CEO Thought for the Week

Hi everyone!

Hope your week is going positively and you’re enjoying the unusual sight of some sunshine in the sky today!!

I’ve just returned from a great visit this morning to St Peter-in-Eastgate CE Infant Academy, one of our newest Infinity academies. The children from Year 2 shared one of their favourite songs with me all about working as a team to solve problems. Then, as I toured the school, the staff team spoke so positively about how as a “team” they are finding new ways of working, exploring ways to improve their curriculum, and engaging with a wide variety of community groups and partners. It was great!

It made me reflect on the drive back about how we continue to develop our vision for Infinity as a “flourishing community." As a Trust, we can’t mandate this or even really build it. Our job is to set the conditions and provide the framework. The community grows out of people who are prepared to “give”. I always say to schools that the Trust formal offer is just the tip of the iceberg and that the exciting and even more impactful stuff is the big bit under the water! It’s in the informal connections developed and fostered in and between our schools as they reach out, offer support, share ideas, and seek advice. The quality of our Infinity community boils down to the quality of our relationships; the quality of our relationships rests on the quality of our conversations and the quality of our conversations depends on us being curious and asking questions.

Asking questions not just in our own schools but also of other schools in our Trust. We don’t need to wait for a formal network or conference for that to happen, we just need to pick up the phone, send an email, arrange a visit, or walk across the corridor. As I chatted with colleagues at St Peter’s, I was struck by the number of people (and schools) that they’ve engaged with across our Trust in the short time they’ve been with us. Whether that’s the Central team, SENCO group, other Heads or the various networks, and the common feedback from all that interaction was that when they reached out and asked a question, people were there and willing to help. Now they, in turn, are excitedly working on ideas for bringing pupils together from across the Trust, contributing and supporting others and answering the phone when the call comes for a little help!

So, as the advert once said, “it’s good to talk” so reach out, ask a question, and play your part in contributing to our “flourishing community."

Have a brilliant rest of the week!

Gavin

PS: Huge congratulations to those Infinity schools recognised by the Secretary of State for Education on the outcomes for Disadvantaged pupils. We are all incredibly proud of your achievements!