A very warm welcome to the Inspire Education Trust on behalf of the Board of Directors (trustees). I was delighted and honored to be appointed Chair of the Board at the start of this academic year, having joined the Board the previous year.

The last 18 months have been a difficult time for everyone with the Covid pandemic having had such a major impact on our lives from a health, social, economic, and educational perspective. I do believe that our schools responded extremely well to the unprecedented challenges they faced through the commitment, effort and adaptability of staff and pupils alike, assisted with understanding and positive engagement from family support groups.

In addition, it was apparent that our schools, and importantly our pupils, benefited from being part of a close-knit, well-run family of schools. As a Multi-Academy Trust, we were able to take a collective response drawing on our group wide assets and reserves to react swiftly to individual school needs, whether this was ensuring effective teaching cover, special needs support or management and administration. From a motivational, well-being and emotional perspective, the benefits for everyone involved of being part of a wider support network should not be underestimated.