CEO Blog

• Batley Brilliance on the international stage

  Mon 22 May 2023

  In Batley, we do amazing things; we are famous for beds, biscuits and brilliant education, but there is so much more talent to unearth once you scratch the surface.

   

  A couple of weeks ago many people all over the country were celebrating the coronation in a number of ways; but it was extra special for a member of our local community, Mrs Shazia Seedat, who performed in the Coronation Choir on Sunday 7 May during the concert at Windsor Castle. Song Geet, Bradford’s first South Asian women’s choir, sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Brighter Days’ by Emeli Sandé in the magnificent setting and her choir lead performed the solo. 

   

  The choir is only one year old and their aim is to give South Asian women a voice; not only allowing them to sing, but to provide them with some time dedicated to themselves, where they stop looking after others and can focus on their own wellbeing and spend time with like-minded people. They are proud representatives of our community and are such an inspiration for others.

   

  Shazia has children in two of our Trust family of schools, and she plays an active part in our school communities. She also became a member of Song Geet only a month and a half prior to her performance, which is even more amazing as her very first stage performance was in front of an audience including King Charles III, Queen Camilla and other members of the Royal family as well as the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and his wife! 

  
  Shazia really is a prime example of someone who proves ordinary people really can achieve extraordinary things - what a great role model for our young people and our community!

  

• When friendship means so much

  Mon 15 May 2023

  Yesterday saw thousands of runners, as well as spectators, lining the streets of Leeds in aid of a range of worthy causes and a truly inspirational man. The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon was organised to support The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal and the Leeds Hospitals Charity, as well as a host of other causes.

   

  Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019, a disease for which there is currently no cure; having previously been a hugely successful rugby league player, spending his entire professional career from 2001-2017 with Leeds Rhinos, as well as representing England and Great Britain. 

   

  Rob's wife Lindsey also ran, and we are extremely proud of our very own Mr Kibble who trained hard and ran his first marathon - a huge achievement, really well done. Congratulations to everyone who took part and supported this hugely significant event. 

   

  Kevin Sinfield pushed his friend around the entire 26.2 mile marathon in a specially adapted wheelchair before carrying him over the finish line as the crowd cheered loudly. Sinfield, also a former Leeds Rhinos player and teammate of Burrow, is the current coach for England. He has raised more than £8m for MND charities, including an 'Ultra 7 in 7 Challenge' when he ran seven back-to-back marathons; 7 being his friend Rob's playing number. When friendship means this much, no other words are needed.

  

• Fit for the King

  Tue 09 May 2023

  What a wonderful weekend for bringing people together! We've seen school parties and street parties; and millions of people volunteering their time to help others during The Big Help Out. Across our family of schools there have been so many superb opportunities to celebrate our great country and fantastic community, as well as the wonderful people who live and work here.

   

  Manorfield Infant and Nursery School was a sea of red, white and blue last week with the most delicious, coronation themed cupcakes on offer. The Batley Buzz was evident throughout the school with so many parents/carers getting involved to help both the school and their children. Well done to all our schools for the varied ways in which they celebrated the King's Coronation and this moment in history. 

   

  The coronation events themselves showcased a plethora of talents and skills. We are very proud that a parent from one of our schools sang in the Coronation Choir live in Windsor. What a great role model to have in our Trust community - truly superb! The whole weekend showcased the power of music, the arts, creativity in all its forms, and the power of community. Developing these skills in all our young people, and removing any barriers to learning and success are key to young people's future achievements. Did anyone else shed a tear when the highly talented 13 year old, Lucy, played the piano so beautifully? Lucy was amazing and an inspiration to us all. 

   

  "The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create." Barack Obama. 

  

• International Expertise

  Tue 02 May 2023
  A team of colleagues from Batley Girls' High School visited Greece last week, as part of our work with the Erasmus project, for the British Council. Emma Rodrigues has been working with a team of teachers from Greece, Norway, Portugal and Spain since 2019 and the project has seen a series of visits to other partner countries with a number of face-to-face meetings providing a forum for discussion over the course of the past four years; including a four-day visit to Batley, last March.

   

  The focus of this Erasmus initiative is student and staff wellbeing from both a strategic and a practical level. The work involves the sharing of best practice across all of the European partners at both a broader educational level as well as linking together subject teachers to provide additional opportunities for support and the sharing of knowledge. 

   

  The connections and discussion that have taken place since 2019 have informed improved ways-of-working. This is a trailblazing project and will result in each country producing a suite of materials, which will be trialled and eventually shared across Europe; and we're extremely proud to have been a part of this invaluable experience.

   

  Emma was joined by Suzi Spencer and Sameeya Patel from Batley Girls' High School, who are both lead teachers for PSHCE, and have developed resources on character education, resilience, mindfulness and managing mood for use in lessons. These resources have also been shared with our Erasmus partners and will be evaluated so we can take learnings, for next steps, which is invaluable as part of our plan, do, review approach.

   

  Our objective across our Trust family of schools is to provide a great education and we know this doesn't just happen in the classroom environment. We aim to develop well-rounded individuals who can contribute to society, and projects such as this help our young people to see a world where difference is valued and celebrated.