Unbelievably, there are only 29 working days left (!) before we all finish for the Christmas break and don’t come back together again until the New Year. 2021 has been many things, and it’s certainly felt like a whirlwind. I think I say that every year, though…

It is during this period of national reflection - as we march both literally and figuratively toward Remembrance Sunday - that I have to share the sad news of a pupil death. MC, a much beloved child, friend and member of the North Ridge community, sadly passed away on Sunday 24 October. It is always so difficult to know what to write when we lose one of our beautiful pupils, as there seems to be no combination of words that can reflect how sorry I am for the families and those staff and children closest to such a tragedy. On behalf of the whole Trust, I send our deepest condolences to MC’s family at this time, and I would like to thank all the staff who helped ensure she had a happy and purposeful education during the time we were lucky enough to have her with us.

One of the most remarkable aspects of our schools is the resilience our pupils and staff all have to work through difficulty and continue to make achievements, and it is with this in mind that I am delighted to share the news that Abbey School was awarded silver grading in the UNICEF Right to Rights charter, after a rigorous assessment led by Gail Woodcock. This a fantastic accolade that puts more pressure on Mrs Windle to dedicate a whole room to the multiple awards the team at Abbey has amassed. Well done Gail, and all of #TeamAbbey!

It was a privilege to be involved in the official opening of not one but two new Nexus school sites over the past few weeks. On Friday 15 October we held the official opening of Chapel House, a new learning environment for our pupils at Becton School. Then, last Friday (5 November), we held the official opening of The Bridge, the new 14-19 campus we’ve created with our Doncaster schools. Both events showcased the boundless vision and innovation our school leaders and teachers have for what we can offer our pupils, and it was amazing to see so many colleagues there from across the Trust to celebrate the realisation of our ambitions. Special thanks to those Directors and local Governors who were able to attend - putting more volunteer time in to support our work.

Finally, I am proud to share the news that our Annual Report for 2020-21 was published on 21 October 2021 by the Board of Directors, along with our first ever Workforce Engagement Statement. Both documents have been sent out to all staff and governors via email, and are also on the Trust website. I would encourage everyone to read through both documents, as they tell a very positive story about the work of our Trust over the last 12 months, a story we couldn’t tell without all the hard work of our children, staff and governors.

Thank you and see you all soon!