Welcome Back!

I hope that you have had a good break.

We had lots of smiling faces on GCSE results days from our year 11 students. Thank you to everyone for your contribution to their success.

Over the holidays there has been significant work carried out across all of our schools, by both school based teams and the central team, from estates, IT and data to finance, HR and safeguarding. Thank you to all of the teams that have worked so hard to make sure that the schools are ready for our pupils and colleagues returning from the holiday.

I have always thought that September feels more like a new start than January in education. There are many pupils who will have missed being at school and will be really pleased to see you on Wednesday. Our new starters in nursery, Reception and Year 7 will be nervous and excited at the same time. I know that they will have a great experience in our schools and will be given every opportunity to thrive and flourish with us.

Trust Updates

Inclusion

One of our main areas of focus for this year is inclusion. The most fundamental aspect of inclusion is our universal offer of high quality teaching, across all of our schools, in every learning session, without exception. So that you are fully informed about the needs of the pupils in your schools, the Trust Board granted an additional training day (Tuesday 8th September). This means that you have dedicated time for receiving pupil information, preparing seating plans and undertaking compulsory training on Benedict’s Law which came into effect on 1st September.

Each school is currently preparing an inclusion strategy which will be shared with you in the coming weeks.

Teaching and Learning

Each of our schools has at least one Teach Like a Champion (TLAC) Leader who has attended 2 days of training. TLAC focuses on deliberate practice which is already in place in our schools following the introduction of Walkthrus. TLAC will help with making teaching much more precise and will help to avoid any lost learning in lessons. It supports the clear routines which we have in place from our Quality of Education Playbook. Your Principals will mention this over the next 2 days and there will be full information given in the first Curriculum Toolkit. The TLAC Leaders can’t wait to start demonstrating this deliberate practice in your schools so please have a chat with them if you are interested in learning more before the Toolkit session.

Central Team Leadership

I am pleased to announce several key leadership changes within the Central Team, effective 1st September 2026. These updates reflect the strategic growth of our Trust and the evolving responsibilities of our senior staff.

From 1st September 2026

Executive Leadership Re-designation - Deputy Chief Executive Officer (previously Chief Operating Officer)

In recognition of her expanded strategic mandate and trust-wide development responsibilities, Wendy Munro has been re-designated from Chief Operating Officer to Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Senior Manager Redesignation - Director of Estates and Facilities (previously Trust Operations Manager)

To reflect the existing responsibilities of Karen Forrester, her title will change to Director of Estates and Facilities. This change provides greater clarity on her leadership within this vital function. Karen will continue to report to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

New Director of People and Culture starts (replacing previous HR Director role)

Rebecca Power will be commencing with the Trust on 14th September 2026. Rebecca has significant experience within the public sector and we look forward to her joining the Executive and HR team.

From 1st November 2026 (transition from 1st September 2026)

Following a review of our operational needs, we have appointed Mike Bird as the new Director of Operations. The role will provide strategic and operational leadership in support of the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, ensuring the effective development, implementation and oversight of Trust-wide operations, strategic projects and transformation programmes.

Mike will transition into this role over the coming months. His immediate priority will be to support our incoming Director of People and Culture.

Important Update - Benedict's Law

Benedict's Law refers to new statutory guidance issued by the DfE in July 2026, taking effect across all schools in England from September 2026. It is named after Benedict Blythe, a five year old, who tragically died from anaphylaxis at school in 2012. The law makes allergy safety measures mandatory rather than operational/optional.

Key requirements for schools:

Schools/Trusts must adopt, implement and publish a dedicated Allergy policy on their website.

Link: Allergen and Anaphylaxis Policy_V1.0_2026-09.pdf

Schools must nominate a Designated Allergy Lead (DAL). Where applicable, we recommend that this is your SSM. The nominated individual must be located primarily within the school environment while it is operational.
Staff training - all staff, including teachers, lunchtime supervisors, drivers of Trust vehicles and support staff, regardless of role, must receive mandatory allergy awareness and emergency response training.

Complete this training on the 8th September 2026 via your Trust National College Account; https://nationalcollege.com/courses/allergy-and-anaphylaxis (41 mins)

*If you experience any issues logging in, please contact hr@hlt.academy for prompt assistance.

Emergency medication - schools are required to stock spare, in-date adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) on-site for emergency use on any pupil or adult experiencing anaphylaxis.

Schools have been requested to order these directly; please highlight immediately to Tommy Ashes (t.ashes@hlt.academy) should you have any issues.

Healthcare plans - clear individual plans must be maintained for pupils diagnosed with severe allergies.