Schools and settings in the news

Introducing: Heathcote Primary School

Heathcote Primary School opened its doors to students this September. Lara Jeffries, Headteacher, introduces us to the school below:

Heathcote Primary School On the 18^th of August the Community Academies Trust and I received the keys to our wonderful new school, Heathcote Primary, on the edge of Warwick and Leamington. Andy Mitchell, Headteacher at Woodloes in Warwick, led the project for CAT, including recruiting me to become Heathcote’s Headteacher. Since then we have worked closely together to ensure we were ready to open our doors to our very first pupils: 30 Reception children and a mixed KS1 class. We will gradually increase our number to include KS2 and eventually become two form entry.

Now the children are in it’s over to me and my amazing team! The role of Headteacher is a privilege in any setting; to be in the position where you are responsible for shaping the experiences and learning of the pupils in your care. Yet, this is surely rare in any teacher’s career - to be right there from the very beginning - the opportunities and challenges that presents are boundless, and for that I am truly grateful.

My vision, underpinned by the Trust’s core value of “Ensuring Excellence”, is to ensure children are not only challenged academically to achieve the very best they can, but also to embrace technology and creativity. I feel very strongly that if we do not have the foresight to look ahead we are at risk of under preparing our children for a world that requires a very different skill set to the one we Heathcote Lara Jeffries have been used to. Not only do we need to provide children with skills to code and develop knowledge to meet the technological advances we are experiencing, we also need to nurture creativity. We will always need works of art, music, sculptures, and books. Heathcote will focus on developing the aforementioned areas, along with fostering understanding and empathy for, the fellow human beings they will be sharing their world with. Well, that’s the idea anyway!

Lara Jeffries
Headteacher
Heathcote Primary School

Find out more on Heathcote Primary School's website and Twitter account.

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You can also keep up to date on new school developments via the School Organisation webpage.

Introducing: Quest Academy

Below we hear from a new Warwickshire school, Quest Academy:

Quest Academy opens in September 2017. A sister school to Discovery Academy, Quest is a part of MacIntyre Academies Trust and will eventually be based in Rugby for children and young people with autism and or social emotional and mental health needs aged 9 -19. (The school will be in temporary accommodation for its first year of opening – based in Nuneaton.) Nicola Wells Quest Academy

Nicola Wells, Principal of Quest Academy, has been in post since January 2017 to set up the new free school which opens with 30 pupils and will grow to 80 at full capacity in a few years. She has worked closely already with new pupils and their families to get their input from the beginning to shape the vision and culture of the school.

Nicola relocated from Sussex to set up Quest Academy and brings a wealth of experience over the past 30 years of teaching and leading in both mainstream and specialist settings. She is passionate about personalised learning and blended therapies to ensure an integrated and holistic approach to education. Her enthusiasm is shared with a skilled and experienced staff team who are all excited about Quest Academy becoming a school that works for families and makes a real difference in the lives of children and young people.

Find out more on Quest Academy's website and Twitter account.

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You can also keep up to date on new school developments via the School Organisation webpage.

Bilton Infant School awarded Online Safety Mark

Congratulations to Bilton Infant School, Rugby, who have recently been awarded the 360 degree safe Online Safety Mark.

Bilton Infant School 360 Online Safety Mark

Sarah Fitzgerald, ICTDS assessor of the school, reported:

‘It has been a real pleasure to have visited Bilton Infant School to experience the excellent commitment and enthusiasm of the children, staff and governors. The hard work and dedication of the Online Safety Officer, Miss Osborne, and Senior Leadership Team should be praised and it is clearly evident that Online Safety is a top priority at the school.”

Bilton Infant School has personalised its online safety rules, developing the character of PEGI the parrot, a rap (recorded with the help of Jason Moss from Rugby FM), and then a PEGI Parrot the Movie to promote online safety.

The 30th School to achieve the award in Warwickshire, Bilton Infant School share their wonderful animation entitled ‘PEGI PARROT – THE MOVIE’, which includes their rap and online safety rules, at the following link: http://www.biltoninfantschool.co.uk/online-safety-leaders-1/

Your guide to who's new

Sadly, we had to say farewell to a number of headteachers at the end of last term. We would like to thank them for all their hard work and commitment to Warwickshire over the years they have been working with us. We wish them every success in their future ventures.

These departures inevitably bring with them the arrival of many new headteachers. We would like to welcome each of them to their new posts (and some of them to Warwickshire). We look forward to working with them over the coming months:

Debbie Bailey, who joins the newly-opened Arden Fields School from Phoenix Academy, Walsall.

Mel Mason, previously Deputy Head at Southam College, who joins Bilton School as Headteacher.

Amanda Delbridge, who has moved to Croft Junior School, previously at Milby Primary School.

Sian Mabberly, who has been appointed Acting Headteacher at Chilvers Coton Community School and Nursery

Sharon Byrne, who has left her role as Head of Briar Hill Infants School, joining Kingsway Primary School as Headteacher.

Lisa Clifton, who has been appointed Associate Headteacher at Lighthorne Heath Primary School.

Katie Gane, who joins Priors Field Primary School from St Nicholas CofE Primary School in Kenilworth.

Anita Timson, previously at Billesdon CofE Primary School, who joins St Matthew's Bloxam CofE Primary School.

Simon Pearson, who is currently also Executive Head at Wembrook Primary School, joins Stockingford Primary School as Headteacher.

In this section, you can find introductions to two newly-opened schools, Heathcote Primary School and Quest Academy.

Heads Up 13th September 2017