Last week Matt Coleman, Deputy CEO and Amy Bradshaw, Trust Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead, were invited to speak about youth mental health at a local St John's Ambulance unit.  The title of the talk was Youth Mental Health Pandemic - how to support with improved wellbeing. The aim was to share the current picture around children and young people's mental health and what we, as a Trust, are doing to address the needs. 

The statistics were eye opening for the St John's volunteers and many had a strong emotional reaction to the content we shared, as we spoke openly and honestly about the crisis we face with mental health in our schools.  We spoke about the most pressing topics we as schools are facing, including suicide awareness and prevention as part of our ongoing commitment to challenging stigma and raising awareness.  It is never an easy topic to discuss, but Matt's passionate presentation was warmly received and opened up conversations that perhaps would not have otherwise happened.    

We are incredibly proud of the work we do to support mental health in our schools and the presentation was an opportunity to reflect back on the journey we have been on over the last 7 years.  However, we know there is still more to be done.  Thankfully our determination and passion to continue to improve things for our children and young people isn't going anywhere. 

Trust Training Collaboration Delivers Closing Conference

In December 2023, Brooke Weston and Nene Education Trusts launched a collaborative programme of training to expand upon and address the gaps in the more traditional Senior Leader and Head CPD offers. The programme focused very much on developing the leaders of tomorrow through a focus on practical leadership strategies and experiences.

The programme opened with Russell Martin, then manager of Southampton Football Club, who shared insights with those attending on how to find ways to develop themselves as leaders in a bid to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. He shared his own inspirational ‘leadership journey’ with those attending.

Deputy CEO of Nene Education Trust Matt Coleman said at the time: “We were thrilled that our keynote speaker was Russell Martin, manager of Southampton Football Club, who led the launch of our landmark programme, in collaboration with Brooke Weston Trust.

He was the perfect person to help us open the programme which is aimed at engaging the leaders of tomorrow. Russell’s leadership philosophy is refreshing – he talks openly about courage, vulnerability and gratitude. His journey created lots of interesting discussion within the group as well as some thought-provoking questions during his Q&A session afterwards.”

Aspirant leaders with skillsets across subject and departmental specialisms committed to the 18-month programme.

The training was written and delivered by Matt Coleman and Andrew Burns, Director of Education and Jayne McCallum, Director of School Improvement, both of Brooke Weston Trust and supported by speakers from other areas of the two Trusts.

Delegates were further supported by coaches chosen from across the two Trusts.

With a nod to Brene Brown’s book, Dare to Lead, and other industry experts such as Simon Sinek, the sessions gave the aspirant leaders the tools and strategies necessary for effective leadership, how to manage their teams and coping with challenging situations.

The final conference on 4^th February rounded the programme off by asking those present to reflect on their learning and how their leadership style had developed.

The guest speaker on this occasion was Julie Bloor, Executive Consultant, whose education journey began as a history teacher and developed through headship and Ofsted inspector to ultimately becoming the Regional Director of two large academy trusts.  In that time, she took two failing schools to Outstanding. She explained the importance of recognising all of the elements to build and sustain a team and cited those that had inspired her along the way – namely her mum and Professor Tim Brighouse, the former Schools Commissioner for London, who was her university tutor. 

At the end of the programme delegates were asked to reflect on their journey and course leaders were heartened to receive such feedback as:

‘Shake off the imposter, you were always here for a reason.  Stop being the last person in the room to recognise your worth, value and potential.’

‘It is totally OK to feel like you don’t know what you are doing, but remember, you are here because others believe in you and your capabilities.’

‘A leader is not always the loudest person in the room.  The things that are holding you back are actually your strengths.’

Following the success of this inaugural programme, Matt, Andy and Jayne are working on expanding the ‘Step Into …’ portfolio to support other leaders in our schools.

For more information about Nene Education Trust, please visit: www.neneeducationtrust.org.uk

For more information about Brooke Weston Trust, please visit: www.brookewestontrust.org

Matt Coleman, a highly respected figure in the field of education, has been recognised for his monumental contributions to mental health and wellbeing in schools at the recent Northamptonshire Education Awards.