The teachers worked at River House School in Warwickshire. River House was taken over by South Warwickshire Academy Trust in 2018 and reopened as Arden Fields School, but after experiencing difficult times was then taken over by MacIntyre Academies Trust in 2020 and became Venture Academy. The teachers in question were never employees of MacIntyre Academies Trust.

Every year MacIntyre Academies celebrates Big Thank You Day! Inspired by Thank A Teacher initiatives, we thought it was a brilliant idea to make it an annual celebration in our Trust. It is not just the teachers that we thank – we make a point to appreciate our entire workforce because every person has a part to play in making a difference to the children and young people we support. 

We can’t say that compassion is a core value of our organisation without paying attention to how our workforce experiences that too. The reality can be tough sometimes and there is a risk of compassion fatigue so we make sure that we’re listening to colleagues, thinking about their wellbeing and valuing them as individuals.  

So today we’ll be putting out the banners, sending cards, eating ice creams and shouting loudly about our amazing workforce and saying a REALLY BIG THANK YOU!

I hope that you are all keeping well despite yet another lockdown. You may remember that some time ago we sent a video request asking you to film your child throwing paper around (which you can see can this link) well, we are back with another request!

Next month, we are holding an event for all of the staff across our organisation. Last time we did this, one of the best parts of the day was a video of some of the young people and families sharing their thoughts with us. We’d love to do this again this year with a video montage of lots of the young people and their families from MacIntyre Academies and capture something of how the pandemic has impacted everyone.

We know that it would mean a lot to the staff to see everyone’s faces! In order for us to do this, we need your help!

Would you be willing to send us a short film of your child or your whole family waving / smiling/ doing something they love at home? And if possible also answering one or more of these questions by talking to camera or holding up a sign with a sentence written on?

1. What have you learnt in the last year? (it could be a new skill or hobby, or something about yourself)
2. What do you miss about school when you are not there?
3. What are you most looking forward to doing after the Lockdown?

Could you please send the video to scott.tavinor@macintyreacademies.org or WhatsApp it to me at 07939 216437 by the end of Half Term week (22^nd February).

The video will be shown to all of our staff at our conference and a link will be provided to everyone who participates. It won’t be made public on social media.

This is an optional request so please don’t feel under pressure to do anything but it would be wonderful to see your child as this video would be a lovely treat for our staff.

I have put together a short instructional video that may help you get an idea of what we want. https://youtu.be/APqYobuHbQU

Kind Regards

Scott Tavinor

Communications Officer, MacIntyre Academies

If you are entitled to Free School Meals then the Government have introduced a Winter Grant Scheme which helps families support the cost of meals during February half-term. You will automatically receive a supermarket voucher. You DO NOT need to apply for this funding. 

The voucher amount will be £21.00 (£3 per day) per eligible child. It must be used to buy food over the half term break. For more information about this scheme and for details on how to activate the voucher please click on the link below:

Winter Grant Scheme Letter to Parents/Carers