News & Events
Welcome to our Pegasus News Page
-
REFLECTIONS OF THE CEO
Thu 29 Feb 20242024: MY REFLECTION YEAR
February
Ahhh February has come and gone. The month of love and gratitude!
There was an interesting conversation I had this week whilst facilitating NPQs: “Does self-care mean being self-ish?”
We are doing a lot to empower our staff and governors across our trust, so they invest in their self-care. Wellbeing is so important, but as an employer, our main contribution is the control of workload and pressures, not controlling how people invest in their self-care and wellbeing. What we do is raise its importance, give access to great services, and listen to what staff feel they need so they can manage the workload and invest more in their self-care.
It was therefore interesting to hear how self-care is becoming a blocker to achieving the best outcomes for children and young people in some schools. Leaders in these schools are experiencing a more self-ish model of self-care which is stifling what makes a school community such a unique place to be.
They immediately respond without compromise such as:
“I do not have time to run a club as I need to focus on my self-care”
“I cannot help colleagues after school as I need to focus on my self-care”
“I feel my self-care is more important than planning my lessons”
As the employer, we must first listen to our teams and understand the why. Teaching and leadership are challenging and our understanding of mental health is the best it has ever been.
But working in a school does have unique benefits. By choosing to work in a school, we choose to work differently from other industries. The “13 weeks” holiday is there, way more than the typical 5-6 weeks in other industries. Direct contact hours are typically 8.30am-3.30pm, very different from the standard 9am-5pm. We work with children and young people and can finish each day with a sense of self-worth as to how we have made a tangible difference. There are challenges and pressures, but we can invest in self-care to manage these and supportive leaders reviewing workload.
The benefits of going that extra mile, further enable staff to thrive in their relationships and sense of belonging in their school, and have the joy of self-care in their work day in and day out. Preserve “me” time, but remember a community thrives when we all do our bit together.
-
REFLECTIONS OF THE CEO
Wed 31 Jan 2024JANUARY 2024
January is a tough month! As leaders, we strive to inspire our teams against a tide of the post-festive slump, short daylight hours, stormy & freezing weather elements, frustrations of failed “new year-new me” resolutions, and what feels like the longest wait until payday! In an educational setting, this is also the probable feeling of hundreds of your families and children! An overwhelming cloud of overwhelmingness!
So how do we keep inspiring our communities?
Well, there is a line between optimism and denial!
We must acknowledge the challenges of the month as they are our community’s realities. It is tough.
But there is hope and always an opportunity to celebrate.
2023 ended with OFSTED inspections for our two primary academies. Each had a challenge ahead of them. Each needed the recognition that their day-to-day practice for their children was doing its best for their next stage of education. Proudly, we have started 2024 knowing they are doing this, and more. More importantly, their reports celebrate what makes them unique but also bring them together as part of our trust. We hope we can keep doing more and even better for our children and celebrate how far we have come.
What else can give our teams optimism? Well, Spring is on the way. There are a few more minutes of daylight each day! For those of us who leave early for work and return late, we are starting to see the lightness in our journeys again! We have hope that there is more glorious light ahead of us and we can celebrate coming through the winter darkness.
Finally, we can inspire our teams through the optimism of the roles we hold within education. What a privilege to work with brilliant young people, passionate staff, invested communities of families and a network of brilliant colleagues. We hope the year ahead will see even more achievements not only for our children, but children and young people across our networks, and look forward to celebrating every little achievement, every single day.
Keep the hope everyone.
Keep the hope.
-
CONGRATULATIONS Priestmead!
Tue 23 Jan 2024Priestmead Primary School Continues Onwards and Upwards in Inspection Report
Priestmead Primary School and Nursery has continued as a beacon of educational excellence, according to the latest inspection report.
Nestled at the heart of its Kenton community, the school radiates vibrancy and joy, making it a place where children thrive academically and socially.
The report highlights the school's commitment to fostering respectful relationships, ensuring that all children, including those with special educational needs, flourish.
Leadership at Priestmead and The Pegasus Partnership Trust to which it is a part of, has crafted an exceptional curriculum that builds over time, empowering children with essential knowledge and skills.
Teachers employ effective strategies to secure learning in long-term memory, preparing children exceptionally well for the challenges of secondary school.
Notably, the school's dedication to promoting reading is evident from early years, where children enthusiastically engage with books. The emphasis on phonics, strong support for developing key skills, and exposure to a diverse range of books underscore Priestmead's commitment to creating avid readers.
The report commends the school's meticulous attention to safeguarding, ensuring a safe and nurturing environment. Children spoke confidently about the trusted adults they can turn to, emphasising the school's commitment to their well-being.
Priestmead is not just a place of learning; it's a community where character-building activities, extensive opportunities, and strong emotional support converge to create an environment where children want to learn and thrive, demonstrated with its exceptionally high attendance.
In summary, the inspection report is a testament to Priestmead's unwavering commitment to academic excellence, children well-being, and creating a vibrant community of future world-changers.
Amy Creamer, Associate Headteacher, joined Priestmead in January 2022.
“We are very pleased with the outcomes of the inspection; this is a wonderful acknowledgement of how special Priestmead is. The success of our school is down to the hard work and commitment of the school community. We have a highly dedicated staff team, wonderful children and a very supportive parent body.
The inspectors were particularly impressed with our children being polite, safe and motivated to learn; and with our teachers having strong subject knowledge and expertise, as well as high expectations for every child, ensuring that the children receive the individual support that they need to be successful.
As we look ahead, we are determined to build on our successes and continue to develop the curriculum and opportunities that we can offer Priestmead children. They deserve the very best and the best is what we are committed to providing.”
Sash Hamidi, Executive Headteacher for Priestmead and CEO for The Pegasus Partnership Trust:
“Having been a child at Priestmead and now its executive headteacher, I know this achievement is part of a unique legacy and history which makes Priestmead a true community school.
Our children shine and succeed both during their time with us, and as they move on from us. This is thanks to the phenomenal staff, leaders, associates and trustees and our exceptional parent/carer community who work in partnership with us to both support and challenge us to be our best.
Whilst the report does not highlight any recommendations, we are ambitious! We continue to look outward to see what else we can do for our children and community."
-
From the DFE: 5 ways to boost your child's development
Sun 14 Jan 2024WE KNOW, SO LET'S MAKE THE TIME:
The more you chat, play and read with young children, the more you help develop their brain, and provide them with the skills they need for when they start school.
Wherever you are, simply chatting back and forth, answering your child’s questions, and sharing special moments together helps their brain to grow and develop secure, strong connections
Have a look here for more details:
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/10/5-easy-ways-boost-childs-development/
-
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Fri 05 Jan 2024On behalf of all of us, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We hope you all had a relaxing break and are geared up for an exciting new term and an even more exciting 2024!
What are your New Year goals? Make sure you plan for the obstacles which may hold you back!GOOD LUCK for 2024!
-
PEGASUS Autumn 2023 Trust Newsletter
Mon 18 Dec 2023Please find our new termly Trust Newsletter:
AUTUMN 2023 NEWSLETTER
-
Pegasus Partnership Forum 1 - Autumn 2023
Fri 10 Nov 2023Our Trustees and Governance Associates spent a morning with leaders, exploring our academies as a part of our Partnership Forum.
The Forum allows governors and leaders from across the trust to work together, learn together, challenge together and celebrate together.
The forum allows first-hand evidence gathering of the impact of leadership and management at both academy level and trust level - what better source of evidence than meeting with and speaking with our children! #childrenfirst
-
What are Trustees focused on?
Fri 06 Oct 2023Trustees ensure we meet our audit and risk compliance duties and responsibilities as well as scrutinising our financial spending.
They have seen the opportunities of developing operational staff through a centralised approach and economies of scale to invest money back into the curriculum and children in each academy.
They know the more schools collaborate, the better they become so they have set the Central Team the objective to prepare for expanding The Pegasus Partnership Trust by finding the right school(s) who align with our vision and values, believe in the power of partnership and collaboration and want to develop and retain great staff as part of a Trust.
-
WELCOME BACK!
Wed 06 Sep 2023OUR 2023-24 YEAR!
We warmly welcome back, all our children, families and staff from across The Pegasus Partnership Trust! We hope you have had restful summers and are ready for the new academic year!
Congratulations to our former Priestmead and Welldon children who received their GCSE and A-Level results over the summer too - some truly outstanding results! You are the role models to our current children on how to prepare to be positive future world changers!
This academic year we are excited to focus on growing our Partnership of schools, to support more communities and children to achieve excellent outcomes within trusted, safe environments.
If you want to know more about our Trust, go to our CONTACT US page!
Sash Hamidi
Executive Headteacher/CEO
-
Meeting dates for 2023-24
Fri 14 Jul 2023Our governance meeting dates for 2023-24 are now published. Go to the CALENDAR page under NEWS & EVENTS
