CEO Blog

• Learner Leadership

  Mon 27 Mar 2023

  ​Empowering all our young people to have their voices heard; to know their views, opinions and ideas will be listened to and highly valued, are crucial parts of our curriculum enrichment across our Trust family of schools. 

   

  We are incredibly proud of our young leaders from Batley Grammar School, Batley Girls' High School and Upper Batley High School who recently shared their views about issues that are important to them, and how things can be improved, at the recent 'Real People, Honest Talk' event, held at Dewsbury Minster. Alison Lowe OBE, the West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime attended, and it was wonderful for her to hear the views of our young leaders on their local community first-hand.

   

  For all our young people, our staff and everyone in our community who are observing Ramadan; we wish you all Ramadan Mubarak, good health and happiness.

  

• Phenomenal Women

  Mon 20 Mar 2023

  This weekend many people have been celebrating Mother's Day. In our Trust family of schools this is an opportunity to celebrate and thank all of the amazing women who work in our schools, and the brilliant women in our local community.

   

  Our role as educators both in school and at home, is to empower our young people to be confident, resilient, self-assured; and to have courage, empathy, kindness and high aspirations for their futures. Today and everyday we thank the women who help them to do this - the mothers, aunties, grandmothers, nanas, sisters, nieces and cousins. The teachers, associate staff and everyone who makes a positive difference to the lives of all our young people. We also give a shout out to the wonderful men who work in our schools, or who support our young people in the community. As the African proverb states "it takes a village to raise a child."

   

  Mother's Day can be a difficult day for those who have lost their own mothers, those who would love to be a mother, or for those mothers who have lost their children. It is a day not to feel sad, but to recall happy memories if you can, and to always remember the positive difference these brilliant women make to the lives of the young people in our family of schools each and every day.

   

  So, to all the strong women out there - may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. 

  

• Influential Women of West Yorkshire

  Mon 13 Mar 2023

  I was delighted to be invited to attend the International Women's Day event led by Kim Leadbeater MBE, our local MP for Batley & Spen. Kim coordinated a session for female leaders from across our area. There were women from education, industry and business, public services and local women making a positive difference in their communities. 

   

  Alison Lowe, the Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire, also attended and gave an inspirational keynote speech about her own background, life experiences and career to date. The core message was that women can achieve their goals if they; believe in themselves, work hard, and are ambitious for their prospective futures, and everything that could hold for them. We also praise the brilliant men who champion these women. 

   

  Our Trust family of schools firmly believes in being ambitious for what each and every person can achieve. Set the bar high and reach it, or leap over it! There doesn't need to be a glass ceiling for our young women or our staff, and, if or when we do come across one, let's break through it! Why not? If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

  

• Inspirational Women

  Mon 06 Mar 2023

  International Women's Day is this week, and it was so difficult to choose one focus to write about in my blog this week as so many fantastic learning activities have been taking place across our Trust family of schools.

   

  I would therefore like to begin by thanking all of the truly inspirational women who work in our schools; from our inspirational Headteachers, our amazing associate staff, teachers, cleaners, lunchtime supervisors, to the women who tackle gender stereotypes for example in caretaking roles; as well as the fantastic young people themselves and their mums, grandmothers, aunties and sisters in the community.

   

  We thank all these brilliant women for the amazing work they do in our schools, and our community, not just on International Women's Day, but every day! We also thank the brilliant men, young and older, who work with them and support them. 

   

  World Book Day saw our family of schools transformed into even more inspirational learning environments, with reading for pleasure being celebrated as a key way to relax and look after your wellbeing. Famous authors and poets came to Batley library (as featured on BBC TV), a 'Starbooks' coffee shop opened at Batley Girls' High School (masterminded by the truly superb Mrs Sawyer), where young people baked the most amazing cakes (watch out Mary Berry!), and there were literary themed competitions with brilliant book prizes, and Upper Batley High School had a yellow brick road in the Bistro as it was transformed into The Wizard of Oz.

   

  As if all of that wasn't enough, one of our teachers Mrs Dent, is currently in India training teachers and senior leaders about effective teaching and learning, and sharing best practice about the great work we do here in Batley. How amazing is it that we have an international dimension to our work and approach to the sharing of knowledge.

   

  Batley really is all about brilliant education for all our young people, because our children deserve the best.