On Friday, 22 November 2024, pupils from across the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET) gathered at Staffordshire University for the first-ever Trust-wide Poetry Festival - a celebration of creativity and values.

This year’s festival featured an impressive collection of poems, all reflecting the FFET Core Values: Humility, Compassion, Honesty, Integrity, Gratitude, Courage, Respect, and Justice.

Handforth Grange Primary School is delighted to announce its recognition as the WINNER of the SEND Provision Award (Mainstream School) at the prestigious 2024 Educate Awards. The ceremony took place at Liverpool Cathedral on Friday 15th November, in celebration of excellence across the education sector. 

The SEND Provision Award recognises schools that excel in providing outstanding support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), fostering an inclusive and nurturing learning environment.

Ellesmere Port - Early Life enjoyed an incredible summer – trips to the zoo, library, farm, lots of stay and plays and a fantastic graduation party! We also attended a VERY busy Community Fun Day at Whitby Park attended by lots of local agencies. Since returning to groups in September, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming 22 new families (and counting!) into our Early Life groups – alongside our wonderful returning second year families. Looking forward, we have exciting plans for festive events for all the family including Halloween parties at our Ellesmere Port C of E College base, and Christmas Keepsake workshops.

Join Us for the Poetry Festival!

Are you ready to share your original poetry that embodies our FFET values? This is your chance to listen to inspiring guest speakers and be featured in our anthology! Our festival will take place in November 2024 at Staffordshire University.

We invite the top entries from each of our schools to showcase their talent at this exciting event. All poetry styles are welcome!

October 2024 –Handforth Grange Primary School is proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for not one, but two categories at this year’s esteemed Educate Awards:

• Most Inspirational Primary School

• SEND Provision Award – Mainstream School

These nominations are a testament to the unwavering commitment and dedication demonstrated by our exceptional staff and pupils. Their hard work continues to inspire and make a lasting impact within our school community, ensuring an inclusive and supportive environment for all.

October 2024 – On Monday, the Year 10 team from BHA faced off against Excel Academy in an eagerly awaited local derby match. The game started with an explosive pace as Vinnie put BHA ahead just 2 minutes in, followed by a second goal from Gael at the 6-minute mark. Excel Academy managed to pull one back after 15 minutes, but BHA responded quickly, with Blake scoring just a minute later to restore the two-goal lead.

27 September 2024 – For National Teaching Assistants Day, we honour and express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our wonderful Teaching Assistants (TAs) across the Trust.

Teaching Assistants play an integral role, providing essential support to both students and teachers alike. We recognise that “Being able to help someone learn something is a talent,” and our TAs exemplify this talent every day. Your dedication and passion for education make an enormous difference and we couldn’t do it without you.

Make a difference in our communities, develop your professional skills and support children and young people by volunteering as a trustee for the Frank Field Education Trust.

Our trustees work together to carry out their core functions:

• ensuring there is clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

• holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils and the performance management of staff

• overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

• ensuring the voices of stakeholders are heard (as recognised by the National Governance Association (NGA)

Mrs Andrea Booth, Head Teacher of Handforth Grange Primary School, expressed her pride and joy in the school’s recent outstanding achievement: “Receiving an outstanding rating from Ofsted is a testament to the dedication and collaborative spirit of our exceptional staff, parents, pupils and the entire school community.

She added: “We are delighted to announce we have been shortlisted for the 2024 TES Primary School of the Year award and we are looking forward to attending the ceremony event in London.

Jon Severs, Editor of Tes Magazine said, “Congratulations to all the shortlisted entries – the standard was so high this year despite the challenges schools face. It is critical we celebrate excellence and share it widely so we can ensure that the fantastic work happening in education is properly recognised.” 

Winners will be announced on 21st June at a glittering gala awards night at the Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, in London.

The best schools and teachers across the country have been shortlisted in this year’s Tes Schools Awards. The Tes Schools Awards, which have been dubbed the ‘Oscars of education’, is a prestigious awards programme which celebrates the best of education across the UK. It has now been revealed that Frank Field Education Trust and The Ellesmere Port C of E College has been shortlisted in the category of The Tim Brighouse Community Engagement Initiative of the Year award.

Handforth Grange has been awarded the United Against Bullying GOLD School status by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, marking a significant achievement in their commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all pupils. The United Against Bullying programme aims to support schools in their efforts to combat bullying and enhance the overall well-being of all pupils.

Handforth Grange’s attainment of the United Against Bullying GOLD School status underscores their dedication to creating a nurturing and inclusive learning environment where every student feels valued and protected. Achieving this recognition is no small feat, as it requires a concerted effort and commitment from the entire school community.

Handforth Grange Primary School (HGPS) was recently inspected by Ofsted and has been graded OUTSTANDING after its first Ofsted inspection since joining the Frank Field Education Trust.

The school was rated as ‘outstanding’ in all five key judgement areas, which include: The Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, Leadership & Management and Early Years provision.

At Birches Head Academy, we have provision for two parent governors and there is currently a vacancy as one of our parent governors will sadly reach the end of his term this summer.

No special qualifications are needed, and the most important thing is to have a keen interest in the school and be prepared to play an active part in the local governing board’s work. Training is available for all local governors and the Trust has an expectation that those new to being a local governing board member undertake induction and safeguarding training.

The creative minds behind the Friends of Handforth Grange Primary School (FoHG) devised an inventive approach to generate funds for a new trim trail installation at the school. Inspired by the release of the latest Wonka film, they introduced a thrilling challenge—selling chocolate bars with hidden ‘golden tickets.’

Already making waves, FoHG have raised an astonishing £11,000, steering them closer to their £13,000 target for acquiring new equipment for the school field. Anwyl Homes has generously contributed £500 towards prizes for the giveaway.