19 Feb 2024Starting a VIAT school
With secondary school place offers being sent out on 1 March, followed by primary school offers on 16 April, many parents/carers, pupils and students will be thinking about the transition process. Starting a new school at any time can be a daunting process but, within VIAT, we do everything we can to make it a fun, enjoyable and happy experience in each one of our schools.
To give a taste of how we do this, and to show what we have put in place to make the transition process as straight-forward and worry-free as possible, we have created two videos so you can hear directly from our pupils, students and staff. We hope this will help reassure pupils/students and parents/carers alike that starting a new school is an exciting adventure and, here at VIAT, we will do everything we can to ensure each and every one of our pupils and students feel valued, listened to and supported as they start their journey with us.
You can watch the pre-school to primary transition video here:
You can watch the primary to secondary (including Sixth Form) here:
18 Dec 2023CEO Christmas Blog
I have now had the privilege of being the CEO for Valley Invicta Academies Trust (VIAT) for two terms – it’s been incredibly busy but also extremely rewarding.
At the end of term, I was delighted to be able to confirm a 6.5% pay increase, agreed by the Trust Board, for staff across the Trust (and a slightly higher raise for those on the VIAT living wage), as well as a brand new Health Cash Plan which will be implemented in the New Year.
Health cash plans provide financial support towards dental and optical costs, diagnostic testing and alternative and complimentary therapies. They also provide online GP services and comprehensive support for mental health and wellbeing, as well as other additional perks.
It’s a real priority for me to ensure the Trust looks after its staff, to recognise and acknowledge their hard work and commitment in what can be a really challenging, fast-paced and intense environment. I’m very lucky to have a workforce of dedicated, professional individuals who are absolutely passionate about what they do, but I hope the pay increase and the new health scheme will go some way to show my, and the Trust’s, appreciation of each and every one of them.
As we approach Christmas – a time that is full of festivities for some, but much more difficult for others – I hope that everyone within the VIAT family, staff and pupils/students, will have the opportunity for a well-earned break. For me, it’s a time to look forward and to build on the foundations we have laid in the first two terms of this academic year. I’m excited to see what 2024 will bring.
28 Nov 2023Valley Invicta Academies Trust SEND Action Research Event
Valley Invicta Teacher Training was delighted to host the Valley Invicta Academies Trust SEND Action Research Event with Dr Alison Ekins which took place on Thursday, 16 November.
Dr Ekins, Trust Director of SEND, wrote this about the event:
During the academic year 2022/23, all of the nine VIAT Trust schools engaged in a year-long SEND Action Research project. Each school identified their own focus for their Action Research project, and this produced a rich variety of different research projects that we are now able to share and disseminate to support the continued development of practices across our Trust schools.
Across the VIAT SEND Action Research projects, we prioritised embedding the Kent Mainstream Core Standards and the evidence-informed approaches built into the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) Guidance Reports. These have been instrumental to us in ensuring that the practitioner research that we have undertaken in each school is built on a foundation of evidence-informed knowledge and understanding about what works and practices which may be effective to support a range of different pupil and cohort needs.
16 November 2023 was the culmination of the work that had been undertaken, and I was delighted to be able to host a VIAT SEND Action Research Celebration event, which showcased and provided an opportunity to share the fantastic SEND Action Research projects that had been completed by all of our nine Trust schools.
The event was attended by SENCOs, senior leaders and headteachers from all nine schools, as well as governors, Trustees and senior colleagues from the Local Authority, including the Director of Education for Kent. The research presented by each school was of an extremely high quality, with clear links to wider evidence-bases and research and opportunities for further collaboration and learning across the Trust. A hard copy VIAT Action Research Evaluation Report booklet was also provided to give everyone with more details about exactly what had been undertaken and the findings, impact and implications for the future from each of the nine SEND Action Research projects.
29 Feb 2024
