Congratulations to all our children and
young people, parents, headteachers, teachers and support staff for the great
set of improved education outcomes for 2018.
- Early Years has risen to 72.6%reaching a Good Level of Development, above the provisional national average of 71.5%
- The percentage achieving age related expectations in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 has risen to 67%; well above the provisional national average of 64%
- Attainment 8 at Key Stage 4 has risen to 47.9%
- A* - C A-level results have also risen from 76.8% to 84%
Congratulations to Blatchington Mill - Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Hub
Blatchington Mill have
been successful in their bid to establish a modern foreign languages (MFL)
hub in Brighton & Hove. They are one of just seven schools nationally to
have done this. This is a major achievement for the school.
The project will involve supporting other secondary schools
to improve outcomes in MFL, important for English Baccalaureate (EBacc) success
and also reflective of the city we live in and the life skills we want young
people to have, including the ability to be bilingual in a globalised and
increasingly interconnected world.
Take a look at the DfE Press release at the TES site: https://www.tes.com/news/dfe-announces-national-language-centre-and-hubs
Welcome to our Newly Qualified Teachers
Last week I had the pleasure to meet and welcome some of this
year’s NQTs at the University of Brighton, where they were given valuable
information about all the support available during their induction year. Both
events included inspiring speeches from ex-NQTs and also Mark Holdaway from the
Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS). Behaviour
management is one of the biggest concerns for NQTs and I was pleased to see
that Mark is leading considerable training for NQTs in this area throughout the
year, for both primary and secondary NQTs. Sharon Mackenzie and the School
Workforce Development Team co-ordinate an extensive training & development
programme and provide useful resources on our BEEM portal for all
those NQTs registered with us. We hope they all have a successful and
rewarding year!
Snailspace Brighton
It was so
good to see our schools and education providers expressing their creativity
with the creation of so many junior snails on show across the city as part of Snailspace
Brighton & Hove @snailspacebh. Snailspace is an
extraordinary art trail across the city from the 15th of September until the 18th
of November, fundraising for @MartletsHospice whilst reminding us
all to slow down & #BeMoreSnail. Meet
Herbert (picture above), Carden Primary’s Carden Snail, named after Sir Herbert
Carden who the school was also named after. He's living in Patcham Library at
the moment. https://www.snailspacebrighton.co.uk/
 |
Dorothy
Stringer’s Snail, Murma, at the Jubilee Library
|
You will remember that Brunswick Primary was inspected in
June and I’m very pleased that they have been judged as Good. ‘The
headteacher and his senior team have high aspirations for pupils. Leaders have
a clear vision for the school that is shared by the whole school community.’ Well
done to the headteacher Shaun Collins, teachers, support staff, parents and of
course the children!
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| New apprentices Clare Topa from Hangleton Primary School and Ian Jones from Hove Park School |
We are pleased to announce that Ian Jones from Hove Park
School and Clare Topa from Hangleton Primary School have started their Level 4
School Business Professional Apprenticeship with GBMET! This apprenticeship will cover elements such
as procurement, HR, Governance and Risk and financial organisational
management. We currently have 2 places available to start now or next year. To
find out more please contact gavin.graham@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Congratulations to St Paul’s Primary School - International School Award
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St Paul’s
Primary visit to Zaragoza in Spain
|
Congratulations to headteacher
Linda Dupret and everyone at St Paul’s Church of England Primary School. The
school have received their International School Award again. The International
School Award team British Council said the following about their application:
‘The international dimension is
firmly embedded in your school's curriculum and whole-school ethos, promoting
citizenship and foreign language learning, and celebrating cultural diversity
across the school and wider community. Your links with schools in two very
different areas (Spain and Uganda) are well-established and active, providing
rich learning opportunities for both pupils and staff, and your visiting
international students further enrich the diverse intercultural experience and
learning for your pupils and staff. Your international activities are clearly
well managed and coordinated so that they are an integral part of your annual
curriculum. Your seven submitted international activities enable your pupils to
learn about other countries and aspects of their cultures and languages. The
teaching and learning of Spanish is brought to life by the real-life context of
your communication and reciprocal visits with your Spanish partners, with
evident positive impact on your pupils' progress and attainment in Spanish.’
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The information area in St Paul’s link school in Zaragoza
|
‘Congratulations on working so
hard to co-ordinate such an impressive range of work as an International
Co-ordinator! You are a credit to the school and the wider community.’
Hove Park School
Big Camp
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| Football game at Hove Park’s Big Camp |
Just in case you missed it at the end of the summer term, Year
7 students from Hove Park School spent the day at Hove Park's Big Camp. Students
spent the whole day on the field taking part in a range of Forest School
type-activities such as making camp fires, team building, obstacle courses,
shelter construction and wood craft, with some of our students then camping out
under the stars. Well done to Jim Roberts, headteacher at Hove Park School and
everyone at the school and at the Local Authority who helped make it happen. Have
a look at the promotional video made about the Big Camp 2018 that was featured
in the school’s Parklife newsletter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSNKVeGnP7o
Congratulations to Carden Primary for their
70th Anniversary
Happy 70th Birthday to
Carden Primary. It is 70 years this week since the school opened to children. They
were lucky to be visited by quite a few of Sir Herbert Carden's descendants who
enthralled the children with information about the former Mayor of Brighton.
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| Author Imogen White at Carden Library |
As part of the anniversary,
Imogen White, author of the Rose Muddle books, was at the new Carden Library.
Promoting STEM in our schools
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| Prof Kathy Romer, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sussex, addressing the children – with the former CEO of the UK Space Agency and founder of the PrimarySpace initiative, Katherine Courtney, standing alongside. |
This month I had the opportunity, along with pupils from several
of our schools across the partnership, to see a Mars Rover in action and to
participate in a range of interactive activities to stimulate their interest in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The University’s Widening Participation scheme works with a
number of schools each year to support the aspirations and ambitions of young
people in considering their future career options.
Around 800 children from schools in Sussex attended the
event on the 12th of September, based on the theme of space and
organised alongside a former head of the UK Space Agency.
 |
| John Chinner from Airbus UK with Bruno, the ExoMars Rover |
The event gave me the chance to see local children engaging
with people working in different STEM careers and participating in various
sessions and hands-on demonstrations, aimed at providing them with an
inspirational learning experience. It was great to see Benfield Primary, Middle Street
Primary, Peter Gladwin Primary, St Luke’s Primary & Junior and St Martin’s Primary taking part. See also a link below to a news
item on the University of Sussex website about the event and how to get
involved in the future: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/news/all?id=45910
Welcome to our new headteachers
I joined Pinaki Ghoshal (Director of
Children’s Services) and Mark Storey (Head of Education Standards and
Achievement) to welcome our new and acting headteachers and heads of school for
induction to support them all in their new roles.
Welcome to our new headteachers Bob Speight at BACA, Mark
Poston at PACA, Luke Lording at Mile Oak Primary, Rachel Kershaw at St
Margaret’s Primary and Gemma Chumnansin, head of school at Benfield Primary.
Welcome also to our new Acting headteachers: Andrew Lincoln, at St Andrew’s Primary, Jo Staveley at
Bilingual Primary, Dawn Loader and Sandra Mullholland at Balfour Primary, Natalie
Burley at Saltdean Primary and Acting head of school Anna Keane at Hangleton
Primary,
Welcome back also from maternity leave Rachel Breen,
Cottesmore St Mary’s Primary.
I would also like to
welcome Cassie Palmer from Coldean Primary School and Shelley Baker from
Varndean School who have been seconded for one day per week as Pupil Premium
Teacher Advisers. They have joined our Local Authority team to support the
Brighton & Hove Education Partnership priority to improve outcomes for
disadvantaged children and young people. Their work will include direct advisory
work with individual schools; support with the LA training and sharing of best
practice; support with pupil premium reviews and further development of the LA
disadvantaged strategy.
Best wishes,
Jo
Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons
Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.
