Welcome back and I hope you all had a relaxing and restful half term. As you can see I am stepping in for Jon this week.

I recently started at Camden Learning as the new Chief Operating Officer. Part of my role is to lead on the organisational, commercial and financial aspects of Camden Learning, which will free up more of Jon’s time to focus on schools and education. I have worked in the education sector for a number of years and am familiar with the many challenges facing schools and settings, as well as local authorities and partnerships such as Camden Learning. Financial constraints being just one of the many challenges!

Having been here for just two months I can see already the passion and dedication of Camden schools and Camden Learning staff for the children of Camden. It is an exciting time to be joining the company with the launch of Camden’s Education Strategy to 2030: Building Back Stronger (summary). This sets out the key goals for Camden, and our ambitions that every child has a fair start, an excellent school experience and a flourishing life. The strategy is now out for consultation, and I’d encourage you to take part.

One of the aspects of the strategy that particularly resonated with me was the clear need for partnerships and collaborative working to bring about strong education systems; a strength that is already very evident in Camden. With Camden Learning, schools, Camden Council and the community all having a part to play over the coming years. Educational research indicates that collaboration invariably yields better results for individuals, for leaders and for organisations.

Also of note this week was the announcement in the budget that school funding will be returned to 2010 levels in real terms (the government estimates a cash increase for every child of £1,500), the creation of 30,000 SEND places and Covid catch up support increased by £2bn (to a total of £5bn). I am sure you will be as interested as us in seeing the details and how this translates for schools in Camden.

I hope you are all planning to attend the Headteacher Conference on 2 & 3 December. I will be attending the conference and would love the opportunity to meet with as many of you as possible. The conference will be an opportunity to discuss the Education Strategy, explore the Think, Test & Learn Approach and hear from Alastair Campbell and Fiona Millar about mental health. I’m especially interested in the session on how we can implement and develop the Think, Test & Learn approach in Camden. I think it offers some exciting and creative opportunities for schools.

Lastly I’d like to remind everyone that we have a number of free tickets to the AEPA (Area-based Education Partnership Association) Annual Conference 2021: Leading Education Locally taking place on 12 November. The AEPA brings together local partnerships across England – school-led, place-based partnerships that have a focus on school improvement, particularly on issues relating to both excellence and equity. Please see the article below for details on how to access the free of discounted tickets.

Once again, I hope you had a restful break, and I look forward to working with you all.

Tracey Caldwell

Chief Operating Officer