Principal’s Update
Half-Term Break
Good afternoon colleagues — can you believe half-term is already next week? For those taking a break, I hope it is restful and rejuvenating. For the approximately twenty colleagues working during non-term time, I hope you find the week less busy and can catch up on key tasks.
Green Skills Academy Update
We have now completed meetings with Ministers and communication leads regarding the Green Skills Academy. A social media release about the project is expected later this week. A huge thank you to Construction and Engineering, as well as Tony Tyrer, Rob Moy, and Kate Hobbs, for all the work that has gone into this exciting future-facing project.
Quality, Progression Boards & Attendance
The Quality Team and Heads of Department have been busy completing progression boards, and we are seeing interesting data coming through. Attendance in Maths remains an area of concern, partly related to cover and disruption to classes. Please continue to monitor and encourage students to attend their lessons.
Strategic Advisory Group for Education (SAGE)
Rob Moy and I attended the SAGE meeting last Monday. A business case for £24 million has been submitted for IT infrastructure across schools. Unfortunately, necessary engagement with our IT team and Terry had not taken place as requested, but this is now being addressed. It is important our needs our taken account.
Demographic changes continue to present challenges, particularly the drop-in projected nursery and primary entrant numbers — currently 699 pupils, compared with the historic 1,000–1,100 per year. This will have a long-term impact on primary, secondary, further, and higher education provision.
We were informed at the SAGE meeting that 115 young people are now Electively Home Educated. This affects our services as we function as the examination centre for these learners and reflects the ongoing trend of students choosing not to attend compulsory education.
D’Hautree House Renovation Project
Rob and I met with the project lead and reiterated concerns regarding access, egress, and user safety. We are now moving forward with the installation of a pedestrian crossing, and the CYPES project lead team has agreed to review and replace the wooden fencing at the DH exit, which is currently reducing driver visibility. Updates to follow soon.
Fees Paper Submission
A paper is being submitted to the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning requesting fee increases — up to a maximum of 5%, across higher education, apprenticeships, and adult community education.
Upcoming discussions will focus on fee increases for commercial services in order to safeguard the budget and maintain appropriate levels of public subsidy.
The Senior Leadership Team will be undertaking a detailed deep dive into curriculum, quality, and organisational risk this week.
Succession Planning Training
After half-term, we will hold a staff meeting on Wednesday 25 February, where Stuart, Philip and I will outline the training offer as part of the Succession Planning Project. Stuart has worked hard to ensure the training fits within existing staff development slots or workshops (including those for Heads of Department), so it should not increase workload pressures.
With best wishes
Jo