Parent/Carer Academy Advisor for Gosforth Academy Advisory Group

The academy is seeking nominations to fill one parent place on the Academy Advisory Group (AAG). The term of office will be for a period of four years. This AAG serves Gosforth Academy, which is within the Gosforth Group Multi Academy Trust (MAT).

AAG members are volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds, who have an interest in children’s education in their local community. Advisory Groups act as a critical friend to the Principal on matters of academy performance, education, behaviour, attendance and staff performance.

As a Parent/Carer Academy Advisor, you have an opportunity to take a full and active part in the work of the Advisory Group. However, it is important to understand that you would be a representative of the whole parent body and not representing the parent body or any particular group of parents. As such you will not have a mandate or a specific constituency

The nomination process

Please find below a nomination form. When submitting nominations, the following points should be noted:

• To be eligible to take part in the nomination / election process, an individual must be included on the Gosforth Academy’s admissions register as being the parent or carer of a child currently attending the school.
• You can put yourself forward by completing the attached nomination form and by asking a parent/carer of another child currently at the school to second your nomination. You should also complete the personal statement. All nominations (including the personal statement) must be returned to Joy Davison, PA to the Principal, Main Reception, Gosforth Academy, Knightsbridge, Great North Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 2HJ by 09:00am on Monday 20th January 2025.
• People who are bankrupt or have criminal convictions may not serve as school Academy Advisors. These and the other circumstances disqualifying individuals from holding office as AAG members are set out in full in the Trust's Articles of Association. Further information is available from Steph North, Head of Governance and Compliance at the Gosforth Group on steph.north@gosforthgroup.org.uk

Additional useful information

The structure of the Academy Advisory Group consists of:

• 2 Parent Members
• 5 Community Members
• 2 Staff Members
• 2 ex-officios – (Gosforth Group CEO and Principal)

The AAG is scheduled to meet four times during the academic year.

Nominations are sought from parents and carers of pupils at Gosforth Academy. Following this process, if there is more than one eligible nomination, an election will be held, so that the Parent/Carer Academy Advisor can be appointed as soon as possible.

If you have any queries in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact Steph North whose contact details are above.

Yours faithfully

Nick Girdler
Chair of Academy Advisory Group

Please click below to view and download the Nomination form.

Following the release of the DFE school performance tables last week, the Gosforth Group Multi Academy Trust would like to share with you some of the amazing successes in outcomes from across our schools.

The Religious Education Department welcomed 3 visitors from HMP Northumberland to support our Year 11 classes who are currently studying the theme of crime and punishment as part of their GCSE course. Christine is the prison’s Christian chaplain. Pat and Joanne run the restorative justice programme, The Sycamore Tree, as volunteers for the charity, Prison Fellowship. Students gained valuable insights into the experiences of prisoners and the prison system. Using real life case studies, our guests were able to engage students in purposeful reflection on themes such as justice, retribution, deterrence, forgiveness and reformation. Interesting debate and discussion ensued about the purpose of prisons, the aims of punishment and the challenges for society in dealing with those who break the law. Here are some of the students’ reflections:

‘For me, the experience was very eye-opening as I learned many things about our prisons and what prisoners experience in them. For example, I was shocked to learn that most prisoners in HMP Northumberland are usually locked up for 23 hours per day. It was moving to hear about one man who had had an incredibly traumatic childhood being helped to turn away from a life of crime, come off heroin and start working to help other prisoners rehabilitate. The session inspired me to think of prisoners in a different light, and, as someone aiming for a career in law, it was very useful in providing me with a better understanding of our legal system’.

‘Our visitors told us stories that were deeply shocking and sad. Many of the prisoners they work with have never had the experience of a loving and nurturing home environment. The prisoners themselves are shocked that volunteers from Prison Fellowship willingly give up their time to come into the prison to work with them and spend time with them without receiving any payment’.

Our visitors share their reflections on the sessions in the short video below. We look forward to welcoming them back to Gosforth Academy on Curriculum Enrichment Day in March. For further information about Prison Fellowship, including The Sycamore Tree project, please see: www.prisonfellowship.org.uk.

Please view the video and photos from the visit below.

Following our Review Day held in November 2024, please see below the results of our parent feedback questionnaire and useful FAQs.

Review Day Parent Feedback and FAQs

Gosforth Group Admissions Consultation for 2026

The Gosforth Group follows the Department for Education's School Admissions Code (September 2021). As part of this Code, we consult on admissions arrangements whenever there is a change which requires consultation and at least once every seven years, even if there is no change.

Proposed changes for 2026 include amendments to the criteria used for determining admissions to Gosforth Group Academies and changes to the Published Admission Number for Great Park and Callerton Academies (following a move from temporary to permanent accommodation). There is also a proposed change to the Published Admissions Number for the Sixth Forms at Gosforth and Jesmond Park Academies to accommodate increased student numbers across Gosforth Group Academies.

This consultation process provides an opportunity for stakeholders to comment on the proposed changes. The consultation process will run for six weeks (not including school holidays) starting on Monday 25 November 2024 and closing on Monday 20 January 2025. At the end of the consultation period, responses will be considered and the final admission arrangements will be 'determined' by the Board of Trustees. The admission arrangements must be determined by 28 February 2025 and published by 15 March 2025.

Should you wish to participate in the consultation, please forward any comments regarding our proposed 2026 Admissions Policies to admissionsconsultation@gosforthgroup.org.uk

Please click below to view the consultation documents

At the end of October, Spanish A Level students had the opportunity to attend one of the public lectures offered by Newcastle University as part of their INSIGHTS programme. Francisco Ferrándiz, from the Spanish National Research Council, discussed 'Undoing the Valley of Cuelgamuros in contemporary Spain'.  The Valley of Cuelgamuros (formerly known as Valley of the Fallen or Valle de los Caídos) is Spain's most conspicuous and unresolved Francoist monument. The site incorporates the exhumations of Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Fascist party Falange, and it is central to ongoing debates about the Spanish Civil War and historical memory in the 21st century.

Not only did our students learn about a key period of Spanish history, which is part of the Year 13 A Level curriculum, but they also had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of remembering our history.