BJS Federation of Schools

Working together to secure the best possible outcomes for children, in line with the culture and diversity that exists within each school.

Leaders will support and empower each other to ensure no school is left behind.

We will be relentless in our mission to enable each school to set high expectations for all, ensuring these expectations are met.

Excellence Everywhere, Every day for Everyone

• Continued progress on the teaching of early reading skills- achieved
• Continued progress on closing the vocabulary gap- achieved
• Continued focus on high quality teaching and learning- achieved
• Nurturing community awareness and knowledge on SEND, to enhance the educational experiences of diagnosed and undiagnosed children- achieved

The end of the academic year marks a time of reflection and gratitude for all that has been achieved.

I want to say a massive thank you to all of our support staff and teachers. An incredible amount of work goes into ensuring our children are safe and that high expectations are set and met by our children, and this could not have been achieved without you.

I also want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the Federation's Executive Senior Leadership. Kenneth Baffoe, Zenia McIntosh, and Martinet Ackerman, your leadership has been inspiring. Kathryn Congdon, your dedication to our students with special needs is commendable. Martine Auton, Jacqui Napier, Florence Kirk-Buaku, Alice Mansell, Cidalia Fraga, Susan Banton, and Antonia Jenkins, your contributions have been invaluable.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with you all this year. Thank you for going the extra mile daily and simply doing what it takes! As a group and individually, you are an asset to the federation, where we now successfully have joint approaches to Leadership, Curriculum, SEND, Administration, and Finance.

This collaboration has led to many successes, including the vast majority of children making significant progress and meeting and exceeding National expectations at the end of each key stage at our schools.

A big part of a school's evolution is losing great people. We appreciate your hard work to all who will leave at the end of the academic year. However, with a combined service of 35 years, I give a special mention to the premises team. To the people who are often watching when nobody else is, making themselves available when nobody else can, and doing what nobody else should, I know the community will join me in saying we are deeply grateful to you and for you.

Your years of service are a testament to your reliability and sense of community, to which you will always belong. We wish you well in your future endeavors.

My final goodbye goes out to our year six pupils, of whom I expect great things.

Thank you to everyone who attended our school events over the year, helped on trips, and supported teaching and learning activities.

I wish you all a safe and peaceful Summer Holiday break.

.

Please remember to download our App (BJSFederationofschools) from the Google Play Store or App Store in preparation for September.

Hopefully, most of you now have your login details and were able to attend the webinar on Tuesday, 16th July.

On Tuesday, 9th July, our children performed at 'The Big One' federation concert.

Children from each school's band and choir came together to showcase their skills with a medley of songs.

For those who attended, I am sure you would join me in congratulating the children who delivered with great confidence and enthusiasm.

Thank you for supporting and being the perfect audience for our children.

On Monday, July 15th, 12 children from each school across years 3- 5 had the opportunity to visit the Hayward Gallery for ‘Primary School Takeover’. This was the most wonderful exhibition by Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere. The exhibition highlights Strachan's innovative approach to celebrating unsung explorers and cultural pioneers, whose stories have often been overlooked due to bias. In shining a light on these hidden histories, the artist highlights our shared yearning for belonging and recognition.

The gallery was closed to the public and was ‘taken over’ by a primary school team that led workshops and explained the artwork to the visiting children. We had an absolutely fantastic time and were so inspired by the artwork that we saw!

Year 4 had an exciting trip to the book launch of their ‘Imagine a Story’ project at the South Bank Center. The children are all now published authors, and we are so proud of them! They had a brilliant time meeting the author, Lisette Auton, and illustrator, Chanté Timothy, of the project. The children heard their part of the story being read aloud and then learnt how to draw one of the characters.

All the children left with a copy of the book to take home and big smiles.

What a special day to remember!

Every year, we host our annual ‘Year 6 Transition Social’, an event at which our children can meet other children within our federation who will be going to the same secondary school as them in September.

We know this can be an anxious time for our children, so an opportunity to get to know a familiar face is beneficial.

Last term, we successfully hosted the 'Year 6 Transition Social' for the third time, a testament to its effectiveness and the positive impact it has on our children.

The day it ended with children visibly more confident about moving on and looking forward to seeing each other in the future.

This is a truly unique occasion for our year 6 children, a special event that is exclusive to those attending a school within our federation of schools.

I am sure many of our children will begin seeing more friendly faces this year!

Thank you to our Chair of Governors, Fiona Morris, for coming along too!

On Wednesday, 26 June, Joy4Kids performed a show in Spanish for 240 children in our Federation. 80 children from each school participated in an interactive production at Bonneville. It was an incredible opportunity for the children to put their Spanish learning into practice in order to follow the storyline.

Never has it been clearer, just how much Spanish our children have learnt.

Thank you to Ms Donoso for your amazing teaching and Ms Monet for your leadership and organisation of this event.

This year governors have maintained a sharp focus on:

• Supporting the delivery of high quality provision and opportunties for children
• School finances
• The changing landscape of education, to ensure our schools are best positioned for the opportunities and challenges of the future

The work of governors can be found on our federation website https://www.bjsfederationofschools.co.uk/governors/

.

Thank you to everyone who voted for our new Parent Governor.

Overall, 95 votes were cast across the federation.

Congratulations to Claire Tyler, who was elected the new Parent Governor for the Federation.

The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.

Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.