Spring Newsletter 2026

From your Chair of Governors, Elaine Bunn

Welcome to the latest edition of the Castle Federation governor newsletter, and what another term of exciting progress we have had.

Who is on the governing body?

As a reminder, the Castle Federation governing body is responsible for strategic oversight of Victoria and Thomas Coram schools. Our governors include both heads of schools, our executive headteacher, Ms Roberts, and the rector of St Peter’s Church, Father Stuart. Among our 16 governors there are also parent governors, a local authority governor, a staff governor, foundation governors who link the church and school interests, and an associate member who provides specific expertise and support.

You may be aware we are currently in the process of electing a new parent governor. Voting opened today at 12pm and closes at 12pm on Monday 13 April. A letter has been sent with full details. Thank you in advance for taking the time to vote.

What have we been busy with?

Anthony Boden is the governing body’s associate member for sustainability and as you can see from his update below, he has certainly not let the grass grow under his feet since he began advising Castle Federation last year. As well as collaborating with Mrs Giles to help Thomas Coram achieve its eco-school accreditation, he has been working hard on producing the schools’ climate change action plan, championing the installation of solar panels at Thomas Coram and forging links with Berkhamsted Town Council, including galvanising support for a council-led tree planting initiative at Lagley Meadow Hall.

He also entered the Rotary Club’s Charity Fun Run at the start of March to kick start some much needed fundraising for the Friends of Thomas Coram. Well done Anthony on, quite literally, going the extra mile (or five)!

Many governors have roles like these that link the governing board to the schools and our newest foundation governors, Laura and Chris, have also been getting to grips with their ‘link roles’ of maths, and attendance and behaviour, respectively. You will also hear more from them later.

We have also created new link roles to support with inclusion and personal development and wellbeing this year, as they are now distinct areas of the new Ofsted framework. I’ve explained later what I’ve learned as the link governor for personal development and wellbeing.

Finally, another key aspect of the governing board’s role is to review and update all the necessary policies, guidance notes, plans, conditions and statements that help the schools to run smoothly, efficiently and harmoniously. Believe it or not, there are over 100 of these documents which all need reviewing, amending, and updating on a regular basis.

We are extremely lucky at Castle Federation to have an incredibly supportive school community, with strong parental engagement and positive reinforcement of our school values and vision. However, not all communities are so blessed, and it is good practice to have a policy that helps protect the schools’ reputation as well as our staff and volunteers’ physical, professional and emotional wellbeing. That’s why we’ve developed a new disruptive behaviour policy this term which will be found on Castle Federation’s website.

The emergence of the sun and tree blossom is enough to make everyone feel good, but we have so much more to celebrate this spring! With so much positive progress made this term, we can see the buds of change and exciting new growth opportunities stretch out in front of us. We are excited to feel the emergence of the warmer weather, and the blossoming of our pupils as we head towards Easter and beyond.

From the whole governing body, we wish you a fantastic Easter celebration and hope you all find the time to take a break, relax and enjoy time with family and friends.

Elaine Bunn, Chair of Governors

From your Executive Head, Ms Roberts

As we approach the final term of the academic year, I cannot believe how time has flown. A huge thank you to all the staff and governors for their ongoing tireless work supporting the pupils across the Federation.

This half term has been a time for leaders to reflect on our achievements so far in relation to the school improvement plans and the Federation improvement plan. I think generally we focus so much on what needs to be done, we forget to celebrate great achievements!

A ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ production!

I do want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the phenomenal achievements of production club at Thomas Coram in presenting their production of Mary Poppins. 80 pupils across KS2 having the absolute time of their lives. I loved it! Just one example of the countless enrichment opportunities the children receive due to the commitment of staff giving their time so generously. Do not forget you can follow all the exciting learning and enrichment experiences, in both our amazing schools by following our social media below.

Eco Councils leading the way

The Eco Council at Thomas Coram has mounted a campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of lights. Turning off lights reduces electricity demand, cutting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants, and reducing light pollution that disrupts wildlife. This simple, immediate action saves energy, extends bulb life, and lowers costs, with significant benefits. At Victoria we have recruited our Eco Council; it was so hard to choose as we had so many powerful applications.

Spiritual Ambassadors bringing our values to life

The Spiritual Ambassadors in both schools presented the story of the prodigal son in collective worship, in February. They did such a great job conveying the key messages and presenting the bible story, linked to our values of kindness, respect, resilience and thankfulness. The spiritual ambassadors from both schools also attended a session with Father Stuart thinking about our mustard seed parable and creating some modern-day parables.

Celebrating a love of reading

It was also fantastic to see the schools celebrating World Book Day and the stunning sandwich boards that the children wore. A truly magical day celebrating a love of reading across the Federation.

Easter is a time for celebrating new beginnings, hope, and rejuvenation, often focusing on the themes of resurrection and spring. It has felt so good to see more sunlight and a bit less rain!! I hope your families enjoy some quality time together over the break, and we look forward to welcoming you back after the Easter break.

Kindest regards,

Ms Roberts, Executive Headteacher

“I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun. Not because I can see it but by it, I can see everything else.” – C.S. Lewis

Sustainability Update

Sustainability continues to be an exciting area across Castle Federation and as Elaine has said, we are pleased to be progressing several initiatives that will benefit both our pupils and the wider community.

At Thomas Coram, we have submitted an application to the Dacorum Green Community Grant to support the installation of solar panels at the school. If successful, this would allow the school to save funds, generate renewable electricity while also providing a fantastic real-world learning opportunity for pupils to explore energy, climate and sustainability.

At Victoria, Mrs Freeman has been leading a wonderful initiative to develop part of the school grounds into a more natural wooded area, creating opportunities for outdoor learning, helping pupils connect more closely with nature and providing more outdoor space.

Alongside these projects, we have developed Climate Action Plans for both schools, which you can find on the websites. These will help guide sustainability work over the coming years and build on the excellent progress already made, such as Thomas Coram’s Eco-School status.

We are also beginning to work more closely with local organisations, including the Mayor and Berkhamsted Town Council, and exploring partnerships with groups such as Berkhamsted in Bloom and the national Climate Ambassadors programme. These connections will help us find new ideas and funding opportunities to support sustainability initiatives.

Above all, our aim is to give pupils meaningful experiences and knowledge that will help them understand and care for the world around them, both now and in the future.

Anthony Boden, Associate Member

Maths Update

I was delighted to take on the role of link governor for maths across both schools as a new member of the governing body last September. I work in senior leadership in education and am also a maths teacher, so I am particularly passionate about mathematics’ vital role in developing confidence, reasoning skills and problem-solving abilities.

During a recent learning walk at Victoria, it was wonderful to see the strong focus on developing pupils’ mathematical understanding from an early age. In Year 1 classrooms, pupils were confidently exploring concepts of length and height, using new vocabulary such as longer, shorter, longest and shortest, supported by sentences that helped them explain their thinking. The lessons were highly interactive, with pupils working collaboratively and discussing their ideas with partners. In Nursery and Reception, children were developing early number sense through activities like recognising how many items there are without counting, and breaking numbers into smaller parts, helping them recognise quantities quickly and build the foundations for mental maths. Across the classrooms, pupils were engaged and enthusiastic, and it is clear that staff are creating supportive environments where mathematical language, reasoning and confidence are actively encouraged.

Maths at Thomas Coram is also progressing positively this year, supported by the recent adoption of the White Rose Maths scheme. Staff have been supported through a recent staff meeting where they explored how to use the scheme effectively when planning lessons, including adapting the resources to meet the needs of all pupils. Staff are also strengthening pupils’ mathematical reasoning through a ‘talk like a mathematician’ approach, with displays in classrooms to support pupils and encourage them to explain, justify and discuss their thinking during lessons. Together these approaches are helping to develop deeper mathematical understanding and confidence across the school.

Laura Preston, Foundation Governor

Attendance & Behaviour Update

The governing body holds the schools to account by asking the right kind of questions about measures like developing an effective attendance policy, reviewing the available attendance data and ensuring all staff are receiving the training they need to improve attendance.

I have also been a governor since last September and was allocated the role of link governor for attendance and behaviour, which focuses on measures like these that encourage improvements in punctuality and attendance. The role involves regular meetings with senior leaders and attendance monitoring staff, to review the most recent data and understand what is being done to remove any barriers to attendance.

Regular and sustained attendance at school is vitally important for improving children’s life chances, as attainment, wellbeing, wider development and improved safeguarding are some of the benefits of an increased attendance at school. Pupils who already face particular challenges are more likely to be persistently late or absent from school which widens what is already an educational disadvantage.

Both of our schools are very proactive and supportive in the interventions offered to pupils and their families who may struggle with attendance. These include free places at breakfast club, soft start times, reduced timetables for those pupils with additional challenges and making the most of support from outside professionals and organisations.

Overall attendance at both of our schools is excellent, with Victoria achieving 2.7% above the national average and Thomas Coram just 0.4% below. This is really something to be proud of.

There is no doubt as to the link between attendance and attainment which makes any incentives to improve the former so worthwhile and important.

Chris Cartwright, Foundation Governor

Personal Development & Wellbeing Update

Both our schools are also working tirelessly to provide and develop all the holistic links between our young people and the outside world waiting for them, including careers education, British values, as well as spiritual, moral, social and cultural guidance.

We are all different and raised in different ways, and the personal development and wellbeing curriculum aims to provide every child with the very best chance of fulfilling their full potential in life in a healthy, safe and supported way.

Ofsted has recently recognised the significance of this area by creating a standalone category of inspection and grading, and the governing body has also created a link role to give it the focus and attention that it really deserves.

It is my job to help demonstrate to governors how effectively this is being delivered to all our pupils, and to ensure that those pupils with additional challenges and barriers to traditional learning are still able to access the content of this life enhancing subject.

Since September, I have been meeting with Miss Fielding and Mrs Forbes at Thomas Coram, who are the school’s leaders for this area, and Mrs Freeman at Victoria, who is currently leading it there. We discuss what skills are covered by the curriculum, how the teaching and learning is adapted to enable all pupils to benefit, how the learning is assessed, and how pupils are making progress against the targets set.

It has really opened my eyes to what well-rounded, resilient and capable young people our schools are turning out, when you consider they are being taught about online safety and other associated dangers, how to be healthy and hygienic and look after your body and mind, what healthy friendships and relationships look like as well as learning all about protected characteristics.

Measurement of the progress is just beginning but early signs are really encouraging, with pupils asking some really good, probing questions of their teachers, challenging them to explore further and embracing the children’s curiosity. I’m genuinely excited to learn more about this incredible topic, as I hope the children are too.