A welcome return

14th September 2021

Well done you!

It will have been the first full week for many people and for a significant period of time. The rhythm and routine of the academic year has been reasserted and, as might have been expected, we’ve then had a good dollop of summer sun and warmth – after almost 8 weeks of weather which at best could be described as flat our return to school and college has been met with a short Indian summer.

The pupils, students and the adults will have earned their weekend. And for many of us the return to that rhythm and routine will be welcome. It’s great having a long summer break but many of us need the structure and discipline that returning to school or college brings and in doing so we then know that we can enjoy those periods when we are able to take some time away. It’s those polarised experiences.

It’s worth, at the start of this academic year, taking some time to remind ourselves of what we are about.

Your school, your college, your Trust is built upon some firm foundations. We have a very clear and strong ethos. We hold onto those principles as we work through our challenges (individual and collective); day in and day out. If we don’t have that strong ethos we might ask ourselves the question: why? We do what we do not because it is easy but because it is important and necessary. We ask ourselves, on your behalf: why do we do what we do? What drives us? What motivates? What legacy will we leave? How will we affect real and sustained personal and community change?

We believe in changing lives. This community, our children and young people, need to know that there are professionals out there who are fully committed to ensuring they get the very best educational experiences, in the very best educational environment.

Be reassured that this academic year Sitwell Junior School, Oakwood High School and Thomas Rotherham College, working within Inspire Trust, will offer the very best learning experiences and be the very best places to work, within the context of a professional, supporting and challenging environment.

Inspire Trust is committed to… Educational Social Responsibility

‘Together, within this multi academy trust, we will work to inspire learners to achieve, for today, for tomorrow and into the future’

Through a process of engagement and collaboration, Inspire Trust has further developed this ethos, by encouraging each establishment to define their specific purpose in the development of the young people they support.

• ‘Inspiring lives, creating possibilities, shaping futures’ – Sitwell Junior School
• ‘Inspired to achieve’ – Oakwood High School
• ‘A tradition of achievement – a future of opportunity’ – Thomas Rotherham College