Two of our amazing Student Ambassadors are the think tank behind this fantastic new initiative. We are here to listen. We are here to help. Well done to Poppy and Erin on the student council for identifying some of the barriers young people experience in opening up about their personal well-being.

'Helping Hand' is a new 'student self-referral' email address dedicated to starting conversations and offering support around student mental health. On the other end are a small team of safeguarding officers and students offering peer support.

From daily worries & anxieties in and out of school, to more serious concerns for yourself or a friend, 'Helping Hands' is a confidential point of contact for all students; one that we hope offers a new way to start these important conversations and encourages more of us to open up about mental health and well-being.

Ely College back to business, safeguarding and educating our young people, as they welcome students back to the ‘new normal’.

This week saw a phased return of Ely College pupils to the school site with lots of smiling faces. The developing Coronavirus situation has presented a number of challenges but after a full term of high quality remote learning and months of preparing, it was a joy for staff to welcome students back and celebrate the start of term.

New Principal Simon Warburton addressed students and parents on Friday (4th Sept) with a review of how the first few days had gone: “As the first couple of days draw to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to say how great it has been to see college, once again, full with students and staff. Our data indicates that student attendance today was in excess of 98% which is a fantastic figure to realise on the first full day of term. Thank you for your support and patience with our plans. After many months of absence seeing children back in classrooms and engaging with teachers and their friends is heart-warming!”

The leadership at Ely College and Bishop Laney Sixth Form had been in constant communication with parents in the lead up to reopening, reassuring all on the protective measures in place to reduce the risk of transmission. As well as increased hygiene and sanitation stations, children remained in their consistent year groups or ‘bubbles’, and measures including staggered break times kept groups apart.

“Clearly the new arrangements for staff and students have presented a challenge unlike anything we have experienced before – but that fact that over 98% of our students have been able to come into college today shows the confidence that parents have in our commitment to support their children.  We are thrilled to have the students back”.

Some great photos of the first few days back AND a short video on our COVID Secure College, from the Student Council....

      

  

 

Students at Bishop Laney Sixth Form have achieved exceptional post-16 results again this year, despite difficult challenges posed by Covid-19.

Particular student successes include Maya Constable, who served two terms on the Sixth Form’s Student Council, most recently as Chair, and achieved one Distinction and two Distinction* grades in Applied Science. Maya now leaves the Sixth Form to take up a place at University in Nottingham to study Biochemistry.

William Ashdown studied Sport and Exercise Science and Accounting and has already started his accounting career in his first post. He achieved one Distinction and two Distinction* grades.

Adam Steels, Head of Bishop Laney Sixth Form, said: “We are delighted to congratulate William, Maya and all our students who have received results today, which are the result of the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.

“At Bishop Laney Sixth Form every student is known, valued and supported; giving them the best opportunity to succeed in their chosen next steps, be that higher education, apprenticeships or employment.”

Richard Spencer, Principal at Ely College, said: “We are all very proud of the excellent achievements of our Bishop Laney Sixth Form students, especially in such a challenging year. It is particularly pleasing to be celebrating our first A Level results for some years, alongside significant success in our established diploma programmes. This year group have blazed the trail for the huge growth Bishop Laney is now seeing, and we are delighted with their results today!”

Members of the Bishop Laney Leadership Team have spoken to students individually today following the issuing of results electronically. Despite exams being cancelled; tutors and the Leadership Team have kept in regular touch with students by email and online calls since the closure in March.

If you wish to enquire about current vacancies within the sixth form, please contact the sixth form on admissions@bishoplaney.org and 01353 652818.

Today, Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust was pleased to be able to confirm that the Trustees and Academy Council have appointed Mr Simon Warburton to work alongside Mr Spencer as the new College Principal from September.

Ely College students back Labour in ‘mock’ General Election

Following a very successful event run in the 2017 General Election, students at Ely College were once again given the opportunity to have their opinions heard at the ballot box. As part of the college’s PSHE curriculum, all students took part in a ‘mock’ election process, complete with ‘hustings’ visits from each of the South East Cambridgeshire local candidates.

All four candidates visited the college over the course of the week and each addressed an assembly of students on their different visions and policy platforms. Prominent issues raised included the environment, school funding and Brexit.

Our students and staff joined the nation as they took to the polling stations on Thursday to cast their votes in school.  The returning officer for the college made a formal results declaration on Friday morning, after the count had taken place. The results were as follows, with Labour candidate, James Bull, emerging as the overall winner:

The actual winner of the South East Cambridgeshire parliamentary election, Lucy Frazer MP, will take some comfort in the breakdown of the vote. Bishop Laney Sixth Form students bucked the overall college trend by backing the Conservative candidate with 32% of the vote.

Ely College Principal, Richard Spencer, said: “This generation of young people feel passionately about many topics such as the environment and securing more opportunities through education. We wanted to help students understand the issues the country faces, as well as the importance of exercising the hard won right to vote. This has been an amazing opportunity, and they took full advantage of being able to ask questions about issues important to them which makes us very proud. I’m very grateful to all four of the candidates for giving their time to come and engage with them. We fully intend to keep this tradition of mock general elections in the future.”

In its first Ofsted inspection since joining the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT), Ely College has been rated Good with Outstanding leadership and management.

It has been a fantastic three years for the college, who were announced last summer as ‘Secondary School of the Year’ at the Cambridge News Education Awards and achieved some of the best GCSE results in their history.

Now, just three years after joining the Trust, Ely College has been rated Good for ‘quality of teaching, learning and assessment’, ‘personal development’, ‘behavior and welfare’ and ‘outcomes for pupils’. The College’s post 16 provision, Bishop Laney Sixth Form, was also rated Good.

The ‘effectiveness of leadership and management’ was judged to be Outstanding. Inspectors said: “Since taking up his post in September 2016, the principal has been unwavering in his determination that only the best will do. Senior leaders, the trust and governors have successfully transformed the culture in the school.” They continued: “The quality of teaching, learning and assessment, achievement and behavior have all improved significantly as a result.” 

Principal, Richard Spencer, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the outcome of our Ofsted inspection. We have waited a long time for a report like this and it is an accurate reflection of all the hard work and dedication that our staff have put in to transforming the school over the last three years. We are indebted to all at CMAT, the Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area and our fantastic local community who have supported us on every step of our journey and enabled us to become the school we are today. Looking forward, we’re excited to carry on building on this success and continuing to provide a fantastic education for the children in our community.”

The running of Ely College transferred to CMAT in July 2016. This came after discussions with the Department for Education which aimed to secure local support for Ely College, with the aim of moving the school more quickly towards becoming Good. Before joining the Trust, Ely College had been through a turbulent period, with Ofsted judging the school ‘inadequate’ and requiring special measures in 2015.

Mark Woods, Chief Executive Officer of CMAT, said: “We are over the moon with the results of the inspection at Ely College. The College’s success is a real representation of our commitment to providing a high-quality education for everyone, at the heart of local communities. We are thrilled to have been a part of the College’s journey and excited to see what we can continue to achieve together in the future.” 

The full report can be found on the College’s website but the key findings are detailed below:

• Leaders have transformed the school by successfully establishing a culture of high expectations of both staff and pupils. As a result, the quality of education has improved rapidly. Parents and pupils recognise the significant improvements that leaders have made
• Leaders have worked relentlessly to improve behaviour, teaching and achievement. Staff share leaders’ ambition and want the best for pupils
• The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, were supportive of school leaders and acknowledged that significant improvements had been made
• The Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (the trust) has been instrumental in securing rapid improvements in the school. School leaders’ work with the trust has contributed to improved teaching, learning and assessment and ensured that leadership at all levels is strong
• Teaching is effective in helping most pupils to make strong progress in many subjects, including English and mathematics
• Leaders have carefully constructed a curriculum that supports pupils’ academic and personal development well. An extensive range of extra-curricular activities, a well-planned personal social and health education (PSHE) programme and the PLEDGES system contributes strongly to preparing pupils for life in modern British society
• Governors have a comprehensive knowledge of the school. They provide appropriate support and challenge which ensures that school leaders’ actions result in improvements
• Adults know pupils well and provide them with the support needed to complete their studies and progress to education, training or employment
• The sixth form provision is good. Students typically achieve well on the vocational courses offered. Leaders have re-introduced A-level courses to broaden opportunities for post-16 study in the local area