Inspire Education Trust

Last night, Inspire Education Trust was proud to host our Great Big Get Together at Frederick Bird Academy, bringing together colleagues, partners and community leaders from across Coventry and Warwickshire to celebrate connection, inclusion and the enduring legacy of Jo Cox.

Held on what would have been Jo's 52nd birthday, the event focused on her powerful belief that positive change begins when people come together with kindness, understanding and a shared sense of purpose.

Throughout the evening, speakers explored what it means to build stronger communities and create spaces where everyone feels they belong. We were honoured to hear from Rebecca Pawley of the Jo Cox Foundation, Canon Kate Massey of Coventry Cathedral, Dr Abdullah Shehu MBE DL, Audrey David and Councillor Kindy Sandhu, each offering unique perspectives on unity, reconciliation and the importance of finding common ground.

Our CEO, Lois Whitehouse, challenged us all to celebrate diversity and take collective responsibility for building inclusive communities, while our EDI/PD Lead Gemma Hathaway highlighted the vital role education plays in developing empathy, understanding and respect in future generations.

The event also showcased the fantastic Great Big Get Together activities that took place across our schools last Friday, demonstrating how students and staff brought Jo Cox's message to life through a range of celebrations.

As we reflected, connected and made pledges for future action, we were reminded that Jo's words remain as relevant today as ever:

"We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us."

Thank you to everyone who joined us for such a meaningful evening.

To read all about it and see more photos, head to:
https://www.ietrust.org/Great-Get-Together/

🏆 What an achievement! Huge congratulations to everyone at Blue Coat School & Music College on being named a Silver Winner in the Pearson National Teaching Awards' Secondary School of the Year category.
A well deserved national recognition for an incredible school community. 💜👏

As a Trust, we are proud to have Gemma Hathaway and Martin Foley representing Inspire Education Trust at the Optimus Education National Education Conference today, where they are delivering a workshop focused on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

This evening, they will also be attending the MAT Excellence Awards 2026, where Inspire Education Trust has been shortlisted for the EDI Award.

We are incredibly proud to see our commitment to EDI recognised alongside so many outstanding organisations from across the sector. Good luck to everyone shortlisted this evening.

We’re excited to be celebrating Thank a Teacher Day next week on Wednesday 17th June 🍎✨

This special day is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the incredible people who make our schools such wonderful places to learn and grow. From teachers and teaching assistants to office staff, site teams, catering teams, cleaners and leaders, every role makes a difference every day.

If you haven’t already, there’s still time to brighten someone’s day by sharing a message of thanks. Use the form below to recognise a member of staff who has made a positive impact on you, your child or your family.

🔗 https://thankateacher.co.uk/thank-a-teacher/thank-a-teacher-form/

Let's come together to celebrate the amazing people who support our children and communities every day. 💙

Next week, schools across Inspire Education Trust will be coming together to celebrate The Great Get Together, inspired by Jo Cox's powerful belief that "we have more in common than that which divides us."

Here are some of our Trust leaders showing their support for this important initiative and the message at its heart.

On Friday 19th June, our schools will be marking the occasion in their own unique ways, creating opportunities for our pupils to connect, celebrate and recognise the things that bring us together.

Then on Monday 22nd June, we will welcome colleagues, partners and stakeholders from across our communities to a Trust-wide Great Get Together event.

At Inspire, inclusion and respect are at the heart of everything we do. The values behind The Great Get Together strongly reflect our own vision of working together so that everyone can thrive.

We are looking forward to celebrating the people, partnerships and shared values that unite us.

The Great Get Together The Jo Cox Foundation

🌍 World Environment Day

At Inspire Education Trust, we are committed to playing our part in creating a more sustainable future.

Some of the initiatives supporting our environmental journey include installing 2,536 LED lights across our schools, investing in low-carbon technologies such as solar energy and heat pumps, improving energy monitoring systems and empowering pupils through eco projects and sustainability education.

These are just some of the ways we are working towards reducing our environmental impact while helping young people understand the importance of protecting our planet for future generations.

📣 Calling All Schools & Educators!

Join us for an inspiring afternoon exploring funded opportunities and creative ways to strengthen the arts in schools.

📅 15 June 2026
📍 Coventry Transport Museum
⏰ 3:30pm arrival | 3:45–5:00pm

What’s on the agenda?
✨ British Art Show 10 – Funded opportunities for schools
(Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry & Warwick Universities, Oct ’26 – Jan ’27)
✨ Digital Toolkit – Practical support for teaching art in schools
✨ Arts Week 2027 – Funded programmes and how to get involved (June 2027)
✨ Do Your Own Arts Week 2026/27 – Sharing ideas to plan and deliver arts programmes in your school

A great opportunity to connect, get inspired, and plan ahead for impactful arts engagement.
👉 Sign up now link in the comments

𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚: Standards Lead Class Teacher

We’re looking to appoint a Standards Lead Class Teacher to join Frederick Bird Academy at Inspire Education Trust in Coventry. This is a fantastic opportunity to help drive high standards across the school while delivering high quality teaching and learning experiences to a diverse and vibrant community.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫:

📚 A qualified teacher with a passion for raising standards
🌟 Someone committed to delivering first-class education for every child
🤝 A team player who can coach, model and support excellent teaching practice
🌍 A practitioner who values inclusion, equality and celebrating diversity

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞

“At Frederick Bird Academy, our dedicated team works together to create an inclusive and aspirational environment where children and staff can thrive.”

✨ Apply now: https://tinyurl.com/fb-standards-lead