Welcome back to the new school year! I hope that you had an excellent holiday and a well-deserved rest. I am still finding my way around Pancras Square but feel very privileged to take up the position of Chief Executive at Camden Learning. Everyone has been very welcoming. I am very much looking forward to meeting with you in the coming weeks to start to get to know both you and the school communities that you serve.

The start of term is always an exciting time in schools, with newer fresh faces and established staff that suddenly look many years younger. However, the Autumn term can sometimes feel like a long one, so make sure that you are kind to yourself and allow yourself the time and space to reflect and recharge along the way. There are a number of challenges for schools in the coming academic year, not least an anticipated increase in the number of Ofsted inspections alongside tackling the budget implications of rising energy bills, and for some schools, falling pupil rolls. We also need to ensure a measured, collaborative response to the education white paper and enact our education strategy to ensure that all Camden young people achieve well and have access to the opportunities they deserve. Camden Schools rightly have a reputation for great educational provision and the exam outcomes of 2022 overall support this continued trend of strong achievement. This is something to be very proud of. However, within this lie learning gaps that need to inform school development planning. Each school will have its own response to these outcomes, and I hope that the standards meetings that have been organised are a useful platform to start to explore this.

We have a number of meetings for school leaders planned for the coming half term, and alongside this I will be visiting as many schools as possible as I can, with the aim that I visit all Camden schools this year. However, in the meantime please feel free to reach out to me Stephen.Hall@camden.gov.uk.

I very much look forward to working with you

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning