CEO Blog

• International Connections

  Mon 10 Nov 2025

  Last Thursday we were delighted to host international guests at one of our Trust schools. Upper Batley High School (UBHS) hosted a delegation from India and visitors heard all about the great work being undertaken at UBHS to develop curriculum, embed high-quality pedagogy and practice, and all of the great learning activities that take place each and every day to make UBHS such a high-achieving boys' school in every area. Visitors enjoyed a tour of the school to meet the learners and the staff, and see great learning in action in the classrooms. 

   

  Mrs Dent was the mastermind of the visit. She has worked hard over recent years to build strong connections with schools in India. In year 1, a group of learners accompanied her to teach in schools for children with visual and hearing impairments, she then returned to India last academic year to train teachers and deliver more engaging science and STEM activities and she visits India again next week for further work with staff and young people in schools.

   

  In the afternoon we were then delighted that Baroness Jan Royall could join the delegation. She spoke particularly to our young people and Mr Sherrard, our fantastic careers leader. Baroness Royall asked learners about why education matters to them and what makes Batley a great place to learn. We thank our visitors for spending the day with us here in Batley. Batley = Brilliance in education. 

  

• Project Phoenix

  Mon 03 Nov 2025

  Welcome back! We hope you have enjoyed the half term break with time spent with family and friends to relax, enjoy and recuperate ready for the next half term. The key message for this half term is: Attendance, Attendance, Attendance. 

   

  Attendance 1- to achieve well you need to attend well

  We would like to congratulate all our learners with 98%+ attendance in half term 1. That is absolutely brilliant - well done to you all. Special rewards and certificates are on their way to each of you. However, the biggest reward is identified from research which proves those learners who attend well, achieve well! With 98%+ attendance those learners are already well on their way to high achievement this year - really well done and keep up the great work! 

   

  Attendance 2 - when you attend well, there are so many exciting events to take part in

  In Batley, we are incredibly fortunate to have so many great events and activities taking place across our Trust family of schools. Forest School is one of those events. Tragically in August the Forest School and outdoor classroom were burned down by vandals. However, from the ashes rises Project Phoenix and the UBHS team are building back their Forest School to be even bigger and better than ever. They have set up a Go Fund Me page to help us raise the money we need to rebuild our Forest School so even more learners can enjoy it. Please make a donation if you can. We have over 4700 learners and over 700 staff - if everyone donated just £1 we would have £5400 to help us get started - and that's before any other friends, local residents or businesses helped us out. Please give what you can - every £1 matters. Last half term a bake sale made over £400 towards this good cause -thank you to all the parents/carers who supported that event. Forest School is one of the enrichment activities our learners love. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-rebuild-our-forest-school

   

  Attendance 3 - it's not too late

  For any learners who didn't quite reach 98% it isn't too late. Try for this half term to achieve at least 98% (or why not go for 100%? That's even better still!) and earn rewards in December. You can do this! Every Day Matters. 

  

• Great Governance

  Mon 20 Oct 2025

  Saturday was our Annual Trust Governance Conference 2025 and the turnout was superb. We are incredibly fortunate in our Trust family of schools to have over 80 volunteers in various governance roles. These roles include Members, Trustees and Governors and is the highest tier of leadership across the Trust. This team of highly skilled, highly committed individuals have joined our Trust family to give something back to the community and to ensure every young person receives a high-quality education, coupled with great care, guidance and support. These individuals give their time generously, and offer support and professional challenge to Trust and school leaders to ensure a cycle of continuous improvement in every school. Every year our schools just get better and better.

   

  The conference opened with two of our confident and articulate year 10 learners outlining why education matters to them, and why young people in Batley should never be underestimated. It is important to us to open such events with our learners, as they are our customers and are the reason why leaders and staff at all levels do what we do-for the benefit of our children and our community.

   

  The conference then gave all delegates the time to consider our collective objectives for the year, how we build even stronger collaborations across our schools for collective efficacy. We are stronger together when schools work in partnership with children and their families, and local employers, businesses and services. There are no limits to what we can achieve together. Our Alumni (many of whom do come back as school governors, or to support careers guidance in our schools) are testament to that.

   

  2025/2026 is going to be another year filled with high achievements and success in Batley. Exciting times ahead! 

  

• Batley Brilliance - Batley Grammar style!

  Mon 13 Oct 2025

  Our Batley Brilliance events are a chance to showcase the great work our schools undertake every day to all our Members, Trustees and Governors from across the Trust family of schools.

   

  Last week witnessed the turn of Batley Grammar School to host the Batley Brilliance event. Visitors were given a tour of the school, a chance to see the dining hall during a busy lunchtime service and see how polite, respectful and harmonious the school community is, as well see (and taste) the great work of the chef Craig and his catering team. Batley Grammar School's chocolate brownies are legendary! 

   

  Governors were also able to see the site development works that had been undertaken over the summer to further enhance the school learning environment and more exciting works are planned for summer 2026 and beyond. Batley Grammar School is very popular and therefore needs to enhance and extend its provision to accommodate all of the first choice applications for both primary and secondary phase.

   

  However, the biggest treat of the day was a visit to the Personalised Learning Centre to see Mrs Baines and her team with a group of fantastic learners. Learners had made buns and gingerbread - all handmade, hand decorated and iced. The learners all spoke so eloquently and articulately about what the Personalised Learning Centre has meant to them in terms of their education and the progress they are making. 

   

  Batley Grammar School is a high-achieving, inclusive school who ensures every learner achieves their true potential. Batley Grammar School lives by its values of Respect, Community and Resilience. It was great for governors to see this first-hand and to hear the ambitions, aspirations and career goals of Batley learners. Well done to Mr Hughes and his staff team for hosting such an inspiring Batley Brilliance event. 

   

  

• Community Makes Us

  Mon 06 Oct 2025
  Our Trust family of schools are supporting the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, a vital local charity which supports children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire.

   

  In our schools our Learner Leadership Groups always choose charities to support each year that are close to their hearts. Forget Me Not Children's Hospice is one of those charities, and they have provided much needed support to so many families and children over many years. Our learners are committed to giving back to their community and to helping others. 

   

  This month we are supporting an event organised by Doors 2 Floors, a Batley-based company who work closely with our schools on careers based activities and who are keen to give something back to the community where their business is based. They are organising a fundraising event that will see runners make the journey from Dickys Gym in Batley to the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice in Huddersfield. Participants will then be given an opportunity to walk to Brighouse Boxing Club.

   

  Among those lacing up their running shoes are the British and Commonwealth super middleweight and European super-middleweight Champion, Callum Simpson; Sylwia Doligala, the Central Area Champion; Jasmina Zapotoczna, the EBU Flyweight and WBA International Champion; together with Nabil Ahmed, Cory O’Regan, and Brighouse’s own Jimmy First, a former Central Area Champion.

   

  Our Trust family of schools will be supporting this event with various fund raising activities, and we hope you will support this charity if you can - every little helps, and if everyone could give at least £1 each, that could make a huge difference to the crucial work this charity undertakes. Please help if you can. Community Makes Us. 

  

• Belonging

  Mon 29 Sep 2025

  Our theme this term has been all about belonging in Batley. Children starting a new school, or a new year of their education; parents/carers making strong connections with the schools their children attend; new staff settling in to their promoted role or new school, and Governors, Trustees and Members volunteering to help lead our schools and giving their time so generously in these unpaid roles. We are very privileged to work in such a great community. We are very fortunate in Batley to have such highly committed individuals working in our schools, and such great parents/carers and families choosing our schools for their children. Batley=Brilliant Education.

   

  Attendance has been our big priority to get the school year off to a great start. We want all our children to feel like they belong here, so they want to come to school every day. The research proves that children with low attendance e.g. less than 98% have lower achievement. When a child has 98% attendance they have missed 4 school days, or 28 lessons. That is a lot of lost learning!  Higher attendance=higher achievement. 

   

  The target for everyone - staff and learners is at least 98% attendance. We don't ask for 100% as we know life happens and at some point in the school year your child may be genuinely ill. However, that will hopefully be rare. We also thank all those families who have ensured their child has 100% attendance so far this term. Really well done to them!

   

  Thank you also to the families who know the value of a great education and therefore do not book term time absence. We know flights are much cheaper during term time (anyone who works in education has always been frustrated by that as they can never benefit from cheaper flights). However, a great education is priceless. Higher attendance = higher achievement.

  

• Community Makes Us

  Mon 22 Sep 2025

  Upper Batley High School hosted our first Batley Brilliance event of this academic year last Thursday 18 September. Attendance was excellent with Members, Trustees, Governors and colleagues from across our Trust family of schools, all coming along to hear the Headteacher's vision for 2025/26 and beyond, and how this aligns to the Trust's mission, vision and values.

   

  The Batley Brilliance events showcase all that is truly unique and spectacular about each one of our schools. Every school is part of the Trust family but each school is a sibling rather than a clone. Plus, these events are a great chance to network across the Trust family and share a cup of Yorkshire Tea. 

   

  Upper Batley has so many unique specialisms such as the Batley Barnyard, Batley Bees, Horticulture and their very own Forest School. Sadly over the summer holiday period vandals burned down the Forest School outdoor classroom and all the fantastic learning spaces learners and staff have worked hard to develop over the past 11 years. The police are dealing with this matter, and the perpetrators are known to them, but for Upper Batley it is about never wasting a good crisis. The staff team are already working with the talented and creative learners to design what the new outdoor classroom could look like, and working on increased security for this area, as well as fundraising so their vision can become a reality. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Forest School will be back even bigger and better than it was before!

  

• Community makes us

  Mon 15 Sep 2025
  We were delighted on Friday evening to be invited to speak at a launch event for a new book about the importance of community, history and heritage. The book captures the stories of people’s cultural heritage, the importance of family, friends and community, and outlines the hopes, dreams, ambitions and aspirations of so many individuals both for themselves and for generations to come. When there is sadly so much division across the world today, books like this are needed more than ever, so that we can celebrate difference and diversity. 

   

  The individuals whose life stories are recorded in the book, have helped to shape the communities in which they live and now call home, and their stories evidence how community makes us, and why the unity in community is key. The commonalities between these personal stories are so endearing.

   

  People talk about friendship, love, and the kindness shown to them by others, and in so many cases by strangers. The importance and significance of family and community values resonate clearly. A common theme for so many people is the importance of a good education. A great education informs our thinking, our decision making, how we understand and respect different cultures and different people, and informs the choices we make. We should all be continually learning each and every day, and a great education can never be taken away from us. The more we learn, the more we realise there is to learn. 

   

  As a great man once said; ‘Education doesn’t change the world. Education changes people and people change the world.’

  

• Welcome Back

  Mon 08 Sep 2025

  Welcome back everyone to the start of the new school year. We missed you!

   

  At the start of the new school year it is the time for new beginnings. Time to make some new friends, especially for those young people just joining our Trust family of schools, and those moving up into a new year group and maybe starting the year with a new teacher.

   

  September brings an opportunity to attend every day, and to make the most of the experiences school brings. That may be new friendships, learning new things, trying new activities and joining new clubs. School is welcoming, rewarding and provides the opportunity for you to be the best that you can be.

   

  For each and every one of us the new term is about being the best version of ourselves. We don't need to be better than anyone else, we just to be the best that we can be. This September, unlock your own unique potential! You have so much to offer, so much to give and we are thrilled that you are here in the Batley community. 

   

  Batley=Brilliance. This is going to be a great year!

  

• Batley Brilliance

  Mon 14 Jul 2025

  In the last CEO blog of the year we have SO many truly amazing achievements to celebrate this year. Batley=Brilliance.

   

  Last week we held our inaugural Book Quiz - masterminded by two inspiring learners from Field Lane School. The exam hall at Batley Girls' High School was transformed into a Harry Potter themed wonderland with; escape rooms themed to each of the houses, a potion making station, its very own platform 9 3/4 and sorting hat, as well as real-life owls for learners (and colleagues!) to hold, under supervision of course. 

   

  The quiz itself consisted of three rounds of questions, each round focusing on four books from the 12 book reading list. Books included; The Wizards of Once, The Light Hunters, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Wild Robot. There were winners after each round (Park Road won the first round, Field Lane won the second round and UBHS won the final round) with each team member being rewarded with a Harry Potter bookmark and quill pen. The overall winner was Lydgate, with UBHS coming a very close second (just two points in it!), both teams received medals and Lydgate took home the trophy this year and will return it for next year’s quiz, as this will now become an annual event, which is fantastic. Each team who managed to escape from all of the rooms (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff) without succumbing to the deadly dementors was entered into a prize draw.

   

  This event was just one of many opportunities to showcase how talented and creative learners in Batley are. This year our Trust family of schools has achieved so many tremendous successes - winners of National Awards (Young Green Briton, and Modeshift STARS for school travel and environmental sustainability); great attendance, leading the way on community engagement and last week - superb SATs results! Well done to all our colleagues, parents/carers and our community for your support throughout this year. Most crucially, well done to our learners who continue to inspire us all, each and every day! We wish you all a fun-filled, happy, safe and relaxing summer. Have a wonderful break. We will see you in September for another fantastic year in Batley. 
  Batley=Brilliance.