It has been a busy week in terms of governance, with the Education Strategy going to scrutiny last Tuesday and following a recommendation from scrutiny members, it then went to Cabinet the following evening for consideration and ratification. It was pleasing to hear such positivity about the strategy from our members, who also appreciated and recognised the considerable work from Cllr Mason and Christine Gilbert, in shaping the ambitions and ensuring it captured the priorities and themes going forward. Following the Education Strategy being agreed in Cabinet, it is now being designed for circulation and Cllr Mason and Christine Gilbert will then be sending it to schools with details of the launch. The next important task is to outline and finalise a delivery plan, which captures the objectives, timeframes, impact measures and costings.

Governors and Headteachers will have received an invite to Camden Learning’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), on Zoom, which will take place on Tuesday, 1 February 2021, at 4pm. The AGM itself is unlikely to last longer than 15 minutes and I am delighted that Professor Qing Gu has agreed to give this year’s key note address; titled “Shaping futures of education: why leadership comes first”. I look forward to seeing you there.

Some of you may be aware that Gill Morris will be leaving Camden Learning in August and will be enjoying life as a retiree! Gill has worked in Camden for 32 years, which is incredible service, starting out in 1992 as a Science teacher at Haverstock. Gill has been an absolute stalwart over the last two years dealing with the pandemic, by advising schools, reinforcing messages, linking with families and keeping the numbers live and analysis relevant, subsequently informing next steps. Furthermore, Gill has been leading the Health and Wellbeing team who have provided advice to families over nutrition, whilst also being at the forefront of supporting schools with the mental health agenda for both staff and pupils. No doubt we will have plenty of time to thank and congratulate Gill on her retirement over the next few months.

At the beginning of the week, I attended the Camden Spark board meeting and one of the discussion items was the RSA Learning About Culture report which provides an overview of the RSA’s (The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) Learning About Culture project, that began in 2017. The project aimed to improve the evidence base for the impact of arts-based education on academic outcomes and improve the use of evidence and evaluation in the arts-based education sector. As part of our Education Strategy there is a commitment to providing enrichment experiences for every child. We have developed the Camden entitlement pledge, where, along with other commitments, we see cultural enrichment as a right for every child.

Jon Abbey

Managing Director of Camden Learning