A big welcome back to all our children, families and staff after the Christmas break. It was lovely to spend time in all our schools over the last weeks of the autumn term, attending nativities and choir services. I have to admit that it was a challenge getting my waistcoat back on again after the Christmas break, though... I was concerned at one point that a button might ping off and cause someone a mischief, but so far I’ve retained 100% of my buttonage and healthy living has started in earnest!

I’d like to start this briefing by sharing the news that Jill Walker will be leaving us at the end of this half term. Jill has been with Nexus since September 2017 and has worked with all our academies to help move our school improvement agenda forward. She’s been a real asset to the Trust in her time with us and her new role is one she’s really excited to have secured. I’m really pleased for Jill and she leaves Nexus with nothing but our very wishes. Thank you, Jill!

The annual audit has completed and the Trust accounts were signed off by Directors on 19th December 2018. Whilst we continue to have challenges to respond to in our academies, the overall financial health of the Trust is sound and I am incredibly grateful for the continued hard work of Headteachers in managing school budgets responsibly.

I’m really pleased to share the news that Becton School in Sheffield is consulting on joining our MAT. Becton is a special school that provides a range of services, including the Sheffield Children’s Hospital education service. I have been working with the school’s Headteacher and Governors since early 2018 and I had a really positive Q&A session with staff last week. I’m really excited about what this partnership could bring to the offer for children and families across the region.

It is with much sadness that I finish this briefing by sharing news of the death of a much loved pupil at Pennine View School, Jack Ward. Jack sadly passed away on 29th December 2018 after a short and unexpected illness. Jack was 13 years old. As I’m sure you can imagine, this has had a huge impact on the whole school community and I have been incredibly proud of how compassionately and professionally Sarah and her team have supported staff and pupils through a very difficult first week back. Sarah has been in regular contact with Jack’s family and their resilience at such a devastating time is nothing short of remarkable. A Just Giving page has been set up in Jack’s memory with all proceeds going to school. The link for the page is as follows: Crowdfunding link

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