Three year strategy
‘On behalf of the Board of Trustees it gives me great pleasure to share the Trust’s latest three-year strategy. Our purpose is to create centres of educational excellence where pupils achieve exceptional outcomes. We do this in each of our schools and settings, and by sharing our expertise and passion for special education more broadly.
We have agreed five strategic objectives for the next three years. In each case, we have thought about how we want to deliver – and how we will know whether we’ve achieved what we set out to at the end of the period.
I hope you find the review of each objective useful. Please feel free to read the full strategy paper through the link provided below.
Barry Nolan MBE, Chair, Board of Trustees, 1 September 2024
Objective 1: Outcomes First
We will continue to develop the quality of learning we provide, emphasising consistently high expectations in a supportive environment.
Working through our established Hubs, we will make the most of opportunities for sharing practice and peer review between schools, as well as external challenge. We will build on our growing expertise in school improvement and consider how we could contribute to the Post-19 SEND landscape.
We will ensure we always strike a constructive balance between Trust-wide practice and the individual cultures and cohorts in our schools.
In 2027, we will ask ourselves:
- Have we strengthened learning outcomes in our schools and settings?
We will use OfSTED reports, combined with evidence gathered through our school improvement cycle and our outcomes hub, to assess this. - Have we contributed to improvements in post-school pathways for pupils?
We will review developments in national policy and our contribution, as well as post-school destinations for our own pupils, to assess this.
Objective 2: A Community of Professionals
We will improve retention rates and staff readiness to perform at the highest levels across the Trust by investing consistently in professional development and career planning for all employees.
Using our People Strategy as a guide, we will take a range of approaches. These will include professionalising the teaching assistant role and pathways beyond this, as well as looking at opportunities to move between schools and settings.
We will ensure this work thinks about how we support those working in operational roles and other specialists, as well as those in front line roles.
In 2027 we will ask ourselves:
- Have we improved staff retention and strengthened opportunities for career progression in all our teams?
We will review internal data on retention, promotion, and job satisfaction, as well as uptake of professional development opportunities to assess this. - Have we created more mobility for staff between different parts of the Trust?
We will review internal data on transfers and opportunities to work in different parts of the Trust for front line and other staff
Objective 3: Embedded in the Community
We will strengthen our relationship with the communities where we work by ensuring we model and live our values to the full in every aspect of the Trust’s interactions within school and beyond.
Approaches will include work to ensure our staffing and governance, including LABs, better reflects the communities we serve. We will also focus on communicating our mission as educators of children and young people, while continuing to support families at the intersection of other services.
We will ensure our approach is tailored to each community where we work and that we understand them well.
In 2027 we will ask ourselves:
- Have we built more diversity of lived experience and ethnicity into our workforce and governance structures?
We will review internal data on the composition of LABs, the Board of Trustees and its committees, as well as on staff members to assess this. - Have we ensured the way we work with families has a primary focus on supporting pupils’ learning at school?
We will review internal data on family services against evidence on learning outcomes over time for pupils supported to assess this.
Objective 4: Champions for SEND
We will be an effective influence on how special education provision develops in the UK, putting the Trust’s growing reputation for excellence nationally and in our local communities to good use.
Approaches will include building the (social) media and research presence of the Trust, working through a diverse group of staff voices. Advocacy will also include working directly with local authorities as they develop new approaches to planning for SEND provision.
We will ensure our primary focus is always on championing the interests of the children and young people we serve.
In 2027 we will ask ourselves:
- Have we succeeded in growing the Trust’s reputation using communications and research work?
We will review the number and reach of articles, blogs, research papers and other materials that the Trust is involved in to assess this. - Have we influenced positively the way local authorities plan and budget for SEND provision in our communities?
We will review developments in local policies and our contribution, and the environment in terms of pupils on roll and top up funding to assess this.
Objective 5: Creative, Responsible Growth
We will increase the number of children and young people with special needs and disabilities that the Trust serves by growing our provision creatively and responsibly, with a focus on financial stability.
Using our annual Growth Strategy as a guiding document, we will take a range of approaches. These could include opening new free schools, and admitting more schools to the Trust, as well as advising others on issues such as school improvement or SEND provision in mainstream settings.
We will ensure this does not compromise our capacity to keep delivering excellent education in our existing schools and settings.
In 2027 we will ask ourselves:
- Have we grown the Trust to serve more pupils, while maintaining the excellence of our provision?
We will use internal data on the size of the Trust, as well as OfSTED information and internal data on outcomes to assess this. - Have we used a range of approaches to build our reach, and found out more about how to grow in the future?
We will review the approaches taken in the period, and make a qualitative assessment on which have proved most effective – and why.
