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Coronavirus Update to Parents – 12/05/2020
Dear Mums, Dads and Carer(s),
You will have heard from the Prime Minister last night about the possible next steps to move the country forward from ‘Lockdown’.
The Prime Minister shared a thought that children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 may be the first to return to school in some way from early June.
As yet we have no more information than you do about this plan. We expect to receive guidance from the Department for Education this week so that we can begin to make plans to open further safely.
In the meantime we will remain open for the children of critical workers and specified pupils.
As soon as we have received the relevant guidance and new plans in place, we will be making contact to share the relevant information with you.
STEP Academy Trust
STEP’s Response to Covid-19
From Monday 23rd
March, schools across the country have been asked to perform very different
functions.
STEP are pleased to rise
to these new challenges and will do so with the passion and commitment that our
communities can expect.
Many of our academies will
be open on Monday to our most vulnerable learners and the children of key
workers. All families of vulnerable learners have been contacted directly
and the below offers guidance on the definition of keyworkers and the
circumstances under which their children should attend school.
Using our in-house
catering service, we will provide meals for children on-site and have written
to the families of children who are eligible for free school meals to extend
our continued support.
Please visit your academy’s website
for further information around COVID-19, updates and details of home learning.
STEP Newsletter January 2020
View the latest news across STEP Academy Trust.
Take a moment to read our staff spotlights and find out more about our upcoming events.
STEP Trustee, Dr Kate Chhatwal receives New Year Honour
We are delighted that Dr Kate Chhatwal, Trustee of STEP Academy Trust and CEO of Challenge Partners, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2020 for services to education.
A valued member of the Board, she has volunteered as a STEP Trustee and has been involved in establishing and chairing the Education Committee for four years.
Upon hearing the news, Dr Chhatwal said: “In over four years with STEP, I have been inspired by the hard work and commitment of my fellow trustees, leaders and staff across the Trust to our mission of working together to provide an excellent education for the children and communities we serve. I am proud to have had a role in STEP’s success, and have benefitted personally and professionally from what I have learned along the way. Volunteering as a trustee or governor is a great opportunity and I would encourage everyone to consider it.”
STEP Academy Trust – MAT of the Year 2019 Finalist!
We are delighted that STEP Academy Trust has been selected as one of four shortlisted finalists for the MAT of the Year Award! The winner will be announced at the Schools & Academies Show National Schools Awards in November 2019.
At STEP, we have a strong, unique sense of unity – we establish consistency in our approaches, support each other to improve and develop so that we continue to improve and meet challenges. We focus on achieving excellence in everything – the STEP Standard. All of this means we deliver the quality education our children deserve.
To be shortlisted for MAT of the Year in a small group of four in a highly competitive field is a testament to what we are all working for.
STEP Into East Sussex
Over the past five years, STEP Academy Trust has established a strong partnership of seven academies covering three local authorities in South London. Driven by the Trust’s mission – to improve the life chances of all children, where we have the capacity to make a difference – the Board of Trustees has recently committed to extend STEP’s moral purpose into East Sussex. A coastal area with a shortage of strong academy sponsors, Trustees believe the time is right make a real difference. Working closely with East Sussex County Council and the Regional Schools Commissioner the Trust aims to establish a group of schools using the same approach that has served our existing STEP Academies so well.
On 1st September 2016, our first partner academies in East Sussex will join the STEP family: Hawkes Farm Academy in Hailsham and Breakwater Academy (formerly Meeching Valley Primary School) in Newhaven. Trustees are delighted to have appointed two excellent STEP Head Teachers to develop our new partnerships. Jeremy Meek, who joined STEP in January and has been working across the Trust preparing for his new role, will lead Hawkes Farm Academy. Ian Rogers, who has spent the past two years as Deputy Head Teacher of Gonville Academy, will lead Breakwater Academy.
In January 2017, Newhaven Academy, Marshlands Academy, White House Academy and Hailsham Academy will join STEP Academy Trust. Currently members of Lilac Sky Schools Academies Trust, the schools will be re-brokered into STEP, establishing a sustainable partnership of STEP Academies in East Sussex. We are pleased that Paul Glover, STEP Deputy CEO, will oversee this exciting development for our Trust.
Applegarth Academy pupils challenge the depiction of children by charities
As a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, the pupils of Applegarth Academy felt compelled to question the way children are frequently portrayed by charities. Noting the right of every child to be treated with dignity, they wrote to a number of charities expressing their concern over the depiction of children in advertising campaigns.
STEP Academy Trust was pleased that The Guardian Newspaper featured Applegarth Academy’s campaign in an article entitled, “Schoolkids challenge charities’ ‘undignified’ images of children”.