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_1000.jpg "ARC Chair Update - October 2025")
The start of the new academic year continues to see ARC driving forward on its mission statement:
I welcome new members from across Bracknell Forest, Central Bedfordshire, Leicester and Shropshire, all of whom have hosted launch events recently placing ARC at the centre of their strategic approach to ensure their schools continue to develop inclusive, relational approaches for all their children.
An early Virtual School conference held in Herefordshire Virtual School helped to celebrate how ARC’s framework continues to link schools together.
ARC are launching new Phase Networks later this term across Primary and secondary. Both are to be led by our ARC Ambassadors who are current system leaders and will be open to ARC members.
I have also been delighted to represent RC at the annual Adoption UK Barometer 2025 launch at Westminster. I was very pleased to share our Engaging Our Children document with the Children minister, Josh MacAlister MP. If you have not read the document to date, then it can be found here.
The Arts & Mind national campaign continues to grow, and I have added ARC as contributor. This focuses on the importance of developing a cultural entitlement for all children and young people, enhancing the place of Arts within and beyond the curriculum. This very much aligns to the work across the West Midlands Virtual School CiC Foundation.
I was very privileged to represent ARC at the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education annual conference at Worcester Cricket Club. A busy day supporting a panel, exhibiting and presenting one of the Pastoral Awards in the evening.
The ARC Learning programme has commenced with a number of Learning Hub events already been hosted either face-to-face of virtually. These are FREE events timed for mainly twilight sessions, to help professionals to attend. All the webinars are recorded and are then exclusively available to ARC members.
As Chair of ARC, I continue to raise awareness at a national level of the key issues around creating more inclusive educational setting, where children’s needs are identified, understood and supported through developing and embedding relational approaches. Most recently, I have been really pleased to share a range of views, concerns and solutions around the SEND agenda with Dame Christine Leneham who in October 2024 was appointed by the Government to the role of Strategic Advisor on SEND to support the Government on developing reforms to the system.
I am looking forward to our annual conference next month. This will see an increase in workshops to reflect the feedback from delegates and members to have more opportunity to discuss and learn about good practice. I would also like to invite delegates and members to submit questions to be discussed by our panel of national experts – Dr Asha Patel (Innovating Minds), Dr Dan Belcher (SSAT), Richard Gill CBE (CEO Arthur Terry Trust) and Carolyn Lawler (Chair NAVSH). Please send questions to andrew@the-arc.org.uk by Monday 20th October 2025.
As identified in last months newsletter the offer to ARC members continues to grow and develop. We are very pleased that a number of business partners are keen to offer discounted rates to our members here.
Finally, the role of the ARC Ambassador is very much helping to extend the ARC offer. I would welcome the support of professionals who would like to add to this offer. Likewise, the role of Trustee is an important element of ARC and I would be pleased to have a conversation with interested parties. A third area relates to any article of interest to our community that could be added to the newsletter or website. Please do get in touch with me at andrew@the-arc.org.uk to arrange a further discussion for either role or for any area of interest.
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