SHARE MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST Our approach to growth Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best
Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best 2
Why join us? 4 What it’s like to join Share Multi-Academy Trust, a Headteacher’s perspective 5 Our distinctive values 5 Our guiding principles 6 Our overarching goals 7 Why do we want to grow? 8 Would we suit you? 8 Our improvement partnership: beliefs and principles 9 United through our strategy and values 9 Overcome disadvantage 9 Create a sense of belonging 9 Our common educational approaches 9 Consistent behaviour routines 9 A broad, ambitious, structured curriculum 9 Safe, healthy & positive citizens 9 Our shared commitment to our colleagues 10 Ownership & commitment 10 Always improving 10 Invest in our people 10 Support for school leaders and governors 10 What it’s like to join Share Multi-Academy Trust, an Executive Principal’s perspective 11 Our support and improvement teams 12 Supportive, trust-wide networks 14 Partnership agreements, including ‘try before you buy’ 14 Still interested? 16 Contents 3
Our trust is a partnership of schools, with a shared determination to offer the best education we can, to improve the life chances of the children and young people in our care. We have distinctive values, rooted in our respect and care for the people who work for us, our parents, communities and pupils. Why join us? Our partnership approach improves schools: ACADEMY PREVIOUS OFSTED GRADE CURRENT OFSTED GRADE Heaton Avenue Primary Good Good Luck Lane Primary Inadequate Good Millbridge Primary Inadequate Good Woodside Green Primary Requires Improvement (x2) Good Royds Hall Inadequate Good Shelley College Outstanding Outstanding Thornhill Community Academy Requires Improvement (x2) Good (outstanding for leadership) Whitcliffe Mount Good Yet to be inspected Joining us makes you an equal member of a team of schools and professionals who support each other to get better. We do not take short cuts. We provide a high quality curriculum, professional development and support for leaders to raise standards. We believe in providing highly inclusive provision for all our pupils. We are committed to ‘Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best’ and we recognise that our trust is only as strong as the people who work and learn with us. Our schools serve a very broad range of communities, including some of the most deprived in West Yorkshire, and we aim to ‘overcome disadvantage’ together. We are a Teaching School Hub working in partnership with 300 schools across Calderdale and Kirklees, with a commitment to delivering the best possible professional development for our colleagues at all stages of their careers. Our school improvement offer provides first class support in whatever area you need to get better. 4
We believe education is all about people. Our aim is to help every one of our pupils to achieve their full potential. We can only achieve this by employing talented, committed staff and working in partnership with parents. In doing so, we will benefit our communities. We have a distinctive way of interpreting this belief. We summarise it as: “Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best” This means we seek for every one of our students and members of staff to enjoy coming to our schools and for all of us to try our very best in everything we do. We help everybody gain the knowledge, skills and habits that can lead to a happy and successful life, both now and in the future. We believe that helping people feel valued increases the chances of them achieving their personal best, which is the highest standard we can expect anybody to achieve. What it’s like to join Share Multi-Academy Trust, a Headteacher’s perspective Our distinctive values Values were something very important when we came to joining a multi-academy trust, and Share MAT’s values of “Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best” aligned really well with our vision at Thornhill Community Academy. Thornhill has improved markedly since joining and being an active participant in the trust. The Academy’s growth and improvement has been fantastic to be a part of. We have maintained the individuality that makes Thornhill ‘Thornhill’, whilst embedding a range of rigorous systems which underpin an excellent quality of education. We have worked with the trust to embed a culture of aspiration, hard work and academic excellence, all professionally supported through collaboration and the trust’s school improvement model, but the heartbeat of all Share MAT academies is their people. Being part of this local group of like-minded schools – run by colleagues who care about children’s welfare, their academic outcomes and who they are as human beings – has further inspired leaders to lead, teachers to teach and students to learn. ” ” Matthew Burton Headteacher, Thornhill Community Academy 5
Everybody is capable of achieving success, given the right direction, support and commitment. Our job is to create these conditions. We believe people achieve more when they work well together. We will help everybody feel they are a valued member of our team. We will be ambitious and keep seeking ways of getting better, to give our pupils the best chance of success. We will make all decisions in the best interests of pupils. We think our pupils and staff will thrive where their many successes are celebrated, including their commitment and effort. We celebrate our diversity but are united by our values. Our guiding principles determine how we prioritise our activities, what we value and how we will conduct ourselves. In short, they describe what type of organisation we are. Everyone can achieve Teams drive success Quality is our driving force People thrive in communities Guiding Principles Our guiding principles 6
Overcome disadvantage, so all pupils achieve outstanding outcomes Deliver an outstanding curriculum and pedagogy Recruit and retain an outstanding workforce Provide outstanding leadership, management and trust infrastructure Build positive communities that achieve outstanding outcomes, together Our Goals and Objectives Our overarching goals Our overarching goal is: We will achieve this goal by focusing on 5 key strategy strands: To help more pupils, particularly the disadvantaged, achieve highly. Achievement includes academic success and developing the personal qualities to lead happy, healthy and successful lives. Each of the five goals has four or five key objectives, which are summarised in our one-page strategy. You can find out more about our strategy at www.sharemat.org under the ‘Our vision and values’ tab. 7
Why do we want to grow? Would we suit you? We do not have all the answers but we do have a better chance of improving if we work in partnerships. The driving force of our improvement journey has been the collective wisdom of the people who work for us. Every one of our schools has contributed something to our policies, strategies and good practice approaches. New partners bring new ideas to our trust. A larger trust can also bring other benefits – more expertise and more opportunities to share resources. Sustainable, planned growth will help our pupils and colleagues to flourish. In summary, we want to grow if it helps you and us serve our pupils better. We know relationships can take time to build. Our tests for growth are: • Will this make sense in ten years’ time? • Can we help new partners improve? • Can new partners help us to get better? That depends! If you share our values and are open to working in a partnership, with the benefits and compromises that sometimes brings, we would love to hear from you. We give schools and leaders autonomy, to make decisions in the best interests of their pupils. We also insist on some common approaches because they have been proven to work. That said, we are always open to new ways of doing things and getting better. In other words, you will thrive in our partnership if you are genuinely interested in a collaborative approach, rooted in evidence and best practice. Your locality matters too. Our partnership approach requires staff to visit colleagues in other schools regularly, to build positive working relationships and share best practice. We are currently based in Kirklees and our Teaching School Hub covers Calderdale and Kirklees. We are keen to work with schools in these and neighbouring local authority areas. We prefer to ‘cluster’ primary schools, to make it easier for staff to meet, share ideas and support one another. Our current clusters are based around Huddersfield, Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. Our improvement partnership model (on the next page) helps give a sense of how we work and what matters to us. 8
Our improvement partnership: beliefs and principles Our common educational approaches United through our strategy and values Consistent behaviour routines Overcome disadvantage A broad, ambitious, structured curriculum Create a sense of belonging Safe, healthy & positive citizens • We are united by our belief of ‘Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best’ • We work as a team across the trust, using common frameworks • We are committed to ‘overcoming disadvantage’, so that every pupil can achieve their best • We share and implement our best practice across the trust • We believe a safe, secure environment is essential for personal best • Our visible leaders support colleagues and pupils to create the right environment • We apply clear, sensible routines consistently • We build positive relationships • Where necessary, we apply proportionate consequences • We are ambitious for every pupil • We try to identify and fix the causes of underachievement • We provide high quality support for pupils who need extra help • We believe all pupils can study challenging subjects and achieve • We build knowledge systematically • We identify and fill gaps in knowledge quickly • We offer a broad curriculum for as long as possible • We inspire pupils through learning • We are committed to ‘Valuing People’ and value our differences • We make our pupils and staff feel welcome by communicating well and valuing their contributions • We help people feel part of our team • We help our pupils become safe, happy, informed, confident and healthy citizens • We do not accept compromises when it comes to keeping children safe • We offer a rich and broad personal development curriculum that helps overcome disadvantage and prepares pupils for their future lives 9
Our shared commitment to our colleagues Support for school leaders and governors United through our strategy and values Always improving Invest in our people • We give our colleagues ownership of their areas of responsibility • Our colleagues take responsibility for their professional standards • We communicate our expectations clearly, to avoid confusion Our team can provide as much support as you need. It also creates career development opportunities for your staff. The diagram highlights the wrap-around support we can deliver: • We review our practice honestly, based on evidence, to see how we can improve • We learn from each other and best practice elsewhere • We communicate clearly, to share our common expectations • We build best practice networks to support our colleagues • We provide the best possible training and coaching • We deliver expert advice, coaching and training • We help prepare people for future progression • We focus on necessary tasks and consider workload carefully before introducing changes Your school Improvement Specialists Central Business & HR Networks & peer review Training & coaching offer Governance Executive Leadership 10
What it’s like to join Share MultiAcademy Trust, an Executive Principal’s perspective School leadership can be challenging and sometimes feel like a lonely place to be. High quality support, readily available at Share MAT, has made it possible for me to thrive and develop as a school leader. Working so closely with our team of school leaders has given me an incredibly helpful network that has aided rapid school improvement across primaries. Collaboration, rigour, professional development, and expert guidance has helped my team and me to turn schools around quickly – securing high standards of teaching and learning and significantly improving pupil outcomes. Knowledgeable support and guidance from our Central Services Team takes the stress out of dealing with time-consuming elements of school leadership – HR and school finance for example. This enables me to dedicate more time directly to school improvement and empowering our primary teams. My personal development is valued by Share MAT and I have been supported and encouraged to continuously develop my professional skills and knowledge – firstly studying for my NPQH (and then working with our Teaching School Hub to facilitate this qualification for others) and now my NPQEL. This leadership development has seen me progress from leading, as the Head in one school, to taking an executive leadership role across primaries. Share MAT is a great place to be – I love my job and enjoy coming to work. ” ” Lauren McCaffrey Executive Principal – Primary 11
Our support and improvement teams Improvement specialists Teams: • Trust Improvement Leaders • Trust-wide Subject Leaders Examples of services: • Curriculum planning and assessment strategies • Safeguarding reviews and support • Reading recovery programmes • SEND support • A trust improvement handbook with a wealth of resources Central business and HR Includes: • Finance • Operations • HR & recruitment support • Payroll • Premises • Risk and compliance • ICT and network support • Legal services • Data analysis and curriculum planning support Examples of services: • A complete financial management system, covering budgeting, ordering and reconciling your accounts • A full HR support service, covering everything from recruitment to payroll and management support • A complete package of premises support – we can deliver small building projects in-house and invest substantial sums through our capital investment funds • A full ICT and network support service • An expert data analyst, who can support you with all aspects of evaluating performance Executive Leadership Includes: • CEO • Executive Principals • Director of Teaching School Hub Examples of services: • Ethical leadership and support that puts our pupils and staff first • A comprehensive self-evaluation, planning and improvement delivery service • A wealth of leadership experience, to offer advice and guidance whatever arises in your school • Staff coaching, training and quality assurance support • Curriculum plans, policy templates and other tried & tested resources OUR TEAM TEAMS AND SERVICES PROVIDED 12
Networks and peer review Includes: • Peer review • Externally commissioned, expert reviews Examples of services: • A supportive peer review, exploring agreed priorities, led by an external consultant and senior colleagues • An extensive range of network meetings, including headteachers, subject leaders, DSLs, SENDCO and attendance leads. • You also benefit from our membership of national networks, such as CST Training and coaching Includes: • A full commitment to training our staff • All the teacher training packages, from Initial Teacher Training to all the NPQs • A large team of experienced mentors and facilitators Examples of services: • An experienced Teaching School Hub team • A full suite of teacher training, including ITT, ECT and NPQs • Bespoke middle and senior leadership training programmes • Bespoke training programmes for support staff Governance Includes: • A Governance Professional (clerking) service • Governor recruitment & training • Governor briefings and network meetings • Policy templates Examples of services: • Everything your governing body needs to run effective meetings, including training, clerical support and agenda preparation • Access to national training programmes, either for free through the trust’s subscriptions or at reduced rates • Governors’ networks, such as safeguarding governors and chairs’ networks OUR TEAM TEAMS AND SERVICES PROVIDED 13
We offer three levels of partnership: Our network meetings drive many of our decision-making and improvement processes. Our colleagues tell us they find the opportunity to share a problem or an example of good practice to be one of the biggest plusses of joining our trust. They have also reduced workload. For example, our trust’s Special Educational Needs and Behaviour Policies are shared templates, written by a small team of colleagues from different schools. Informal Annual partnership Full trust membership Supportive, trust-wide networks We recognise and embrace our responsibility to support the health of the wider system and are happy to welcome colleagues for short visits or to share some of our resources. Whilst informal partnerships can be helpful, we do not think they are the right vehicle for sustained school improvement. If you are ready for a longer-term working relationship and willing to adopt our school improvement models and services, we can draw up a oneyear partnership agreement. We expect a school choosing our annual partnership scheme will be thinking seriously about joining our trust. We see the annual partnership as a ‘try before you buy’ option. We are confident that once you experience the benefits of working in a team of schools, you will want to become a full member of our trust. We can support you with all the conversion processes. We will work with you to agree a smooth transition plan, to give your pupils, staff and parents confidence in your decision. Partnership agreements, including ‘try before you buy’ 14
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Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best Still interested? If you would like to learn more about Share Multi-Academy Trust, a copy of our prospectus can be found on the trust’s website under the ‘Our Trust’ tab. Please get in touch. We would love to hear from you. You can find all our contact details on the trust’s website under the ‘Contact Us’ page. www.sharemat.org We can’t wait to hear from you!
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