The Raedwald Trust has joined forces with schools across Suffolk for a new project, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The campaign, which has been given the title ‘silence is compliance’, is being led by The Raedwald Trust and will see schools come together to work on a range of activities to improve diversity.
As part of the project, schools will be supported to ‘look inwards’ and voluntarily carry out audits of their inclusion policies, procedures and culture. Schools will also take part in a number of activities aimed at making schools more inclusive and welcoming for staff and students.
This will include training and awareness raising programmes delivered through online webinars, and inter-school collaborative projects, such as Black Lives Matter-inspired podcasts, drama and art projects.
There are also plans for a music video, with inspirational quotes from black historical figures, as well as pupil engagement projects focussing on the campaign’s theme.
To date, six schools have signed up and Angela Ransby, Chief Executive of The Raedwald Trust, would like to see even more schools taking part. Speaking about the project, Angela said: “Before we start talking to our students about diversity and inclusion and Black Lives Matter, we must first get our own houses in order.
“We look first inwards to see if we can be doing better before we look to support others.
“We then move forward with an array of exciting projects aimed at making schools in this county more inclusive and welcoming places for all our staff and students.
“We are incredibly pleased that so many schools have already signed up and we are now encouraging others to join us.”
The Raedwald Trust is committed to addressing racial inequality and racism. Since the Black Lives Matter movement began, staff have encouraged lively debate surrounding the issues raised. Our pupils have regular opportunities to engage in open conversations about inequality, with explicit teaching around tolerance, kindness, and diversity forming an integral part of our delivery.
This campaign recognises that there is much more that can be done to improve equality of opportunity in education and we are excited to be able to make such impactful changes to that effect.
The Raedwald Trust recently hosted the first in a series of webinars aimed at helping our staff and pupils develop their understanding of the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. Entitled ‘An Introduction to Institutional Racism in Education’, the webinar explored the school experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic young people and gave ideas and practices for improving equality of opportunity in education. You can watch the full webinar here.
For a full list of the schools taking part in the project, please click here.
We have a new curriculum at Raedwald Trust. Launched in September 2020, the new curriculum is modelled on a series of pathways that allow pupils to access a level of support most appropriate to their individual needs.
Staff from across the Trust have worked collaboratively to develop the new, bespoke, Trust level curriculum. This has allowed us to share expertise and best practice from across the Trust to ensure that all pupils have access to the highest quality teaching.
The Trust level curriculum outlines the programme of study for each subject and how this content will be delivered across the year or Key Stage. The starting point for pupils within this will be determined by their prior experience, their preferred future pathway and the point in their academic career that they join us.
At the heart of our curriculum offer is the knowledge that ‘curriculum’ is much more than just the academic. At Raedwald Trust, we believe passionately in a broad and balanced curriculum that also nurtures our pupils’ creative, cultural, and life skills.
Our ultimate aim is a bold, imaginative and innovative learning offer that reflects the pupils in our care, whilst also recognising their diversity and the different types of support that our children and young people may require at different points in their lives.
Ashlee Jacobs, Pedagogical Lead at The Raedwald Trust, said “Careful thought has been given to how our curriculum will prepare pupils for the next stage of life and education.
“By working collaboratively, we have been able to share expertise and pedagogy, constructing a deep and vast ranging offer that all pupils across the Trust will benefit from.”
To find out more about our new curriculum model, click here.
The Medical Needs in Schools (MNIS) – Suffolk project was successfully launched online on Thursday 8th October 2020.
21 schools attended the launch and benefitted from a programme of free training on specific medical needs in order to develop their knowledge, ideas and communication around children with medical (including mental health) needs. There was a huge amount of interest in the project at the launch and we’re delighted to see how many partners wish to be involved in the project.
The core aim of the MNIS Suffolk project is to provide training, resources and a network of support for schools across Suffolk in managing medical needs within the education environment. The project also provides a great opportunity for partner schools to benefit from a local and national network of partnership with schools, health professionals, hospital schools, and other specialist partners.
Quote from Angela Ransby, CEO of Raedwald Trust –
“Our ambition is to see this style of partnership between health and education become the norm, making it easier for schools to give every student access to high-quality learning regardless of medical need.
“Our aim is to share our knowledge and experience with schools to give them the tools and the confidence to
help children and young people with medical needs be fully included and integrated in their school communities.”
Following the launch, partner schools will continue to benefit from a series of free workshops delivered by clinicians and specialist teachers over the course
of the Autumn Term 2020. Each school will also benefit from access to a free Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training session through the project, which will lead to MHFA certification for one member of their staff.
It is hoped that this training will provide a lasting impact on partner schools through helping them to build capacity, gain valuable knowledge and practical
support in supporting pupils with medical needs, in compliance with DfE statutory and best practice guidance.
Training is led and delivered jointly by colleagues from the Raedwald Trust serving as MNIS – Suffolk alongside MNIS – Oxon. We are committed to supporting Children with Medical Needs in Suffolk and beyond.
For further information about the MNIS – Suffolk project, please contact MNIS@raedwaldtrust.org
Following the successful use of similar devices in established hospital schools, the Raedwald Trust are seeking to build upon the use of telepresence robots in an alternative provision environment.
The Raedwald Trust is devoted to ensuring that the most vulnerable young people in society have barriers removed, allowing them to access the highest levels of education, both academically but also socially.
The robots will be used within the Ipswich Hospital School as well as at other academies across the Raedwald Trust.
An Introduction to Institutional Racism in Education
As part of our commitment to challenging racism and improving equality in education, we hosted, in partnership with Copleston High School, a webinar from respected Professor of Education, Professor Gill Crozier, from the University of Roehampton.
Entitled ‘An Introduction to Institutional Racism in Education’, the webinar explored the school experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic young people and gave ideas and practices for improving equality of opportunity in education.
Please click here to watch the full webinar.
The webinar is the first in a series of activities hosted by the Trust to help our staff and pupils develop their understanding of the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
A talented pupil who attends Westbridge Academy has completed his Silver Arts Award.
Neo Reilly has been working on his music production skills for his Arts Award for at least two years. He made use of the studio at Westbridge Academy, Punch Studios in Ipswich and his own home laptop to complete his qualification.
Neo said: “The school has supported my music since I joined because it’s my passion and I love it. Music has helped me deal with personal issues and cope with school too. I am very lucky to have great teachers and tutors who have helped me along the way – pushing me to succeed and do well.”
Neo used programmes such as Logic Pro to create loops and manipulate sounds to compose his own tracks. Taking his music and studio time very seriously, Neo was soon creating full instrumentals and sharing them with his fellow pupils.
The moderator for Neo’s work said: “I very much enjoyed exploring Neo’s Silver Arts Award journey! Neo’s Silver portfolio was inspiring and I am keen to find out how his music career progresses! I thought the work was well evidenced and met the required level 2 standard for Silver.”
Earlier this year, a group of pupils performed at the ‘Celebration 2020’ festival at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in Suffolk. Neo was instrumental in putting together a track which another pupil, Kai, rapped over during the performance. The beat was broken into loops and performed live on stage electronically. The feedback from the backstage staff at Snape Maltings was fantastic – they were blown away by the whole Westbridge performance.
Dr Mike Challis, Neo’s Music, Media and Computing Tutor at Westbridge Academy said: “Neo has real talent when it comes to using technology to develop tracks on the computer. He now uses Logic faster than me and can-do amazing things!
“He has a good ear and can develop a beat and thematic element really quickly. He is also inquisitive and can find ways of achieving what he wants to do without supervision.
“Neo has a very clear idea of what he wants to achieve and is driven to create music all the time. He has a broad range of influences and learns from multiple styles of music. He has really enjoyed his journey through this Arts Award, he has really made the most of the professionals who have come in to work with him and has learnt a lot.”
Jeff Nang, from All Things Entertainment & Learning at Nukiyo Music was one of the professionals that came to Westbridge to work with Neo. He said: “There are moments in your life where you come across certain individuals who have a spark, a natural confidence, a talent which is honest, raw and refined. Neo is one of these individuals. I was in awe with his music production skills, his ability to listen to my guidance and advice.
“He absorbed with an egoless mentality which is a skill that you only find in super talents and I am truly grateful we crossed paths. I’m excited to see where his future and growth leads him.”
Neo’s main goal in life is to tour the world and perform on stage in front of an audience. His inspirations include The1975 (Matty Healy), RadioHead, Tame Impala and many more.
Click here to listen to one of Neo’s tracks ‘A Song About A Girl.”
At the Raedwald Trust we believe passionately in nurturing and showcasing our pupils’ creative and musical gifts as part of our broad and balanced curriculum offer.
Raedwald Trust hosts ‘Challenging Racism in Education’ webinar
As part of our commitment to challenging racism and improving equality in education, this month we’re hosting a webinar for all staff from respected Professor of Education, Professor Gill Crozier, from the University of Roehampton.
Professor Crozier will share with us her extensive work exploring the school experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic young people and discuss ideas and practices for improving equality of opportunity in education.
The webinar forms part of a series of activities hosted by the Trust to help our staff and pupils develop their understanding of the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. We want to build our confidence to recognise and challenge racism in all its forms, and to enable us to play our part in improving opportunities and outcomes through education
Five pupils from Lindbergh Campus and Montgomery Road Campus have started working towards their Construction Level 1 course now that coronavirus lockdown restrictions have been eased.
The practical side of the pupils’ course takes place at Eastern Region Training (ERT), based in Suffolk. The pupils (who were very keen to attend), recently enjoyed an outdoors session fixing roofing tiles onto roofing battens.
ERT have gone to a lot of effort to ensure that Raedwald Trust pupils can learn in a safe environment. They have minimised the amount of people on site, put up plastic screening in the signing in area, introduced a one way system and have personal protective equipment (PPE) available for pupils on arrival. Pupils also work at independent work stations that are two metres apart.
All of the pupils who attended the recent session at ERT fully understood the reasons why the safety measures were in place, and were exceptionally respectful of the rules.
Martin Weston, Raedwald Trust External Provision Lead, said: “I would like to thank ERT for working with us to provide an interesting offer to our young people in such challenging times.
“I would also like to commend our young people for being polite, respectful and hardworking – a credit to any school.”
Please click here for more information about the Lindbergh Campus, and here to find out more about Montgomery Road Campus.
The Community Shelf initiative from the Raedwald Trust and Copleston High School has received a fantastic £500 grant from the Tesco Bags of Help Covid-19 Communities Fund.
The communities fund from Tesco was set up to quickly get funds to vital community projects that have been disrupted, have seen an increase in demand, or are a new service created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Community Shelf was created in April 2020, and supports children and families in need with food, toiletries, good quality clothing and home essentials.
The much-needed grant from the Tesco Bags of Help Covid-19 Communities Fund, will go directly to the Community Shelf to help supply pupils and their families with essential items.
If you feel you can donate to the Community Shelf, or would like to access help from the Community Shelf team, they can be contacted by emailing communityshelf@raedwaldtrust.org.
For more information about the Tesco Bags of Help COVID-19 Communities Fund, click here.
The Raedwald Trust has been awarded funding from the grant-making charity, The Wolfson Foundation to acquire telepresence robots. The robot devices will support young people at the Trust where their medical needs present a barrier to them attending school.
Following the successful use of similar devices in established hospital schools, the Raedwald Trust are seeking to build upon the use of telepresence robots in an alternative provision environment.
The award provides funding for two different devices (see images). One device will allow a young person prevented from attending school due to their medical needs to continue to have access to their school environment. It will enable them to participate in lessons and experience the transition between lessons, as well as break and lunch times – essentially pupils will be able to participate in all the expected features of everyday school life.
The second device will allow pupils to not only access remote teaching but to fully engage with the lesson. It will allow the pupil to communicate with peers, have sight of the entire classroom and interact easily with the teacher when they require support.
The costs of using such technologies are high, and having the support from The Wolfson Foundation to purchase this state-of-the-art technology will allow the Trust’s most vulnerable pupils to maintain access to their education no matter how their particular individual needs impact on them accessing school on a regular basis.
The Raedwald Trust is devoted to ensuring that the most vulnerable young people in society have barriers removed, allowing them to access the highest levels of education, both academically but also socially.
James Benson, Head Teacher at Parkside Academy said: “During the current pandemic we have seen just how important it is to ensure that all young people have access to technology.
“It is an exciting time to be part of the Raedwald Trust, and the installation of the robots in our academies is yet another strategy that we are using to continue to remove the barriers to education faced by many young people in Ipswich with medical needs.
“We are determined to ensure that young people are not disadvantaged as a result of their individual needs and whilst the use of these telepresence devices will not remove all barriers, they will certainly improve their overall education experience.”
The robots will be used within the Ipswich Hospital School as well as at other academies across the Raedwald Trust.
The Wolfson Foundation aims to ‘fund excellent organisations and outstanding projects to improve the civic health of society’. Click here for more information about the charity.
The ‘Community Shelf’ – a joint undertaking between the Raedwald Trust and Copleston High School in Ipswich – needs your help!
The Community Shelf initiative launched in April when it became apparent that the coronavirus crisis was leaving many families facing unseen hardship. The scheme supports children and their families with food, toiletries, good quality clothing and home essentials.
The East of England Co-op, The Rope Trust and Waitrose have all made donations, and around 600 packages have since been delivered straight to people’s doorsteps over the course of the past 10 weeks.
The Community Shelf distribution centre is based at Copleston High School and is operational part time through the week. Donations are being sourced and collected from local shops, with staff from the Raedwald Trust and Copleston High School delivering the essential items to families.
The Community Shelf desperately needs more donations to keep this vital service going. If you feel you can help or donate, or would like to access help from the Community Shelf team, they can be contacted by emailing communityshelf@raedwaldtrust.org
Angela Ransby, chief executive of the Raedwald Trust and Andy Green, Copleston High School principal recently spoke to the Ipswich Star about the initiative. Click here to read the full article.
Angela Ransby, chief executive of the Raedwald Trust, and Andy Green, principal of Copleston High School. Picture: Copleston High School
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Raedwald Trust has been extremely fortunate to receive help and donations to support pupils’ learning and wellbeing.
A generous donation of 20 Chromebooks were received from energy supplier Drax. The Chromebooks have been given out to Raedwald Trust pupils, and were very gratefully received!
Volunteering Matters, an organisation who develop and deliver high impact volunteer-led solutions across the UK, donated some fantastic resource packs for pupils and teachers at St. Christopher’s Academy in Ipswich. The adult packs contained information about COVID-19 and useful tips on talking to children about the situation. There is also lots of useful advice on healthy eating, staying safe, mindfulness colouring and useful links, such as Public Health England, well-being services, customer first and the National Domestic Abuse helpline. The children’s packs had lots of activities to complete, challenges, information about online safety and useful contact information for young people.
Thank you to all the individuals and businesses who have donated their time, resources or expertise to help the pupils at the Raedwald Trust during the coronavirus pandemic.
