CEO Blog

• Great Winter Get Together 2024

  Mon 29 Jan 2024

  The Batley Buzz was evident at Healey School last Tuesday. The school hall looked superb, all decked out with red and white gingham for the Great Winter Get Together. Healey School put on a tremendous spread with a huge array of sweet and savoury delectable treats. The school doors were open to the whole community and it was wonderful to see Trustees, Governors, school leaders, staff from all across our Trust family of schools, parents/carers, young people and members of the local community.

   

  It really was an incredibly special event with people sharing their stories about their lives working and/or living in Batley, and people making new connections. One elderly lady donated a beautiful tea set which had been a wedding gift to her and her husband. She wanted to support the school, and help leave a legacy for these wonderful afternoon tea events, which benefit the whole community - young and old. 

   

  This is exactly what the Great Get Togethers are all about - bringing people together through one connection at a time. A HUGE thank you to Mrs Lang and the wonderful team at Healey for such a superb afternoon. Healey truly is a school at the heart of their local community. 

  

• An Important Date

  Mon 22 Jan 2024

  This week a creative challenge from right here in Batley was shared with the world. The wonderful Field Lane Primary School (who really are maths whizz kids) shared a creative challenge that combined maths and art beautifully well.

   

  Field Lane partnered with the national charity the Jo Cox Foundation, and 64 Million Artists who are sharing a different creative challenge for every day in January to help tackle loneliness. Field Lane provided the creative challenge for day 17, and if you haven't seen it yet please do have a go. I did and it's great fun, both to remember key dates and things that are meaningful in our own lives, but also to turn those dates into a lovely piece of artwork. We can all do this, you just need a pen and paper, and you don't need to be a fine artist (sadly I'm certainly not a great artist but I was proud of my January Challenge task when I'd completed it). 

   

  As a Trust family of schools there can be nothing on the 'too difficult to deal with pile' and people must always come first. Loneliness isn't something that just affects the elderly; we can all feel lonely at some point in our lives. So let's do what we can to help others, by making connections and reaching out to help others, when we can.

   

  Everyone in our community is invited to the wonderful Healey School on Tuesday 23 January between 3.30pm-5pm for our Great Winter Get Together. Coffee and cake for everyone hosted by the superb Mrs Lang and her team.

   

  We hope to see you there!

  

• Great Winter Get Together

  Mon 15 Jan 2024

  This weekend was the national Great Winter Get Together, which all our schools are supporting. Our Trust family of schools are at the heart of our community and the Great Winter Get Together is all about bringing people together to tackle loneliness, through one connection at a time. We can all feel lonely sometimes, and at some point in our lives, and there are lots of different reasons why we might feel the impacts of loneliness. Let's be aware and help each other; no one ever needs to feel lonely or isolated in our community. 

   

  Young people from Field Lane have collaborated with 64 Million Artists to create resources, which have been shared nationally, to support people all around the country in feeling less lonely this January by engaging in daily stimulating creative activities that are both free and fun. See the website for further details: The January Challenge 2024. 

   

  Each day sees a new challenge and on Day 10 young people at Field Lane took part in a webinar, led by the superb poet Michael Rosen, which involved them writing poems and reciting them to him to get his instant feedback. What a truly fabulous learning experience. Michael was really impressed with their poetry and one Year 6 learner said; "It's a once in a lifetime experience. I was really surprised and excited to hear that we were selected to participate in a live session with Michael Rosen. I enjoyed writing a poem and learnt valuable tips." 

   

  So please join us at our Trust-wide Great Winter Get Together at Healey School on Tuesday 23 January between 3.30pm-5pm. It's free, and everyone is welcome for coffee, cake and the chance to chat and meet new people. You never need to feel alone in Batley. 

  

• Welcome Back!

  Mon 08 Jan 2024

  Happy New Year to everyone and here's to an exciting 2024 in Batley, filled with good health, peace, happiness and joy for everyone. We are excited about what 2024 will bring for Batley and our Trust family of schools.

   

  We start the year with much to celebrate already - Batley Girls' High School has been awarded the SEND Inclusion Award. Well done to Susy Ingle and her team for their hard work and dedication. A key element of our Trust vision is that every young person receives a great education and this award shows how superbly well Batley Girls' ensures no child is ever left behind. This award also demonstrates further success in the area of SEND after Teaching Assistant Chloe Llewellyn was awarded TA of the Year last year, for her excellent work with visually impaired young people. Brilliant achievements from the Batley Girls' High School team.

   

  Well done also, to Upper Batley High School, as Mrs Farrar has led the way to the school being awarded a grant from the Wolfson Foundation for over £110,000 to develop their Food Technology facilities. Great work from everyone involved in securing this additional funding. The Upper Batley site is superb and this will only help to further enhance the learning environment for every young person, in every curriculum area. 

   

  What a brilliant way for our schools to start the New Year! As London saw a spectacular fireworks display to bring in 2024, the words of the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah resonated hugely with us here in Batley:

  Ain't it crazy how we we're all connected, 

  Don't you think it's cool how we're linked,

  The one thing we all have in common is life,

  Let's not fall out of sync.