CEO Thoughts

Hi Everyone,

Hope you’re having a fab week.

This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, and it feels like an important moment to pause and reflect on the role we play – not just as educators, but as trusted adults in children’s lives. Every day, our schools are places where children bring their whole selves. Their excitement, their worries, their confidence, their doubts. For some, school is a place of joy and security; for others, it may be the most stable and predictable part of their week. That places a huge responsibility on us – but also gives us a powerful opportunity to make a difference.

Supporting children’s mental wellbeing is not an “add-on” to our work. It sits at the very heart of what we do. It’s in the way we greet children in the morning, how we notice when something feels different, how we listen without rushing to fix, and how we create environments where children feel safe, valued and able to be themselves. I know this work isn’t always easy. Many of our children are navigating challenges that didn’t exist a generation ago, and many of you are doing this alongside your own pressures and responsibilities. I want to say, very clearly, how much I appreciate the care, patience and professionalism you show day in, day out. Often, it’s the smallest interactions – a quiet word, a moment of reassurance, a consistent routine – that have the biggest impact.

As a Trust, our role is to support you to do this work well: by building strong, inclusive cultures in our schools, by investing in the right support and training, and by making sure wellbeing – for children and for staff – is not just something we talk about, but something we actively prioritise. This week, I encourage you to take a moment to notice the positive difference you make, often without ever seeing the full impact. And, just as importantly, to look after yourselves too. We can only support children well when we are supported ourselves.

Thank you for everything you do to help our children feel safe, understood and able to flourish – not just this week, but every week.

Have a great end to the week and a fantastic half term break when it arrives – you’re awesome!

Best Wishes

Gavin