Our AGM and final trustee meeting for the year was a very positive and enjoyable event. Professor Pat Shenton of Liverpool John Moores University was elected as Chair of the North Pennines Learning Partnership and we look forward to working closely with her during the course of the new academic year. Looking ahead to our second year NPLP will be changing its structure and adopting the Co-operative trust model which will enhance stakeholder engagement and give everyone within our area the chance to become more involved. This change is supported by the Trust and Foundation Schools Partnership (TFSP) and the Co-operative Group. This will bring further benefits to schools within the NPLP Trust and provide access to a national network of Co-operative Trust schools.

A very important step forward has been taken by four of our individual governing bodies recently following the joint work that has been taking place with the Trust School governors and the NCSL. A joint collaborative governing committee has been set up. This committee has statutory powers and will closely monitor and support our joint developments. The enthusiasm and sense of direction flowing through this group of people is one to be enjoyed and nurtured as they begin to work ever more collaboratively in partnership with the steering group of headteachers for the benefit of the trust.

In June we had a visit from Adrian Whitely, Deputy Head at Childwell School in Liverpool, part of the Fiveways Trust. Adrian spent the day looking at the ways in which his trust, a very urban based model compared with our very rural trust. External funding sources and the possible use of trust assets were discussed in a very useful and illuminating way that gave us some insight into how we could progress these issues further. It was clear as the day progressed that we all face the same issues in one way or another and that there is a need to begin networking more closely together on a more regular basis as like-minded trusts in the future.

Our newly appointed ASBM has started work and is visiting all 19 schools across the project in order to get to grips with the challenges that our widespread schools face in this important area of the trust and partner schools future business development.

35 Governors and senior leaders met at Ridley Hall for a training session led by Ed Lott from the National College on succession planning and the ‘next steps’ required to fulfil the ECM agenda due to be fully operational in terms of extended schools delivery in 2010.

The evening was a lively and enjoyable gathering that was full of ideas and commitment from all present. Senior leaders and chairs will be looking to organise working party groups to formulate future plans for dissemination to all stakeholders of the trust as a result of some of the suggestions made.

Further good progress was made during a follow up meeting of Governors led by Barry Bainbridge from NCSL in this area on governing bodies working more closely together.

Good to meet up with Viv Holt and Barbara Wilson who led the NPLP Trust review sessions with Headteachers and Chairs of Governors recently. Searching and supportive sessions gave them both a clear picture of where the schools within the trust have evaluated their experience in terms of impact during this first year.

University of Cumbria are working closely with the trust schools to structure Masters accreditation into work being undertaken by teaching and support staff across our schools. Master Class video conferencing will begin shortly by university staff with students from Samuel King’s School.

Cross school activities have been very successful during the Spring and early Summer terms. Our first   swimming gala was held and hosted by one of our partner institutions – North Country Leisure at their newly opened swimming pool in Hexham, where a UK Olympic swimmer joined with the students to give a highly motivating opening speech and demonstration of swimming techniques,  before youngsters across the 3-19 range took part in an extremely enjoyable session.

A very successful Food Event day was held at Bellingham Middle School where youngsters from Year 2 to Year 10 cooked together recipes that they had written and sourced. Our very own cook book will be published as result of the day’s activities.

Attendance at a SSAT small school’s conference in Newcastle has given food for thought. The NPLP is not a hard federation of schools and we haven attempted to work to-gether within an autonomous school collaboration beneath the umbrella of a trust. This means that we have five governing bodies. We are aware that there are hard federation trusts and were interested during the conference to hear how their trust’s were progressing in comparison to our own structure. A very useful and interesting day gave us further food for thought and material for discussion about the best structure in the future.

I would be more than interested to hear from schools in the process of deciding a structure for their future trust.

Ongoing discussions and planning continues with our Further Education and ICT business partners. We have held the first University Of Cumbria led KS2/3 transition demonstration lessons in Samuel King’s School watched by a number of Trust teachers who are now starting to put into their own teaching some of the techniques shown to them by John Peatfield Head of the University Schools CPD Manager on the day.

RM Ltd held an extremely useful and informing training day at their main office in Abingdon for the schools that they are linked with as trusts around the country and their experts took us through the use of VLE’s, video conferencing and green issues and developments. Useful time in discussions surrounded each school’s trust developments and further work across all six trusts was highlighted for the future.