it is more equal, diverse and inclusive. Our Director of Primary Curriculum, Carrie Norman explains the importance of this piece of work and the impact this has had on children across the Trust.

Why is it so important that the curriculum is equal, diverse and inclusive?

“As Emily Style wrote in her 1988 article ‘Curriculum as Window and Mirror’, we believe all children need windows and mirrors in the curriculum – windows into the lives of others to develop their empathy and understanding and mirrors in which to see themselves reflected. Both windows and mirrors help our students to grow their ambition, empathy and understanding and to find role models they can believe in and look up to.

“When we do our deep dives, we talk to the children about the curriculum, and we take their feedback. Recently a few students told us they loved learning about Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel into space, and Katherine Johnson, an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. spaceflights.”

How did you go about making the curriculum more diverse?

“Representatives from our five primary schools came together on a regular basis to build the new curriculum. Diversity was a strong theme in all our conversations, and we constantly came back to the same question – is this diverse enough? Have we got positive role models that reflect everyone in our school communities? We looked to the demographics and populations of our schools to try and ensure that we had texts and role models that allowed all our children to feel represented, seen and heard. Staff have been really supportive of the changes to the curriculum and although they’ve had to upskill themselves and learn a lot, they have really embraced this challenge.”

How is EDI incorporated as part of the curriculum?

“Equality, diversity and inclusion runs through our entire curriculum and isn’t something we just teach once or in one particular subject. For example, one of the key themes that came up when looking at the demographic of many of our schools was migration. This was something lots of our children have experienced themselves or feel a connection with. As a result, we’ve introduced a theme of migration throughout all subjects, looking at the benefits of migration right through the ages and in all different subject areas. Our students have really enjoyed learning about this and seeing their lived experiences reflected in their education.

“We have also outlined 50 books that we want children to read in their particular year group and these books have been selected because they cover topics such as disability, gender and same-sex relationships. This gives our children a really broad view of the world with which they can understand the world we live in.”

What are the plans for developing this further in the next iteration of the curriculum?

“There’s so much more we can do, and I don’t think we have gone far enough yet. An important for this year is continuing to ensure that our curriculum is scaffolded, accessible and adapted for children with SEN and we are going to be partnering with a special school to support us with this. We are also rewriting our PSHE and RE curriculums to adapt elements of what we have and make better links to the curriculum. We will continue to keep questioning ourselves to ensure we provide a curriculum for the future, preparing children for the modern world.”

Jane MacDonald, Principal at Gretton Primary Academy retired at the end of the school year after 8 years in the role.

Jane has been a well-respected Principal at Gretton Primary Academy since 2014 after acting as Vice Principal at Oakley Vale School – both part of Brooke Weston Trust.

During her time as Principal, Jane helped ensure all students experienced a high standard of education and had access to many exciting enrichment activities. She has been a valued member of the community and has built fond relationships with those such as the Chirpy Chicks Pre-School, Parish council and the two local churches.

Jane Macdonald, former Principal at Gretton Primary Academy said: “I have enjoyed many successes whilst leading Gretton and this is thanks to the wonderful children and the high calibre of staff that I have worked with. 

“I have learnt that to be a successful leader you need to surround yourself with great people and that is exactly what I have done over the years. I am proud to have worked with a very dedicated and strong team of professionals, both at the school and Trust level, who have been fantastically supportive and focused on delivering the highest quality education for the children of Gretton. I will miss all of them as I move on.”

Julia Dickinson has been appointed as the new Associate Principal of Gretton Primary Academy for the new academic year. Ms Dickinson was previously Vice Principal at Beanfield Primary School and has worked alongside many staff members at Gretton Primary Academy during her time with Brooke Weston Trust.

Speaking about her appointment, Julia said: "I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to take on the role as Associate Principal at Gretton and to be able to build on the success of the school under Jane's MacDonald's leadership. Gretton is a fantastic school which is very highly thought of in its community and beyond and I am looking forward to getting to know the staff, children and families I'll be working with.

“The school's motto is "Striving to be better every day" and I am excited to work with staff and pupils at the school to build on the amazing foundations that exist and ensure the school continues to be a centre of educational excellence.”

Despite stepping down from her role as Principal, Jane will continue to work at Brooke Weston Trust as Director of the Primary Training Hub and Chair of the Leadership Academy. She is looking forward to a part-time role and plans to spend some quality time with family and friends both at home and away.

 

Staff and students across Brooke Weston Trust are celebrating an outstanding set of GCSE results. This year’s cohort were the first to sit formal examinations in the last two years and have exceeded expectations with many outstanding individual achievements.

Thomas Clarkson Academy revealed its best-ever set of GCSE results with standout performers including Jasleen Kaur who moved to the UK in Year 10. Jasleen had to learn English alongside her GCSE subjects and demonstrated phenomenal progress in her comprehension in an incredibly short space of time. Her grades included two 9s, four 8s, three 7s and a distinction.

Some of our other highly graded students were Sofia Reeves, with seven 9s and two 8s; Sophie Tjurina with six 9s, two 8s, two Distinction*s and a six. They were joined by Aukse Janusauskaite with three 9s, three 8s and three 7s; Gvido Malinouskis who achieved one 9, four 8s, one Distinction*, two 7s, one six and a Merit while Skaiste Tlembetovaite achieved one 9, four 8s, four 7s and a Merit.

There were also a number of students who overcame personal barriers to achieve great results with their exams.

Lacey Barrett missed school from the spring of Year 9 to the autumn of Year 11 due to health problems, but she showed absolute determination to achieve the grades she needed to move into the academy’s sixth form.

Scarlett Marr and Sophie O’Neill both had personal challenges but showed significant resilience and have both been accepted into the sixth form.

Kettering Science Academy and their students were also so pleased with their outcomes. Arany Nanthakumaran achieved eight grade 9s and one grade 8; Anais Johnson attained five grade 9s, three grade 8s and one grade 7; Ayra Malak secured four grade 9s, four grade 8s and one grade 7 and Stanley Chiam obtained four grade 9s, three grade 8s and two grade 7s.

Staff and students at Corby Business Academy were delighted with their GCSE and vocational results. Individual successes included Lewis Gibbs with three 9s, four 8s and two 6s; Amalie Lines who attained three 9s, two 8s, three 7s and a Distinction* and Bethany Wishart who achieved grades 9 - 7 across all of her subjects. They were joined by Lucy Stone and Robert Hartley who also secured two 9s and five 8s within the grades they each achieved.

Brooke Weston Academy was incredibly proud of all 179 of their GCSE students for their hard work, determination and perseverance throughout this challenging year. The school’s top performing student was Marcus Ciobanu who achieved grade 9’s in all of his subjects. Marcus will be staying on at Brooke Weston Sixth Form to study Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science.

Also amongst the school’s top performers were Charlotte Fletcher, Ruby Gardiner, Mia Brown and Amelia Millier who all achieved grade 8’s and 9’s in every subject. Joining them were Zahra Kahn, Ruby Markham, Matthew Starkey and Yazmine Sharif who all achieved grades 7, 8 and 9 across all subjects. All of the above students are staying on at Brooke Weston to study for their A Levels.

After celebrating an excellent set of GCSE results, many students will be returning to Corby Technical School’s Sixth Form, some students have secured apprenticeships in finance, social media, and Engineering. Others have accepted places at various colleges to study Drama, Graphic Design, Law and Criminology, Engineering, and Game Design.

Angela Reynolds, Principal at Corby Technical School, said: “I am so proud of each of our students today who have achieved excellent results that are thoroughly deserved. The accomplishments seen today are a real tribute to the incredible work ethic and drive shown across the year group. Celebrations were absolutely in order which I was thrilled to be a part of this morning.

“Students have faced great obstacles over the last few years and have demonstrated resilience and perseverance throughout their studies despite the turbulence. It is always a pleasure to be part of our student’s journeys as we witness them moving on.”

Dr Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of Brooke Weston Trust said: “We are thrilled with the accomplishments of students and staff across the Trust this year. We are passionate and unrelenting in our desire to give our students the best start in life and the outstanding results are a true testament to the incredible efforts shown in our provisions.

“It has been a pleasure to witness the ambition and dedication shown by this year’s students. The sheer hard work and determination has been truly inspiring, and I have no doubt they will succeed in the next steps of their educational journeys.”

On 26^th July, Brooke Weston Trust catering colleagues came together for the Trust’s first annual Wow Day. This was the first time the team had met face to face for several months and provided a great chance to ensure colleagues could spend some time focused on their personal development and the development of our catering offer.

During the day, colleagues discussed how the team could work effectively as one team, working across our ten schools. Colleagues discussed the new structure, which enables us to be more agile, effective, creative and innovative, supporting one another across different locations and enhancing our student experiences of dining at Brooke Weston Trust.

Colleagues spoke about the high expectations and standards that characterise our offer, working within our core values and mission – ‘how’ we deliver service and food for our students and staff as well as ‘what’ we offer in terms of quality, taste and portion size.

We spoke in-depth about Natasha's Law and the impact of allergies for our families. Several of our colleagues had recently attended a conference at the Local Authority Caterers Association. This was attended by Natasha's parents who gave a talk about what happened and why Natasha's Law was introduced. This is so important not only for the catering team to understand but also in raising awareness for staff

Head of Catering, Theresa Jackson, said: “It was brilliant to get everyone together in person for our first Wow Day as it’s such an exciting time for Brooke Weston Trust catering. Our recent restructure has enabled us to realign our resources, develop a clear career and development path and appoint several current colleagues into new roles with ten individuals being promoted internally. We are also enhancing our apprenticeship offer with three colleagues already part of this scheme.

“We are excited to be launching a new brand for BWT catering at the start of the Autumn term in each of our schools, following a consultation on the four final designs. This will include new uniforms. We will be piloting new menu offers which are due to be rolled out after October half term, alongside fresh sandwiches made on the premises commencing 5^th September.

“We have been focused on integrating ‘student voice’ when making decisions on what we propose within catering and will continue to do so, ensuring what we offer reflects student tastes and diversity of requirements. Themed days throughout the year linked to activities or national celebration days will also be part of our new offer.”

The BWT Catering Team’s Wow Days will now become an annual event, recognising our amazing catering teams and their value in delivering education to our students.

Over 300 children from across the Brooke Weston Trust primary schools headed to Compass Primary Academy on Monday 11th July for the Trust’s first face-to-face Primary Competition Day. 

Gretton Primary Academy were delighted to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with the grand return of the school’s annual Rose Fair for the first time in two years.