I hope that the first full week has gone well, and that pupils, staff and parents have quickly settled into routines. The Autumn term is always a great opportunity to reset expectations and we are all hoping for a year without disruption. I have seen many young people on their way to school during my commute this week, with somewhat relieved looking parents of primary pupils hurrying to the school gate…

This week I have had many meetings with colleagues to gain a better understanding of the work that Camden Learning is doing to support schools. On Monday evening I attended a Council scrutiny meeting. They took great interest in the headline 2022 school data. This discussion was made all the easier by the overall strong outcomes achieved this year. No doubt many of you will be aware of the most recent national key stage 2 analysis showing the widening achievement gap for disadvantaged pupils. This of course is not entirely unexpected but should further strengthen our resolve to ensure a high quality curriculum offer and a continued ambition for these pupils as they move into Year 7, and indeed the current Years 2, 6 and 11 cohorts who have experienced similar disruption. I know that individual schools will have their own responses which will be picked up at standards meetings this term. I hope that the data booklets which were sent to primary schools this week also help to inform any immediate and longer term actions.

Today I have been at an Ofsted conference. I am hoping to gather some useful updates about inspections this year. There has been a change of regional director for the London region, from Mike Sherridan who some of you may have met, to Caroline Dulon who was previously the assistant regional director in the South West Region, but it seems that the intent to increase the number of inspections this term remains unchanged.

It was a pleasure to meet some you virtually on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing everyone face to face at our conference on the 23rd September, if not some of you before. Enjoy a break this weekend, and make sure that you do something that takes your mind off the pressures of the week.

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning