News
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Monday 23 March 2026 UTCW FIRST Tech Challenge UK National Final £1,000. Two teams. One national stage.UTC Warrington's robotics teams are heading to the FIRST Tech Challenge UK National Final - and they're going in with serious momentum thanks to a vital £1,000 investment from AXIOM Joint Venture!The sponsorship is powering the next phase of their journey, funding critical equipment to design, build and push their robots to the limit ahead of the big stage.And what a journey it's been: earlier this month, the two UTCW teams saw amazing success at the regional competition in Liverpool:🏆 North West Champions – UTC Warrington's Technically Wired🌟 Technically Wired were also the Inspire Award winners – recognised as ambassadors and role models in STEM🤖 Winning Alliance title – secured by UTC Warrington's Wired Technically, for the best performance during the competitive matches. Three major wins!But this is about more than accolades. These students are operating like real enginee
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Friday 20 March 2026 Growing Together: Management Mastery - a new course for a new age of managers In spring 2025, I was approached by the HR team with a problem. Our leadership programmes were doing a lot of good to support people to have vision and aspiration, make evidence-informed decisions, and talk with confidence about the theory of being an effective leader… but there was something missing. Being a driven person with vision and values is not enough to excel in a role with managerial responsibilities. Colleagues were excelling in their former roles, and so earmarked for promotion. They were making the next step, complete with line management responsibilities, and then just left to work out exactly how to do the job practically day to day.
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Thursday 12 March 2026 Second National INSET Day of the 2025–26 On Friday, colleagues from across Aldridge Education came together for our second National INSET Day of the 2025–26 academic year, with staff gathering at Darwen Aldridge Community Academy, Dukes Aldridge Academy and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy to collaborate, learn from one another and connect as our Aldridge community.A key focus of the day was the launch of the early stages of our nurture strategy. Together, we explored how small, intentional changes in our practice can strengthen the wellbeing and psychological safety of both learners and colleagues. Nurture sits at the heart of creating environments where every young person feels valued, supported and able to succeed - and that means it's a key priority for us. These conversations directly support our shared commitment to bringing learning to life and leaving no one behind. When every student feels safe, understood and supported, they are better able to engage, participate and thrive in their learning.The day als
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Monday 9 March 2026 International Women’s Day 2026
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Monday 2 March 2026 DAES is recognised as a school committed to creating a “positive future for every pupil.” We're celebrating a strong endorsement of our vision in action at Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio!Following our recent Ofsted inspection, DAES is recognised as a school committed to creating a “positive future for every pupil.”Under the new inspection framework, schools are judged across seven areas rather than given a single overall grade. We're proud to share that six areas met the expected high standard - and Inclusion was judged as 'strong', meaning our work is making a real, positive difference for young people. Every area on our report card is green. Inspectors saw what we see every day - that we're bringing learning to life for our students, and ensuring no one is left behind.
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Wednesday 25 February 2026 Aldridge Education Signs Up to The Circuit, the UK’s National Defibrillator Network We’ve now registered every defibrillator (AED) at every Aldridge Education school on The Circuit - the national defibrillator network used by ambulance services to locate the nearest available defib in an emergency. In a cardiac arrest, seconds matter. If a defibrillator isn’t visible to the 999 team, precious time can be lost. By getting our AEDs 'on the map', we’re helping ensure lifesaving equipment can be found fast - for learners, staff and our wider communities. And it’s a fitting step to take during February’s hashtag #HeartMonth, when the spotlight is on heart health and the simple actions that can make a lifesaving difference.
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Monday 16 February 2026 Raising Aspirations: Local Employers Inspire Sudell’s Young Learner Future archaeologists, scientists, engineers and filmmakers were all under one roof at Darwen Aldridge Sudell Primary school yesterday - and you could feel the buzz the moment you walked through the door!
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Friday 13 February 2026 Early Career Training Programme at Darwen Vale High School Blog
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Wednesday 1 October 2025 Connect and Connect+ Launched
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Wednesday 17 September 2025 Preparing for your NPQ Assessment Preparing for Assessment
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Wednesday 17 September 2025 Growing Together Meet Our New NPQ Lead - Jemma Naish-Williams In this blog series, we shine a spotlight on the NPQ courses we have on offer in partnership with Teach First, including showcasing some of our fantastic programme members and leaders.
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Friday 23 May 2025 Growing Together ECF Pathways - Molly Reynolds
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Tuesday 13 May 2025 Growing Together NPQ Spotlight - Sarah Carroll
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Friday 14 February 2025 Growing Together NPQ Spotlight - Lou Brown
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Monday 20 January 2025 Growing Together NPQ Spotlight - Jodeth Parkinson
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Thursday 12 December 2024 Growing Together NPQ Spotlight - Matt Carlin
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Tuesday 26 November 2024 Growing Together ECF Pathways - Beth Waddicor Why did you get into teaching?
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Wednesday 13 November 2024 Growing Together NPQ Spotlight - Martyn Millard
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Wednesday 13 November 2024 Growing Together SCITT Spotlight - Harvey Austin
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Wednesday 25 September 2024 Blog Post - How instructional coaching shaped my teaching - and my wellbeing - Poppy Nobes There are plenty of blogs already written which go through the evidence base for instructional coaching. I am sure we have all heard Dr Sam Sims's research about it being our best bet form of professional development which has an impact on learning and outcomes[1]. Plus, the ever-present Dylan Wiliam quote about teachers getting better always because we all need to continue to develop across our careers[2].