Flying High Trust

Flying High Trust To the children, parents and families of Beeston Fields Primary and Nursery School We would like to take this opportunity to offer a warm welcome to the children, parents, families and staff of Beeston Fields Primary and Nursery School. As you know, following the recommendation of your governing body and Headteacher, and consultation with staff, parents and members of the wider school community, the school applied to become an academy within the Flying High Trust. We are delighted to announce that the school is now officially a member of the Trust as of 1 September and this has been approved by the Secretary of State – welcome! As a Trust we are proud to be working in partnership with Beeston Fields, the school brings a vast range of skills and expertise which will only enrich the overall Trust. Having worked with Claire and her team we are also excited about the future and the continued improvements we can work together on to ensure your children receive the best opportunities and experiences. It was fantastic to meet such well-informed and passionate parents and families at the consultation meeting back in March, however we appreciate that not everyone was able to attend the meeting. Therefore, now that Beeston Fields have joined the Flying High Trust, we would like to introduce ourselves and the vision, principles and values that shape the way in which we look to build strong partnerships to ensure sustainable school improvement. Background: The initial Trust began three years ago and since then has grown to six schools; Cotgrave Candleby Lane, Ernehale Junior School, Flying High Academy Ladybrook, Hillside Primary and Nursery School, Peafield Lane Academy and now Beeston Fields Primary and Nursery School. We also have two other schools, Edwalton Primary School and Crompton View Primary School (who will join as Bilsthorpe Flying High Academy) both currently going through the conversion process to join the Trust as of 1 October, making eight schools in total. We value the uniqueness, diversity and richness of all of our schools, in fact, it is this diversity which enables us to grow and develop together with each school having different strengths, experiences and expertise to allow schools to learn from each other to share practice and develop ideas. From the very start we would like to reassure you that we want to further enhance what you do and work with the school to bring about this improvement. Any decisions taken are taken as a collective through our Strategic Heads Group where all Headteachers across the Trust meet to collectively agree strategic development alongside the Trust. We actively facilitate Trust networking meetings for Headteachers, School Business Managers, Site Managers and, through the Teaching School, for all members of staff to ensure everyone is able to gain support and contribute to improvements across the Trust. The ethos behind the Trust is one of sustainable school improvement; and schools joining the Trust do so with the prime aim of improving each other so that they can all become outstanding schools. This ethos is guided by our core principles:  Children first – at the heart of every decision is, will this benefit our children?  Aspiration for all – children, staff, families and local communities to aim high and dream big.  Ensuring our schools are at the heart of their communities.  Supporting meaningful partnership – schools that support and challenge each other to become the best schools in the universe.  A commitment to continuous improvement – to strive to provide the best opportunities for our children so that they can look back with pride and forward with confidence.  Primary led – this is our area of passion and expertise and we focus on developing the whole child and each child as an individual. By the end of their primary education we aim for all of our children to be ready for secondary school and to be inspired to be the best they can be through our seven values:       

Aspiration Confidence Creativity Enjoyment Perseverance Pride Responsibility

“Look back with pride and forward with confidence”

From our experience of your school it is clear that this is exactly what Beeston Fields also hold as their vision and ethos. These principles and values resonate across all of our Trust schools and it is this like-mindedness and determination to do the best for our children that makes this partnership so effective and so exciting.

Meet the team:

Chris Wheatley Chief Executive Head

Graeme Robins Director of School Improvement

Zoe Maxey Director of Business & Finance

Paul Goodman Director of Teaching School

Nick Layfield Project Manager

Chris Chadburn Systems Manager

Communication is vital to our success and to develop true partnership we know that everyone must be given the opportunity to be involved, kept informed and to feedback and contribute to our development. As a Trust we will communicate termly through a newsletter to parents and families to keep you informed of opportunities to be involved, updates on progress, success to share, forthcoming events and key information to ensure you are kept well informed on the progress of your school and the work of the Trust in supporting this. During the coming year there will be many opportunities for children, families and staff to benefit from and feel part of the Trust including the annual Flying High Trust Awards Evening to celebrate the success of children, staff and families; Trust sporting events; the Children’s Parliament; visits to other Trust schools to share experiences and learn from each other and to take part in our annual evaluation of the impact of the Trust so you can contribute to Trust development by telling us what has worked, what could be further improved and new things you would like to see in the future. As a new school we are keen to hear from you, to listen to your ideas and answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us at any time: [email protected] Finally we would just like to re-iterate how excited we are to welcome Beeston Fields to the Flying High Trust Partnership; your school has so much to be proud of and we look forward to working with you to continue this journey of improvement. Yours sincerely

Chris Wheatley CEH of the Flying High Trust Beeston Fields Primary & Nursery School ¦ Ernehale Junior School ¦ FHA Ladybrook ¦ Candleby Lane School ¦ Hillside Primary & Nursery School ¦ Peafield Lane Academy

“Why wait for the world to change – our children will change it themselves”