Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Trust NEWSLETTER Issue10 - October 2023 Internal Edition As the fi rst part of our Autumn term comes to a close I do hope that you will manage to take a deep breath and enjoy some down time with family and friends. We have all had a very busy period, our schools continue to work tirelessly with our young people and families to support the communities we all serve. The Trust is really pleased with the recent HMI Monitoring visit at St Felix Primary in Haverhill as it affi rmed the positive work of the school and Trust. St Pancras Primary in Ipswich also had a very positive two-day Ofsted Inspection in September, the outcome was Good in all aspects of the school. Our thanks and gratitude go to both of the schools, staff and governors for their continued commitment to raising standards and outcomes for our young people. St Benedict’s Catholic School in Bury St Edmunds had another very strong year for its academic outcomes. An example of this is for the second year in a row a student gained an incredible 12 grade 9s across the board for their exams. This is one of only a very, very small handful of students across the whole of the Country. St Laurence Primary in Cambridge is working closely with Cambridge County Council’s SEND team and the Diocese to establish the fi rst Trust Enhanced Resources Base. This will support the mainstream education of children from across Cambridgeshire with identifi ed Social, Emotional and Behavioural Diffi culties. St Mary’s Primary in Ipswich continue to achieve exceptionally strong pupil attainment outcomes on core curriculum areas for both expected levels of achievement and those working at greater depth. The established successful co-headship model of leadership has supported capacity for Mrs Jo Berry to be seconded to the central Trust team for 1 day a week. St Louis Primary in Newmarket is developing plans to further develop the school’s excellent personal development offer through the creation of a new mental health hub. The school is using the generous endowment from the Sisters of St Louis to fi nance this innovative project to support pupil wellbeing. St Alban’s Secondary also had a very good set of outcomes for this year, in many cases the GCSE results were even better than the predicted outcomes and the attainment was a strong as ever at the school. The Trust was also pleased to see the impact of some signifi cant Christ at the Centre, Children at the Heart www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk
Christ at the Centre, Children at the Heart www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk investment in the redecoration and improvement of the schools main building, not to mention a really impressive and fully modernised kitchen area. The Trust will continue to grow in size as we will be working to welcome in St Alban’s Primary School in Cambridge into our family of schools. A consultation process will start after half term and the proposed academisation is planned to take place just after Easter 2024. We really do look forward to St Alban’s joining us in the near future.Refl ection Prayer from St Benedict Rules – Daily reading of the rule of Saint Benedict for Young People Lord Jesus, give us listening ears, listening hearts and listening minds. Help us to learn, to love and to instruct, and to do these things in your strength and with your love. Amen. Below is a prayer to assist us and the faithful throughout the world for this extremely important petition for peace in the World. Please continue to pray this and other prayers for peace in the weeks and months ahead. A Prayer for Peace Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true King of peace. In You alone is found freedom. Please free our world from confl ict. Bring unity to troubled nations. Let Your glorious peace reign in every heart. Dispel all darkness and evil. Protect the dignity of every human life. Replace hatred with Your love. Give wisdom to world leaders. Free them from selfi sh ambition. Eliminate all violence and war. Glorious Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, Every angel and saint: Please pray for peace. Pray for unity amongst nations. Pray for unity amongst all people. Pray for the most vulnerable. Pray for those suffering. Pray for the fearful. Pray for those most in need. Pray for us all. Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear our prayers. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen.
Christ at the Centre, Children at the Heart www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk My best wishes and gratitude I extend to you all for the work, support and friendship you give to our Trust. Please enjoy this Autumn break, Flavio Vettese Chief Executive Offi cer St Pancras Catholic Primary School, Ipswich It was a very intense but positive start to the year for us with an Ofsted inspection in the second week of term. We were delighted to retain our ‘Good’ grading and there were a great deal of positives highlighted in the report. The inspectors praised the school for it’s ‘high expectations’ and ‘ambitious curriculum’, as well as the pupils’ ability to ‘work well together’ and ‘listen carefully to each other.’ We were delighted with the recognition given to the school in a number of areas including the schools’ wide range of clubs, effective safeguarding, high priority given to Reading, a positive start in EYFS and that all staff are proud to work at St Pancras. We are very grateful and have really benefi ted from the provision given to us by the Trust in preparing the staff for the inspection, as well as the great support given to us by our Governors who ‘know the school well and have the expertise to hold leaders to account.’ All stakeholders worked well together to produce this positive and well-deserved outcome for the school. It has been a wonderful way to start the school year. Lucille Martin
Christ at the Centre, Children at the Heart www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk An insight from a new starter at St Alban’s, Ipswich ‘I had already worked in education before starting at St Alban’s, but what I noticed immediately upon my fi rst visit of the school was the genuine thought and care shown towards both pupils and staff. In this regard, it made starting a new position here less dauting: I know that my questions will be answered with thought and kindness and that there is always someone around who is more than happy to help and guide. Members of the SLT team are also very approachable and the induction and personal development sessions always leave room for questions and/or comments. All in all, it feels that no matter how intimidating the task or the workload, there are always people who care.’ Aurore (Rory) Richardson-Todd Teacher of MFL and English (ECT) St Felix, Haverhill Jade Folan - Offi ce Manager Ioana Dumitrescu - Year 4 Interim Class Teacher Ruth Bamlett - SENCo St Laurence, Cambridge Aleta Watson - Year 2 Teacher Katia Kitagawa - Year 3 & 4 Teacher Sarah Ward - Year 5 & 6 Teacher Marta Prokop - Year 5 & 6 Teacher Kate Tilley - Year 5 & 6 Teacher St Louis, Newmarket Katherine Carrick - Nursery Teacher Antoinette Brankin - Year 1 & 2 Teacher Jessica Masters - Year 6 Teacher Emma Woodhall - Teaching Assistant Vikki Weston-Mann - Teaching Assistant Start of School Year 23/24 Staff Joiners We are delighted to welcome new colleagues to the family of schools within the Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Multi Academy Trust. They include:
Christ at the Centre, Children at the Heart www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk St Mary’s, Ipswich Emily Mastery - Early Career Teacher Stephon Palmer - Teaching Assistant St Alban’s, Ipswich Oliver Manning - Science Teacher Rory Richardson-Todd - MFL & English Teacher Oliver Kemsley - RE Teacher Julie Hinton - Administration Robert Coleman - Teaching Assistant Lisa Gittins - Executive Assistant Rosie Gage - Sixth Form Study & Cover Supervisor Julia Gant - Pastoral Administrative Support St Benedict’s, Bury St Edmunds Emma Eden - Teacher Danny Harrison - Teacher Viki Kennedy - Teacher Emma Richardson - Teacher Niamh Rooney - Teacher Amy Whittingdale - Teacher Alice Pickersgill - Reading and Literacy Champion Fionnghuala Leighton-Scott - Science Technician If you are interested in becoming a school governor or would like to fi nd out more about the fantastic impact that you could make within our Trust schools then please visit the Trust website by scanning the following QR code. Please share with anyone who is interested in learning more about the positive impact of good governance on pupils’ life chances and might be interested in joining one of our school boards. www.ourladyofwalsingham.co.uk/governorrecruitment Foundation Governor Recruitment the DIOCESE of EAST ANGLIA www.rcdea.org.uk