16th May 2025 Dear Parent Carers, Weekly Update: 16/05/25 I hope this update finds you well. Over the past week, our Year 9 and Year 10 students have taken an exciting step towards shaping their own successful futures by participating in Option Taster Sessions and Options Evening. These sessions are designed to give students a first-hand experience of the diverse range of practical subjects available to them next year as part of Options Day every Friday. From creative arts and childcare to sport and digital skills, the taster sessions allow students to explore their interests, discover new talents, and make informed choices about the pathways they wish to pursue. This opportunity reflects our school vision of Shaping Successful Futures by empowering students to take ownership of their learning journey and develop skills that will support their aspirations. It brings to life our core values: We Learn, as students engaged actively in new subjects; We Respect, as they collaborated and listened to different perspectives; and We’re Family, as they supported one another through shared experiences and positive encouragement. We are proud of the thoughtful choices our students are making and look forward to seeing them thrive in their chosen option areas next year. Students in Year 9 and Year 10 were given an Options booklet to share at home and select their choices from – please do get in touch if you have any queries about this. Staff Changes We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Liz Sanger as Assistant Headteacher. Liz will join St Martins in September and will be based with the Key Stage 5 team at Horizons 6th Form. Liz currently works as a Headteacher for the Respect Collaboration Schools, and so brings strong leadership experience to lead our Key Stage 5 provision of Horizons, Project SEARCH and support work related learning opportunities at our café. As well as this, Phil Swindley, our current Key Stage 5 Lead, is changing role after the May half term to join the Supported Internship team as a Job Coach, fulfilling his passion to support our young people into paid employment and feel confident about their future as young adults. The leadership of this will be covered internally over the second half term. Emily Hallam is now on Maternity Leave. As planned, the class is now being taught by Jane Winter who has had a successful start at St Martins since Easter. We look forward to sharing an update from Emily soon.
Sabrina Hobbs Principal St Martins School, The Derwent Campus, Bracknell Drive, Alvaston, Derby, DE24 0BT Tel: 01332 571151 Email: admin@stmartins.set.org Online: www.stmartinsschoolderby.co.uk The Shaw Education Trust Limited is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England (no 09067175) Registered address: Shaw Education Trust, Kidsgrove Secondary School, Gloucester Road, Kidsgrove, ST7 4DL. The details of our academies registered as business names can be found at www.shaweducation.org.uk.