Strategic Plan 21-24

Strategic Business Plan

⮚ Introduction

⮚ Our Trust Vision

⮚ Our Trust Expectations

⮚ Our Schools

⮚ Trust Governance

About other schools

⮚ Working in Partnership

⮚ Joining the Trust

Improvement and Development

Three Year Strategic Plan

An introduction about our Trust

What we want to achieve and why

Protocols for what we expect of each other

Our ambition for growth and what it looks like to be a school in Illuminate Minds Trust

An outline of structures and responsibilities at all layers of governance

An outline of what partnership does and could look like

Why join and what is the process?

Our key strategic priorities – delivering “Excellence Every Day” and growing our Trust.

Illuminate Minds Trust is a multi-academy trust (MAT) established in April 2013 by Pelham Primary School. The Trust sponsored a school in April 2015 resulting in a fast paced transformation and education improvement which resulted in both schools achieving ‘Good’ judgements from Ofsted in their last inspections. Therefore, our own experience evidences the advantages of collaboration and school to school support. We recognize the strength of effective partnerships and the impact of these on continuous school improvement through relationships promoting innovation, support, guidance and challenge, and believe strongly that these arrangements secure the best outcomes for our children.

Our Trust firmly believes in schools having their own characteristics underpinned by common principles. Member schools benefit from maintaining their own identity with access to shared best practices and back office business support. This enables schools to fully focus on their core business, teaching and learning, whilst the Trust leads on financial and resource management and provides high quality support for school improvement. The educational landscape changes at pace and the drive to bring schools together in effective working partnerships within sustainable multi-academy trusts is clearly the national strategy. We recognize the importance of working within the national context and the knowledge-building which comes with upscaling, welcoming opportunities for growth in the widest sense and the chance to work with primary and special schools where the focus on the child’s needs is always paramount.

As a trust, our ambition is that our schools bring individual strengths and creativity for the mutual benefit of all of our partners. All of our schools are equal partners. There is no “lead school”. Our commitment to collaboration is based on our desire that each school can thrive and grow in a sustainable trust which promotes ethical leadership and cooperation. Our philosophy of innovation, participation and reflection within a culture where children are always at the centre of our decision-making is focused on our expectation that every school in our Trust is signed up to deliver our vision of “Excellence Every Day”. We are determined to demonstrate that our schools, through working together in the spirit of generosity and acknowledgement of the greater good, can create the conditions for all of our pupils, irrespective of their starting points, individual needs and challenges and social background, to achieve their best and gain the skills, qualities and knowledge to move forward positively and with confidence in the next stage of their lifelong learning journey.

Our Trust Vision

Our Trust is committed to a culture of high quality, holistic educational provision which is summed up by our motto of “Excellence Every Day”.

Our vision is ….

● To create a family of schools which put children at the centre of all decisions and never lose sight of our moral purpose as organisations which are preparing children as leaders of our future society.

● The experience of every child who comes through our doors will be enjoyable, productive and enlightening, offering insight and opportunities beyond their lived experiences.

● Every child, without exception, will leave with the values, skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in society.

● Learning is embedded in our culture and we are ambitious for all members of our school communities.

● To develop schools that are recognized at a local, regional and national level for their willingness to innovate, their “no excuses” approach to standards and openness to the sharing of ideas, resources and guidance.

Our Trust Expectations

Our core purpose is “Excellence Every Day” through:

● Working with children, young people and their families to promote engagement in learning and a work ethic which will help them secure a positive future.

● Delivering a curriculum in every school which meets the needs of the cohort and supports the development of rounded individuals with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and have agency over their futures.

● Offering experiences which are rich and diverse and widen the perspectives of all of our pupils beyond their lived experiences, reducing gaps and disadvantage.

● Encouraging participation and ownership of the school communities by all members of our staff to enable Trust development through contribution and collaboration.

● Creating a coaching culture to develop a workforce which is flexible to meet the need of every child or young person within our academies and “future proofs” us as a Trust in an ever-changing landscape.

● Developing systems and processes which safeguard our communities and reduce workload through sharing of resources and practices and avoidance of duplication.

● Ensuring the learning environment is fit for purpose, safe and stimulating to support the development of confident, happy pupils who want to attend school and are kept safe.

● Ethical leadership of the Trust.

We shall do this by:

● Providing challenging and relevant opportunities for learning for all – we take the term “learning” in its broadest sense to include foundation learning, readiness to learn and also teaching skills for resilience, emotional self-regulation, self- confidence and the achievement of good mental health

● Providing a methodical, caring environment that promotes social responsibility and moral awareness

● Pooling staffing and educational resources and where necessary budget to ensure equality of opportunity is not limited by funding

● Developing self-esteem, mutual respect and the motivation to succeed whatever the challenges

● Developing partnerships with our wider community that will enhance community wide learning –being outward-facing leaders.

● Developing pupil empathy and an understanding of diversity

● Developing our capacity to provide for the needs of learners of all ages and with diverse challenges and needs.

● Recognising that everyone is of equal worth and has a valuable contribution to make.

● Developing a culture of high aspiration, strong leadership and clear lines of accountability which are underpinned by strong system leadership within a professional learning environment.

● Working collaboratively, sharing good ideas and best practice based on sound research.

● Promoting an organisational ethos which seeks to establish a balance between prioritizing our children / young people whilst taking care of the wellbeing of our staff.

Our Trust Schools and Ambition for Growth

We are currently a family of two schools in London Borough of Bexley. Whilst our schools work together informally and benefit from collaboration at all levels, we are eager to grow and further benefit from the advantages of working across a wider and more diverse group of schools. To achieve this, we are seeking single maintained schools, SAT academies and small MATs who also appreciate the value and advantages of upscaling, widening the pool of resources and securing future sustainability. We are not looking to impose a model or “take over” any school. Our belief is that we are stronger through the sum of our parts and we want to retain that strength through agreed levels of autonomy which support each school in keeping its individuality and characteristics. In summary, we don’t see the purpose in wanting a school to join us based on what it offers, then reducing or removing the characteristics which make it special and valuable. Our Trust is focused on bringing the best together and creating an organisation which gives all schools a voice in the overall development of a Trust which is guided by the following principles:

● School improvement is a journey which has no end point.

● As leaders, we have been given the agency to make positive change and should never lose sight of our moral purpose.

● Partnership working enables us to do more with what resources, skills and expertise we possess and it is for everyone’s benefit.

Our Trust is at a pivotal point in its journey. New schools joining us will have the benefit of being part of the growth journey from the outset. This means that they will be able to contribute to the vision for the Trust and develop or maintain their own school values under the “umbrella” of our agreed vision. Head Teachers will be included in our Trust Executive Leadership Group which meets weekly to discuss and work through both strategic and operational considerations, sharing ideas and offering support. Leaders at all levels will have the opportunity to work across the Trust with colleagues and access support and guidance. Our Trust is moving towards a coaching culture which promotes personal development through reflective practices as part of ongoing school improvement and we welcome other colleagues in schools who want to work with us being part of this initiative. This is a culture of “we’re all in it together” - we want our staff to be the best they can be! Our high expectations and refusal to accept that any problem is insurmountable is balanced against a commitment to staff wellbeing. We recognize the value of sharing and working collaboratively in reducing workload and providing additional support and guidance.

Our Trust is developing a central team over the next two years which is supported through the top slice of our existing schools and subsidized for this period. The current top slice equates to 7%. Any new school joining us will benefit from a non-contributory period for 2021/22 and 2022/23 and will only then be subject to the top slice from the academic year 2023/24 onwards. Again, it is expected that this will be at 7% (maximum) and this is reviewed annually by the Trust Board. Management and back office functions as well as school improvement are funded through the top slice and enable us to allow schools to focus on teaching and learning through systemizing school improvement and reducing duplication.

Our Trust is inclusive and values diversity. We are keen to expand our SEND provision and develop expertise in this area through a mixed economy of schools with common principles and agreed, shared moral purpose. It is our ultimate ambition to create a Trust which brings together special schools and primary schools who are committed to working with their local authorities in inclusive practices through supported reintegration and the development of resource provisions.

Members of the Trust

Mrs C Botten (Lead)

Ms S Williamson

Mr N Bolton

Mr M Hall

Board of Trustees

Ms N Harper (Chair)

Mr D Mitchelmore

Mr B Jackson

Mr D Selman

Mr. I Walters

Mrs B McHugh

Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

Ms Harper (Chair)

Mr D Selman

Mr B Jackson

Pelham Primary School

Local Advisory Committee

Mrs Tolliday (Chair)

Mrs Yeouart

Mr J Ward

Mrs B Conkova (Parent)

Mrs L Appiah (Staff)

Mr DThorne (Parent)

Ms Southby (CEO)

Mr Baines (Head Teacher - Ex Officio by appointment)

Fairford Academy Barnehurst

Local Advisory Committee

Mr Clements - Chair

Mr P Howarth (Parent)

Mr W Chipchase (Parent)

Mr S Bhindra (Staff)

Ms Farinre

Mr McFarlane

Mr S Robinson (Head Teacher - Ex Officio by appointment)

The Trust’s Scheme of Delegation sets out the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of every level of governance; to summarise: Members are the guardians of the Trust who agreed the Trust’s first Articles of Association and are responsible for any amendments. They are responsible for the appointment of the Trust Board and meet annually.

Trusts have charitable status, so the Trustees are both trustees and company directors.

The Trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the Trust, and in accordance with the provisions set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association and its funding agreement. The Trust Board is legally responsible and accountable for all statutory functions, for the performance of all schools within the trust, and must approve a written scheme of delegation of financial powers that maintains robust internal control arrangements. In addition, it must carry out the three core governance functions.

Local Advisory Boards are responsible for building an understanding of how each school is led and managed. They should work with the Head Teacher in identifying priority areas for the school, monitor and evaluate how well the school is working in improving as well as working within agreed and statutory policies, and making sure the school is ensuring best value for money in terms of educational outcomes and government grants. The LAB should be a point of consultation and representation, and report how the school is doing to the Trust Board. The core business of these boards is:

● Reviewing and monitoring the School Improvement plan.

● Monitoring and reviewing progress and attainment.

● Reviewing and monitoring the curriculum.

A Culture of Collaboration -

the inward / outward facing approach

Since our Trust is built on the principle of strengthening through partnership, collaboration is the vehicle through which we expect our schools to develop and improve. From the perspective of staff at all levels, what does this look like? The diagram above outlines the ways in which staff work together. However, this is not an exhaustive list and the main feature of our culture is a willingness to be open to engage with others and the resilience to follow through on ideas though actively seeking to bring people together.

Being in a family means that we value and celebrate our differences as well as sharing the “golden thread” of our core values and vision. We are able to share resources and benefit from the economies of scale which come with being in a wider group: increased ability to negotiate competitive contracts; CPD programmes which are developed and offered across out schools; secondment opportunities to support career progression; contributing to research projects and participating in whole Trust initiatives eg. we are currently establishing focus groups to review our assessment and reporting procedures; the development of a coaching model for appraisal and staff development; our widening horizons curriculum group to explore strategies to promote equal opportunities and reduce gaps through disadvantage; our Trust Digital Strategy. These are our priorities this year but we welcome new schools joining us and bringing in their own ideas on how we can develop our Trust further and match our “Excellence Every Day” offer best to the communities we serve.

Partnership is focused on school improvement and this sits at the heart of our Trust culture. We recognise that education does not stand still and believe that we are falling behind if we are not always moving forwards and striving for even better if…

School improvement is our core business

The Child’s Educational Experience at The Heart of Our MAT

Vision, Culture and Ethos Where do we want to be and what to want to achieve?

People and Partners Developing staff and building capacity for improvement

Teaching and Learning How does the MAT add value to pupil learning and progress?

Curriculum and Assessment Alignment to a common approach to curriculum and standards QA / Accountability Balancing challenge and support

Joining the Trust

“Multi-academy trusts are powerful vehicles for improving schools by sharing expertise, working collaboratively and driving improvements. It is living proof of the old adage, a problem shared is a problem halved.”

“This is something we want to see more of, because it shows time and again how the multi-academy trust model consistently improves outcomes for pupils.”

Gavin

Williamson – May 2021

Our Trust has an unrelenting desire to build a better, sustainable society One of the most effective ways we can do this is through partnership working with schools who share our commitment and moral purpose. Therefore, by joining forces and bringing more schools into the Trust, the greater opportunity we have to make a positive impact and keep our momentum going through mutual encouragement, support and reduction in costs through the sharing of resources and pooling of GAG funds (our top slice).

We recognise the national drive to bring schools together in medium and larger size organisations. However, as a Trust, we are bound to our belief in retaining the strength of every school through its individuality and this is not possible once trusts become or a certain size. Therefore, we are seeking between 4 and 6 schools to join us in the next 3-5 years to ensure we together are not absorbed into a large trust and can continue to develop the provision we believe is best for all of our pupils. The Government ambition for single schools and academies and small trusts to merge or join with larger trusts is close on the horizon. As a Trust, we don’t want to wait and be “done to” and nor do we believe that this is the right way for our schools to grow and flourish. Instead, we are eager to find partners who will bring specific expertise to us and with whom we can share our strengths and ideas for the future. Our Trust is actively looking to collaborate. We welcome new trustees to our Trust Board from schools who

decide to join us and will be retaining local governing bodies but adapted within the Scheme of Delegation to take on the role of Local Advisory Committees. We want our new partners to be significant contributors to our joint journey and welcome their views and voices. This is a unique opportunity for any school which is currently working outside of a trust or as 2-3 schools in a small trust to be part of the vision from the beginning. We are particularly keen to hear from schools with SEND specialisms or innovative inclusive practices as this matches our ethos and ensures that we have a collective moral purpose.

If a school is interested in joining us, relationships need to be formed and dialogue about the relationship between the school and the Trust undertaken to agree how we will work together. Our Trust would then carry out due diligence on the joining school or trust, and we would expect the school or trust would want to do the same to us. This is a final check to make sure that the school or trust is a good fit for us. It also acts as an audit, so that when the school or trust joins, we know it inside out, and will be able to provide any appropriate intervention or support as swiftly as possible. This will cover much more than teaching and learning, auditing areas such as finance, HR, health and safety, and data protection. This also gives both sides an opportunity to explore what benefits each will gain and how these can be woven into our overall Trust School Improvement Strategy.

Our desire to build a better society and our track record of successful school improvement alongside the expertise at different levels throughout the Trust means that we can evidence our ability to turn around schools in challenging circumstances. Our CEO is a National Leader of Education (NLE) with a diverse background across mainstream, special, alternative provision, residential schools and youth offending as well as with experience of working at central local authority level. Our COO is highly qualified and experienced and leads on financial, business, risk and resource strategies. Our emerging central team will provide a range of school improvement support and back office functions (including HR, clerkship, marketing) and, being in the early stages of development, are well placed to be shaped to meet the needs of schools joining us. All our schools, as with most schools, have had to improve at some time in their recent history. This has given us the ability to empathise with school leaders and governors who are in this situation, an understanding of the challenge that lays ahead, and a road map of how to get there. We also recognise that even schools in very challenging circumstances have outstanding practices and systems which they can bring into our Trust. Therefore, we will not be “fixing” or “doing to” but supporting and working with across all of the schools in our Trust, whatever their current circumstances or needs. This is about collaboration as is emphasised throughout this Business Plan and working with the right partners internally in our growing Trust and externally in our local communities.

Our model for financial contribution is not differentiated according to school or trust need. It is purely based on a % of the General Annual Grant (7% from 2023/24). Like all families, schools have their ups and downs, and the school that needs support today, may be supporting another tomorrow. Therefore, schools’ contributions bear no relation to how much support they need at any given time. Our Central Services are in the development stage and any school joining will be coming to us at its inception or early stages of development. This means that leaders and governors / trustees can contribute to how this grows and develops over the next three years.

“By 2025, we want to see far more schools residing in strong families than we do today, and we’re actively looking at how we can make that happen.”

Executive Business Support Officer (0.8FTE-Jan 2022)

Executive Business Support PA

Governance Professional

Qualitiy Teaching and Learning Lead (0.4FTE - Jan 22)Digit

Coaching Team header

Curriculum and Cultural Capital Head (0.4 FTE - Jan 22) HR Director (2-3 years)

Literacy Lead (0.2 FTE - Apr 22)

Numeracy Lead (0.2 FTE-Apr 22)

Phonics & Reading Lead (0.2 FTE Aprill 22)

EYFS Lead (0.3 FTE Feb 22)

R&D Training Lead

HLTA's Nuture Group Leads Digital Development and Management Information Lead (2023/2024) Commissioned Educational Advisors

Trust SEND, Inclusion and S/G Director (Sep 22)

Attendance & Parent Engagement Officer (1.0 FTE- Jan 22)

SPALT (Sept 22)

Where do we need to be in the next 3 years?

SCALE AND SCOPE

QUALITY AND IMPACT

INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE

Partnerships and collaborations: all pupils access a broad and deep educational experience and flourish.

School improvement and quality CPD: all pupils make good progress, achieving at least in line with and in many cases beyond expectations.

Strategic positioning and exploiting opportunities: all pupils aim high and adults are ambitious for the children, themselves and the school communities.

Over the next three years our priority is GROWTH in the widest sense. We need to invest to ensure our sustainability and ability to attract new schools as well as to develop our resources, curriculum offer and staff expertise. We need to grow in terms of Trust scale in order that our scope is widened and we are having a greater impact in the areas we are situated. We need to continually develop and improve our provision and deliver consistently on our ambition for “Excellence Every Day”, driven by the moral purpose that we are contributing to our future communities and enabling children and young people to realise their goals, experience pride in their abilities and be exposed to new experiences and opportunities.

Over the next three years, we will deliver our Trust Business Strategy through the following five strands:

● People

● Ambition

● Innovation

● Assurances

● Sustainability

However, our foundations have to be strong to grow and these also form a significant element of how we achieve our strategic objectives. The foundations for growth are encapsulated in our “Seven Cs”:

● Capacity

● Collaboration

● Coaching

● Central Systems

● Community

● Curriculum

● Cultural Capital

Embedding these foundations over the next year provides us with the platform to focus on our key priorities.

Our three strategic priority objectives are shown below and combine to ensure that our children are always at the centre of our planning and decision-making:

Strategic Objective 1:

To develop the Trust to a community of 5-8 schools.

OUR CHILDREN:

An exceptional educational experience across the spectrum of need.

Strategic Objective 3:

To achieve financial and organisational sustainability for the long term.

Strategic Objective 2:

To create an educational offer which promotes ”EXCELLENCE EVERY DAY” for every pupil.

Strategic Objective 1

To develop the Trust to a community of 5-8 schools.

We aim to grow to increase the sustainability of the Trust and our ability to add value to the schools through a collaborative approach.

● Our growth strategy is based on the balance of risk and taking into consideration the existing schools’ positions and what we can offer to any incoming school.

● The “Seven Cs” will be embedded in our cross-school working practices.

● Our leaders will raise their profile externally and widen their networks to promote the sharing of good practice and demonstrate our commitment to being contributors to local solutions.

● The vision of the Trust will be revisited with all stakeholders to ensure it reflects our motto and the schools’ values.

● The vision will be revisited annually to ensure all schools who join us are part of this process.

● We will establish a Central Team which combines internal expertise alongside external partners and commissioned external advisors who will form a directory of support from which schools can access targeted as well as scheduled advice and guidance alongside professional challenge.

● Through half termly Trust newsletters and the development of formal collaborative processes, we will work with staff across our schools to develop a “trust mind-set”.

● We will develop a new Trust website alongside new school websites.

Illuminate Minds Trust Strategic Business Plan

● We will rebrand our Trust and schools to reflect where we are now on our new journey.

● We will aim to raise the profile of our schools through creative marketing strategies which challenge historical perceptions and enable our schools to flourish.

● We will forge relationships beyond our local area into Kent, North Surrey, Greenwich, East London boroughs and South Essex.

● We will widen our scope to include SEND specialist schools and actively seek opportunities to increase our SEND specialism through reviewing our resource provision designation.

● We will develop systems across our schools which facilitate the sharing of best practice, reduce workload and provide timely and accurate reporting to stakeholders including our trustees and governors, local authorities and parents.

● We will review our governance structure to clarify roles and accountabilities and ensure support is strategic rather than operational.

● We will recruit new trustees and governors based on our skills audit and invite new school governors to join us.

Strategic Objective 2

To create an educational offer which promotes “Excellence Every Day” for every pupil.

To deliver a clear methodology for School Improvement that ensures that all schools deliver a holistic curriculum which is high quality and bespoke to the unique characteristics of each school but avoids development in isolation and results in strong progress for every pupil.

● Embed the vision of the Trust into the day to day operations of each school, ensuring all pupils are ready for the next stage on their own personal journey.

● We are committed to working with all of our schools to ensure that they are judged to be at least Good under any current inspection framework and are on the journey to Outstanding.

● Raise attainment and improve progression by ensuring that there is a robust and rigorous approach to Quality Assurance which is built around a coaching model, positively recognising staff strengths and identifying where skills and expertise can be shared across the Trust.

● Implement a CPD Programme across the Trust for our schools that ensures our staff have the right skills to address needs and further raise standards including through the development and training of staff to become peer coaches.

● Support excellent standards of teaching and learning and ensure there is support in place for staff to achieve this and make a difference to all of our pupils.

● Develop a suite of targeted interventions and therapies appropriate to each school through the upskilling of staff and capacity building within the staff teams at a universal offer level which provides greater impact.

● Use progress data to inform strategy and future planning around interventions, specifically for SEND pupils and those with EHCPs.

● Develop opportunities and explore experiences which enable staff, continues to encourage retention and is promoted through effective marketing strategies to attract the best staff to our Trust.

● Develop a commissioned team of experts who can be utilised to review specific focus areas and bring external expertise into innovation projects.

● We will introduce Key Performance Indicator targets and data dashboards to measure and monitor impact and enable us to identify best practice across our Trust schools.

● To establish focus groups on key areas as part of our Trust-wide innovation process and collaboration practices.

● We will use our focus groups to develop a Trust Digital Strategy.

● We will review our assessment processes and explore how we move towards a skills and knowledgebased pupil participative approach.

● We will collaborate on our approach to SEND and vulnerable pupils in our different environments and work together to pool resources and develop a collective approach to safeguarding and attendance.

● We commit to creating a passport of opportunities for all of our pupils which uses the curriculum as a vehicle for exposure to different experiences as part of our belief in the value of a cultural capitaldriven approach to learning.

Strategic Objective 3

To achieve financial and organisational stability for the long term.

● We will rebrand and relaunch our school and Trust to encourage greater uptake of places and ensure our schools have few vacancies and are in a strong financial position year on year.

● We will work with new schools to reduce costs through competitive tendering of bought-in services.

● We will expand our recruitment avenues to reduce agency costs and create better quality and stability for our pupils.

● We will work with our wider leadership team to develop succession plans and put in place the right support and experiences to enable our staff to grow and develop, building capacity and stability for the organisation.

● We will revise our risk register to reflect current risks and our plans to mitigate against these, reviewing holistically as every new school joins us.

● We will become a more digitally efficient organisation through increasing our use of technology for staff and pupils, improving connectivity without significant loss of time or additional workload.

● We will aim to commit to our top slice not exceeding 7% and review this annually taking into account the number of schools in our Trust and how this may then benefit all schools financially.

● We will develop cross-school roles which are driven by the school and Trust needs.

● We will make brave decisions around our staffing structures to ensure that we are always providing value for money and the business needs of the schools are met, again putting children at the heart of our decision-making.

● We will explore how we pool resources for premises and resources and tackle differences in funding based on needs and equality of opportunity.

Jo Southby October 2021

Minds Trust Strategic Business Plan