Welcome Back to a New Academic Year

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all families across Orion Education as we begin a new academic year.

I hope you and your children enjoyed a restful summer break and had the opportunity to spend quality time together. Following the exceptionally hot weather at the end of last term, I would also like to thank our pupils, families and staff for the resilience and support shown during a challenging final few weeks of the year.

Over the summer holiday, teams across our schools have been working hard to ensure everything is ready for a successful start to September. I would particularly like to thank our site teams, support staff and all colleagues who have dedicated their time to preparing classrooms, improving facilities, organising resources, supporting summer schools and delivering this year's examination and assessment results processes. Their work often happens behind the scenes, but it is vital to ensuring our schools are ready to welcome children back.

This summer also provided an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our pupils. Across the trust, outcomes in statutory assessments have shown encouraging progress. We have seen stronger and more consistent performance across Key Stage 2, strong outcomes in the Early Years Foundation Stage, and significant improvements at Key Stage 4. Of course, there is more to do and we are restless to get going again this year

We are also delighted to welcome many new colleagues to Orion Education. Our induction programmes have provided an excellent start for those joining our schools, helping them to understand our values, culture and commitment to excellence from day one.

As we look ahead, our focus remains on improving outcomes and transforming lives. This year, we are launching the Pupil Promise. Over time, this will significantly enhance both the experience of our pupils and their sense of belonging within our schools.

All pupils will be expected to participate in enrichment activities, including citizenship and leadership opportunities. We will also provide parents with enhanced reporting in these areas twice a year, so you can see how children are engaging with the opportunities available to them.

Where our schools do not currently offer enough opportunities, this information will provide valuable insight to help us strengthen and improve our enrichment provision.

Thank you for your continued support of our schools and our trust. We wish all pupils and families a happy, successful and rewarding year ahead.

With best wishes,

Simon Garrill
CEO - Orion Education