Notable dates
leading schools where children thrive
Bulletin
Week Commencing
20 November 2023
Guildford County INSET day
27 November
Education Committee meeting
28 November 08.30 - 10.00
Central team meeting
28 November 11.30 - 13.00
Computing network - primary
28 November 15.30 - 17.00
SBMs meeting
29 November 09.30 - 11.30
HSLW network meeting
29 November 10.00 - 12.00
Reading network - primary
29 November 13.00 - 15.00
Phase Leaders network - primary
30 November 13.30 - 15.30
Executive team meeting
01 December 10.00 - 12.00
The journey, not the destination, matters
Schools can be difficult places to work if you are someone for whom end points matter. If you work in business, you may have projects which get completed within a client’s deadline, with a line then drawn under them and a new project started. For all of us, the term will have started with our own goals – be they big whole school hopes and aspirations, or perhaps more likely, personal plans for what we want to achieve.
In education there’s never an end point. We recognize this, and the difficulties which come with a lack of finality, by creating them for ourselves. These may be examination outcomes, OFSTED windows, the end of a financial year, or an upcoming holiday. Yet for all of these points, they are really only a pause, a breath held before launching headlong into the next, broadly similar period of time.
But rather than this be a problem, I think it tells a more universal truth that we should embrace – that it is the journey, not the destination, which matters. Literature, TV and film understand this. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings would be a dull book indeed if the journey undertaken by the fellowship – and the overcoming of hurdles, bonding of unlikely friends and personal improvement - wasn’t involved. And yet, year in year out, people are drawn to undertake this journey with them – all 37 hours and 36 minutes of reading (on average). Shakespeare’s Hamlet could be done in a single scene if it were just about the end point. But it is not the outcome which makes the play timeless. Hamlet’s own soul searching, perhaps most memorably seen in his “To be or not to be” soliloquy, is the real story here. Even Harry Potter could have avoided most of the 3,407 pages if the only thing that mattered was the ending.
It is perhaps within these examples that reality sits. Finality suggests an unchangeable conclusion. Yet without the opportunity to input or invest into anything from this point, we quickly resign the outcome to history. End points are only as satisfying as the investment we have put in along the way – and every person within a school is part of that investment.
And so it is that we must embrace the journey. It must be that it is the day to day challenges, small accomplishments and personal developments that we cherish. It is those that are memorable.
Alastair McKenzie,
Executive Principal, Kings College & Fullbrook School
HEADS, GOVERNANCE & STAFF INFORMATION
Governor Training
Thank you to those governors who have joined us on our trust-led training sessions so far. We have really enjoyed seeing you and we hope that you found the sessions valuable and informative.
We really appreciate any feedback that you can share with us, and will use it to inform our planning for future sessions; if you have attended a session and not yet submitted your evaluation form, please do so!
The next 2 sessions are coming up soon;
School Improvement on 18 January, and
SEND on 7 February (both at Kings College). These sessions will be led by our trust experts in each area, and are being designed to really support you in your role.
As always, we can only run these sessions if we have sufficient attendees to make them viable. Bookings are open now!
To book onto the School Improvement session, please click here
To book onto the SEND session,
please click here
Christmas card competition
The Christmas card competition is still open and we have had some delightful designs submitted already. The submissions can be in pencil, felt tip, photographs, painted or multi media. We will collect the designs from your school on the deadline day of Tuesday 28 November, from noon onwards. Should pupils or schools wish to keep the original artwork, please email over to Jodie a good quality photograph or pdf of each entry by the deadline date. Please ensure that the name and year of the pupil is clearly marked on each entry!
We will have four categories:
- EYFS and KS1
- KS2
- KS3
- KS 4 & 5
The winning designs will be used on the trust’s digital Christmas card and a prize will be presented by Jack to each winner and a mention and photo (if permission given) in trust communications (website, staff bulletin, parent/carer newsletter and social media).
The timeline for the competition is:
28.11.23 - Deadline for entries
01.12.23 - Judging & announcement of winners
06.12.23 - Christmas cards to be emailed out
Interested in a career in teaching?
Join the George Abbot SCITT team for our next online information event to find out more and have your questions answered.
Please join us on Tuesday 5th December at 6pm on Zoom; places are bookable via Eventbrite.
We hold these events once a month, further details can be found on our website: www.georgeabbottraining.co.uk
If you can't join us online, please give us a call on 01483 888048 or email us at: contactscitt@georgeabbot.surrey.sch.uk
leading schools where children thrive
HEADS, GOVERNANCE & STAFF INFORMATION
Important reminder from the HR team
As you already know, our new payroll provider’s “go-live” date is December.
This means that you need to download any payslips and P60s from the current ePay portal before 31 December, to ensure that you have them on file. These are often needed for things such as mortgage applications and pension records, so please do make sure that you have saved yours to a safe place. We recommend downloading a minimum of 12 months’ worth of payslips and all P60s.
Remember: access to the portal will terminate on 31 December 2023.
A second reminder - in order to ensure a seamless transition from one payroll provider to another, we have brought forward December’s pay day to 15 December. On this date you will be able to check that your salary is as it should be before the school holidays.
This means that we will all have just over 5 weeks between the December and January pay days - please be aware of this when planning your budget!
Useful Information for Governors
Every one of our governors has access to Governor Hub and the National Governance Association. These are both valuable sources of information, guidance and ideas.
This week we wanted to share with you 2 useful articles; a Curriculum Jargon Buster from Governor Hub and What Governing Boards Should Expect from Each Other, from the NGA.
Please click on the links below to read more; we hope you will find these articles enjoyable and informative.
Trust Whistleblowing Policy Update
Trust Policy Templates
Our Whistleblowing policy has been updated and approved by the trustees.
You can find the latest version on our website, here:
We have published two policy templates that all of our schools can adapt and use;
- Staff Wellbeing policy template
- Student Mental Health & Wellbeing policy template
You can find these in the policies area on Sharepoint, here:
Trust Pastoral Policies Updated
Our Attendance (Pupils) and Bereavement & Loss policies have been updated and ratified by trustees.
You can find these in the policies area on Sharepoint, here:
leading schools where children thrive
OPERATIONS
Learning Partners Network Team Update
We are now halfway through November, so far this month the Network Team have received 913 new tickets to our helpdesk with a grand total of 712 tickets being closed so far. The team have a clear goal this month to ensure our ticket closed numbers equal our new tickets coming into Helpdesk, I look forward to reporting again next month with an update on this.
The following ticket categories were the most submitted to the helpdesk:
Online Services: Online services play a crucial part in the day-to-day learning and teaching in schools. With applications such as SIMS, Teams, Insight, Satchel:One, IRIS and SAM learning it is important that both the on-site team and central network team provide quick response to tickets especially online services tickets where users may not have access to their work, teaching systems and other resources.
Classroom Devices: The classroom device category covers any equipment you have in your classroom excluding AV equipment like projectors and speakers. The most common issue in this category is keyboard and mice replacements but it can also include more severe issues like teacher PC’s not working and/or needing to be replaced. As we have seen this trend appearing, we are working with the IT on-site teams to make sure that downtime for devices is at a minimum to prevent disruptions to teaching and learning.
With the new academic year “rush” calming down, the team are now reviewing IT Development plans in schools and seeing what projects the year holds in terms of improvements we will be working on. We already have lots of projects in the works, for example, new anti-virus/malware software at Kings, new printers at Fullbrook, new web filtering/monitoring for student laptops at George Abbot and reviewing a new hall presentation setup at Boxgrove.
One thing I wanted to touch on was cyber security. As you know, we have all recently taken a course at the start of the academic year on cyber security and how to be safe online.
I wanted to speak about rogue emails being sent to our schools, one area that is on the rise are spoof emails. This is where a hacker sends an email but changes their display name to be a member of staff in school.
As you can see in the image, it looks as though Jack Mayhew has sent an email titled “Urgently Needed” but it is actually from email account mdirector44321 at Gmail. This is a real email that came in and although Hackers are getting smarter in the way they are targeting our schools, a keen eye will see that the email address is wrong. That’s why the best way to avoid these emails is each of us being on the lookout, that is why we need you to please be vigilant for these spoof emails. Thank you for your continued efforts to protect our schools.
We thank you for your support and as always, we please ask that you log any issues or queries on the helpdesk by emailing: networkhelpdesk@learningpartners.org
Ben Sayers
Learning Partners IT Director
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT - CPLD OFFERING
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
SHOUT OUT
HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR
CPLD course FACILITATORS.
SCAN THE QR CODE TO SIGN UP
Thank you so much
for your hard work.
We always find your
training so useful
For help or advice contact CPLD@learningpartners.org
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT - CPLD OFFERING
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
attended a cpld course since september?
please complete the survey below
BROWSE OUR CPLD OFFERING ABOVE
& BOOK USING THE QR CODES
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
LEARNING PARTNERS Staff Benefits
Discounts for Teachers
& Ode Cashback Card
Free Will Writing Service
Learning Partners Academy Trust and Estate Planning and Will Writing specialists Dunham McCarthy are able to offer you a free will writing service to help you plan for your future, protecting your family and loved ones. The free service is provided remotely, either by telephone or video call, at a time to suit you. You will have an adviser to help you complete each step from start to finish.
All Learning Partners staff, in any role (not just teachers), can access exclusive discounts, cashback and vouchers when they join the scheme. There are over 1200 of the biggest brands on their website and thousands of deals. Save on holidays, fashion, homeware, days out, mobiles, finance, insurance, TV and broadband and more. It’s free to join and free to use, it only takes a couple of minutes to register, and you can start saving on your purchases right away.
Click here to watch a short webinar with advice on what can be included in a will
Click here to sign up now
For more information and to book your initial appointment, click here
Click here for further information on Discounts for Teachers
Click here for further information on Ode Cashback Card
Freedom leisure - discounted membership
Freedom Leisure and Learning Partners Academy Trust can offer you discounted membership at Freedom Leisure sites in and around Surrey. There are three different packages to choose from offering various entitlements.
- Classic Corporate Plus (Peak) - £46 per month on direct debit or £460 annually (discount of 2 months free)
- Classic Corporate (Off Peak) - £37 per month on direct debit or £407 annually (discount of 1 month free)
- Connected Corporate - £51 per month or £510 annually (discount of 2 months free)
Employee Assistance Programme
The EAP is a confidential employee benefit designed to help you deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing. The helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Click here for further information
Kings Community Sports Hub Gym
Click here to sign up for discounted membership
Learning Partners staff can access the new Kings Community Sports Hub Gym (at Kings College Guildford) at a discounted rate of £14.99 per month (direct debit). Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 5.00pm to 10.00pm Weekends 9.00am to 5.00pm
Click here for further information
Click here to sign up for discounted membership
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
LEARNING PARTNERS Staff Benefits
Octopus Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme
Nuffield Health Discounted Membership
Learning Partners Academy Trust and Nuffield Health have teamed up to offer a 30% discount to all Learning Partner employees at Guildford Nuffield.
There are two membership options available with the 30% discount. The pricing for these options is as follows:
1. A monthly rolling membership of £61 per month (instead of £87) and can be cancelled with a calendar months’ notice at any time during the membership.
2. A 12-month direct debit membership of £50 per month (instead of £72) and can be cancelled within the 12-month commitment period (with a calendar months’ notice) if there is a change in circumstances that falls within the terms and conditions. This includes a health issue or injury, redundancy, pregnancy, relocation, etc.
Additionally, there is a 20% partner discount available for anyone who joins alongside Learning Partners members providing they link their membership payments together.
Supporting the UK government’s push towards an electric vehicle revolution, we are operating the Learning Partners Academy Trust Electric Car Scheme, in partnership with Octopus Electric Vehicles (OEV).
You can drive a brand-new electric car* using part of your gross salary, making savings on income tax and national insurance. You will pay some company car tax (Benefit in Kind) but the rates for electric cars are extremely low until 2025.
*Subject to eligibility and you signing the Learning Partners Academy Trust Driver Handbook.
You can save up to 40% on driving a brand-new electric car with maintenance, tyres and more included, plus insurance. There are some added extras too, including a home charger, funded with a standard installation, and 4,000 miles of free home charge or 4,000 miles public charge on the Electroverse + £50 home credit, if you switch to Octopus Energy at home. T&Cs can be found here.
Click here for further information
Click here for further information
All employees have access to the Learning Partners Sharepoint folder "Learning Partners Benefits" where all the information regarding the benefits above is filed.
Click here to access the folder
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
LEARNING PARTNERS STAFF BENEFITS
Horizon Guildford
Surrey Sports Park
Learning Partners Academy Trust have teamed up with Surrey Sports Park to offer staff a Full Access Concession Membership Costing £47 per month (normally £60 per month) or £507.60 if paid upfront annually, a saving of £56.40.
This membership includes access to:
- Gym
- Exercise Technique Workshops
- Fitness Induction and Personalised Exercise Program
- Group Fitness & Wellbeing Classes
- Aqua Fitness Classes
- Olympic Sized Swimming Pool, Steam and Sauna
- Squash Court Bookings
- Bouldering at the Surrey Summit Climbing Centre
- Tennis Court Bookings
- Off-Peak Badminton Court Bookings
This membership type also includes the following perks, at no extra cost!
- The Treatment Room
10% discount on your first treatment and a free 10 minute consutation with one of the specialists.
- Free Weights Induction
This session is aimed at improving confidence within the free weights area. One of the fitness team will go through different equipment, demonstrating and guiding you on how to use it.
- Barbell Club
A technical session aimed at improving confidence in performing the 3 key compound movements: bench press, squat and deadlift. The session is 30 minutes long and is delivered with a maximum of 3 members to ensure that each participant gets plenty of hands-on time to go through each lift with the observation of the fitness team.
Horizon Guildford (in Merrow), part of Horizon Leisure, is a newly refurbished state-of-the-art not-for-profit charitable trust with over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. With established locations in Havant and Waterlooville, Horizon Guildford marks the exciting expansion into the Guildford community. The mission is simple: to inspire more people to live healthier, happier lives. Alongside the gym, swimming facilities and classes, Horizon are passionate about promoting overall health and wellness. By becoming a corporate member, you will gain access to exceptional facilities, including a gym equipped with high-specification equipment, public swimming, sauna and steam room and over 100 weekly classes, including Les Mills experiences.
Find out more here
Horizon Guildford are delighted to offer all Learning Partners staff a discounted rate of £35 per month (usually £42 per month) for a 12-month membership commitment, along with a £10 administration fee.
If you would like to join Horizon, please contact Anita Kidgell.
akidgell@horizonic.com
leading schools where children thrive
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT continued
LEARNING PARTNERS STAFF BENEFITS
Surrey Sports Park, continued
Octopus Referral Scheme
- Member Journey
- An initial appointment to find out about your goals and what you're looking to achieve
- The fitness team will then provide you with a 3-day programme and go through this with you
- Your next meeting they will go through day 2 of the programme
- After 4 weeks, you will be booked in again to find out how you're finding your membership and make any adjustments to your programme
- This is repeated once more after
- They will then check in with you after 4, 8 and 12 weeks to see how you're progressing and here you'll be offered programme reviews.
Octopus have also just launched a referral scheme where staff who sign up for an electric vehicle receive a referral code which they can pass on to any colleague(s) ordering car. When the car arrives both parties receive £50 credit to their account. There is no limit to how many times someone can share their code.
Click here for further information
Octopus EV
Salary sacrifice and pension impact
While salary sacrifice schemes can be really beneficial and help you save money, it's important to understand the potential impact they can have on your pension, especially if you’re part of a defined benefit pension scheme like the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS) or Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
If you are interested in this membership option or are just looking to have a tour around the amazing facilities, then please visit the sales team between 10am and 5pm Monday – Friday. You just need to provide proof of your workplace.
Click here to find out how
an EV salary sacrifice
can affect your pension
01483 682662
Please make the most of these fabulous benefits!
sales@surreysportspark.co.uk
www.surreysportspark.co.uk
Sports Massage and Injury Rehabilitation at Kings
A sports therapist who rents a room at Kings College is offering all Learning Partners staff a discount for various services including:
- Sports massage
- Injury assessment and rehab
- Postural correction
- Corrective exercise
leading schools where children thrive
VACANCIES
Boxgrove
Guildford Grove
No current vacancies
Midday Supervisor
Teaching Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Loseley Fields
Northmead
No current vacancies
Pirbright
Sandfield
No current vacancies
Stoughton Infant
& Nursery School
No current vacancies
Shalford Infant & Nursery School
Fullbrook
George Abbot
Receptionist
Guildford County
Kings College
Teacher of MFL
Head of Social Sciences
Glebelands School
Moss Lane Infant School
No current vacancies
Tillingbourne Junior School
Burpham Primary School
No current vacancies
Learning Support Assistant
Surrey Maths School
No current vacancies
Learning Partners Academy Trust
leading schools where children thrive
Jack's upcoming visits and meetings
1:1 Director of Education (AKR)
1:1 Chair of Trustees (AI)
Tillingbourne visit
DfE visit to Burpham
Education Committee
Central Team meeting
1:1 COO (PAJO)
Termly visit to County School
SCITT visit
West Surrey Partnership meeting (JH)
1:1 Head of Fullbrook (AW)
Executive Team meeting
1:1 Director of Education (KK)
Termly visit to Stoughton & Northmead
27.11.23
27.11.23
27.11.23
27.11.23
28.11.23
28.11.23
29.11.23
30.11.23
30.11.23
30.11.23
01.12.23
01.12.23
01.12.23
01.12.23
09.00 - 10.00
10.00 - 11.00
12.00 - 13.30
14.00 - 15.30
08.30 - 10.00
11.30 - 13.00
10.00 - 11.00
09.00 - 11.30
12.00 - 14.00
14.30 - 15.30
08.45 - 09.30
10.00 - 12.00
12.00 - 13.00
13.30 - 15.00
Jack Mayhew
Patrick Overy
Andrew Roach
Jo Jones
Michele Miller
Kathryn Krynicki
Rachel Hughlock
Hannah Cover
Anna Wallis
Matt Goulborn
Carol Pearce
Olivia Wernick
Ben Sayers
Nicola Riley
Sarah Allen
Sam Crosby
Douglas Dalgleish
Julia Mason
Ashley Stapledon
Gaby Sutton
Shelly Masso
Tanya Marchetti
Jodie Farrell-Gray
CEO
COO
Director of Education
Director of ITT
Director of Education Secondary
Director of Education Primary
Primary Senior Leader
Primary Senior Leader
Trust Lead Practitioner (Pedagogy)
Trust Lead Practitioner (Pedagogy)
Primary SIP
Trust Inclusion Lead
IT Director & Deputy DPO
Head of HR
Head of Finance
Head of Governance & Estates
Capital Projects Lead
Clerk to the Board of Trustees
Compliance & Projects Officer
Senior Administrator and PA to CEO
PA to CEO
School Improvement Coordinator
Operations Coordinator
jmayhew@learningpartners.org
povery@learningpartners.org
aroach@learningpartners.org
jjones@georgeabbot.surrey.sch.uk
kkrynicki@learningpartners.org
mmiller@learningpartners.org
rhughlock@learningpartners.org
hcover@learningpartners.org
wallisa@fullbrook.surrey.sch.uk
mgoulborn@georgeabbot.surrey.sch.uk
cpearce@learningpartners.org
owernick@learningpartners.org
bsayers@learningpartners.org
nriley@learningpartners.org
sallen@learningpartners.org
scrosby@learningpartners.org
ddalgleish@learningpartners.org
jmason@learningpartners.org
astapledon@learningpartners.org
gsutton@learningpartners.org
smasso@learningpartners.org
tmarchetti@learningpartners.org
jfarrellgray@learningpartners.org
01483 977230
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01483 977230
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01932 349301
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