After months of providing an online education programme, we enjoyed welcoming back many more of our students in person. Our staff quickly got to grips with managing year group bubbles, ensuring safety signage is clearly presented, sanitation stations readily available and delivering the best possible CORE education within all the new social distancing and protective guidelines.
Return to school
Seeing our classrooms full of eager students, grateful for the return to a routine and taking the well laid out precautions in their stride, has given us all great satisfaction. We are proud to share with you the CORE Education Trust “Back to School” update.
“We have our GCSEs coming up soon enough, we want to do as best we can while we have a lot of catching up to do.”
Year 11 Student at JQA
Arena Headteacher award
Providing routine and a safe environment for our students started full steam ahead across the Trust last week. The collaborative spirit between our students and staff created the ‘new normal’ very quickly for the first day back. At Arena Academy, normality prevailed with the first Headteacher Award being presented to Year 7 Student, Tegan. #COREcollaboration
Birmingham Rockets
At City Academy, students had the opportunity to interact and train with the Birmingham Rockets – a basketball Team based in Birmingham with links to the Houston Rockets in Texas USA. The Rockets qualified trainer met with some very excited and aspirational Year 8 students to deliver the first basketball coaching session. This programme is something that will continue to develop as one of our key Trust partnerships this year. #COREopportunity
Exemplary return to school
National news and media were invited to Jewellery Quarter Academy to report on our exemplary return to school planning arrangements. We heard from our staff, parents and students as they embarked on a new school year with respect for the rules, year group bubbles, masks and sanitation stations. Mr William’s focussed on “trust” – trusting our students to follow the new routines to take care of themselves and their peers. #CORErespect
“The key thing for us: it’s not about political agenda, it’s making sure every one of our students achieves their aspirational targets.”
Mr Williams Headteacher
Trust
The beginning of term has seen ‘trust’ at the heart of all our schools successfully welcoming back our students. Supporting and including our students in the day to day running and procedures within school has paved the way to staying safe while students continue to learn and develop. This term will continue to present challenges and we will need to keep adapting. The dedication, commitment and collaborative spirit between staff and students will help us overcome these challenges.
In the meantime our schools continue to prepare as normal to welcome current Year 6 students to virtual opening evenings.
