This year really began in style as the entire Trust met together in Nottingham’s prestigious Albert Hall. Our Festival of Learning was based around what being a part of the Trust really means and how working together we are better than working separately. Or as our mission statement puts it; “Working together, transforming lives.” We re-visited our values and vision and took a moment to reflect on the journey we had been on, what we had achieved and where we were going next. There was lots of talk of the ‘Archway Advantage’ and staff were able to spend time meeting in teams and thinking about what they contribute to this ‘advantage’.
Our key note speaker for this event was the aptly named James Nottingham – who apparently had never visited Nottingham until our event! He discussed the way learning happens and how we encourage or discourage young people to learn. James is well known for his work on the ‘learning pit’ and he was able to give staff practical advice about how to use this pit successfully in order to aid learning and help young people to become owners of their own learning journey. This chimed with much of the discussions earlier in the morning regarding the journey of Archway and where we were trying to take the Trust in developing autonomous, resilient and well-rounded learners who participate actively in their own learning, rather than depending on completely teacher led approaches.
This was a wonderful way to start the year. There was inspiration from an excellent speaker, the opportunity to meet and spend more relaxed time with our amazing staff community as well as get planning for the year ahead. I am looking forward to everything that 2020 has to bring and feel that after our great start to the year we are well equipped for our best year ever.
Written: January 2020
