MAT Executive Leader

Blackpool Multi Academy Trust are going through an exciting period of change.

To help us in our next phase of development we are looking for a strategic leader to complete some whole MAT strategic reviews and core tasks, so that we are ready in the next year to appoint a permanent executive leader. We are initially looking for someone to join us for a minimum of two terms, full time, with a possibility of extension if required. In order to secure the right person for the job, we are happy to be flexible and are open to the possibility of secondments, different working styles and/or patterns, as long as our core list of tasks can be completed.

We are looking for someone with ambition, vision, excellent communication skills and the knowledge and skills to support our schools to improve, and for our MAT to expand. We are currently re-negotiating the leadership structures across the MAT and have new members and a new Board. We need someone to drive the initial review and planning for our schools, our staff and our children so that all can reach their full potential.

The job will be varied and will include leadership activities such as completing feasibility studies, creating quality assurance strategies, reviewing governance, creating combined reporting structures, and establishing career paths across the MAT. We need a leader who can focus on organising and setting up cross-MAT structures and systems so as to make best use of the excellent practice we have in our schools.

If you are interested, the full candidate application pack can be found at www.bmat.schudio.com or by contacting Mrs Annie Millard; annie.millard@park.blackpool.sch.uk or telephone: 01253 764130 The closing date for applications is noon on the 8th of May, shortlisting the week of the 8th May, interviews the week of the 14th May. We recognise this is SATS week, and interviews are likely to be in the late afternoon/early evening.

Candidate Pack Letter from the Board

C/O Park Community Academy 158 Whitegate Drive Blackpool Lancs FY3 9HF

Letter from the Board Dear Applicant, We are pleased you are considering this position in Blackpool MAT. We are a recent MAT, formed in 2013, and we are now looking for a leader who will help prepare us for our next phase of development. This role is planned to be flexible, and the job description will be based around a series of strategic tasks that will grow and develop as the evaluations inform next steps.

We are looking for a successful leader, who is able to be flexible going forward, adapting and building this role to meet the needs of our schools and our children. In return, we offer a competitive salary, a supportive board, and a shared resilience and drive to reach the very best for our children. You will need strong interpersonal skills, a passion for excellence and a determination to succeed. We work in a challenging area, and have a wide range of ages, ability levels and backgrounds across our MAT. This role is key to our structural re-design, plans for growth, and the push for an additional interim strategic workload is to ensure this is successful, as well as to support ongoing school improvement and challenge. You will need to work with our Heads to analyse, evaluate and agree new plans and approaches, and they are keen to ensure the good practice in our schools is celebrated and extended across the MAT as a whole.

If this sounds like the kind of role for you, we look forward to hearing from you, Chair of the Board, on behalf of the board.

Mrs L Stephen www.bmat.schudio.com/

Mission Statement

Blackpool Multi Academy Trust A Multi Academy Trust is a number of academies who agree to work together within an over-arching Trust Board drawn from members of each local governing body.

Blackpool Multi Academy Trust, established in September 2013, comprises Anchorsholme Academy (Primary), Devonshire Primary Academy (Primary) and Park Community Academy (Special School). This exciting partnership has the full backing of Blackpool Authority, which sees our MAT as a local solution to schools in challenging circumstances by providing school to school support.

Each school currently has its own Headteacher and Governing Body who have retained their existing powers and currently retain responsibility for security and spending of their own budget. The Trust Board has recently been revamped with new expertise and skills, and there is a period of change and growth coming to the Trust.

As a MAT, we work together to strive for excellence in all we do. We have a clear focus on school improvement to ensure that all of the children achieve the best possible outcomes in all areas of school life. Each school serves its own community and has its own unique identity. Now working together as one organization, led by a single Board of Directors, we are able to offer our children the highest possible standard of teaching and learning.

Once established, the Blackpool MAT applied to become a sponsor for Revoe Primary School, which is a local school causing concern and its application was successful. With support from the MAT, Revoe Learning Academy was established in April 2014. The aim of the MAT is to work with the Headteacher and staff at Revoe to bring about rapid and sustainable educational improvement and to support them every step of the way along their journey from special measures to being judged as a good school by Ofsted. Directors of the MAT were delighted when Revoe Learning Academy’s Nursery 1 received a no notice Ofsted inspection and was judged ‘good’.

Being part of a Multi Academy Trust has already provided the schools with a range of benefits. A number of staff have enhanced their personal and professional development through secondment opportunities and mentoring. There is now one Pupil Welfare Officer across the four MAT academies and an Educational Psychologist was appointed, to work across all four academies. Moderation and standardisation exercises have taken place across the MAT schools and joint events such as Behaviour Management. Park Community Academy has provided Positive Handling Training for its three partner schools, which was well received. The MAT Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators meet regularly to share good practice and the School Business Managers have secured economies of scale for a range of goods and services, including utilities and school uniforms.

Anchorsholme Academy Anchorsholme Academy is a large primary school with over 600 pupils aged 4 to 11.

We are committed to working closely together as a school community to ensure that all within it are given every opportunity to discover their skills, talents and competencies and that all are able to achieve and experience success across these.

Our pupils and families are drawn from a wide geographical area and from broad socio economic circumstances. Our pupils, in turn have a range of abilities and needs which our hard working, enthusiastic and effective staff team seek to address. We are committed to the development of the whole child. This ensures that our pupils are encouraged to make the broadest and most effective progress possible and are ready for the next steps in their development.

Our school has particular strengths in Early Years teaching, enrichment activities and the teaching of Mandarin Chinese to all pupils. Many of our children excel both within and beyond the classroom in many activities and the school has a strong heritage of pupil success in educational, sporting and performing arts achievement.

Devonshire Primary Academy At Devonshire Primary Academy, we regard each and every child as unique individuals who we endeavour to inspire, challenge and nurture on a daily basis. We recognise the entitlement of every child to have full access to a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum, irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, religion or particular needs.

The Devonshire curriculum is bespoke to stimulate creativity, imagination and is pupil led as much as possible. This ensures that vital key skills and values are taught and embedded equipping the children for the next steps in their learning and development.

There are currently 475 pupils on role, many of whom are drawn from challenging socio – economic backgrounds. As a result, it is crucial that we foster strong links with our local community. We focus on developing the ‘whole child’ intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually – which is a particular strength of the school.

We encourage the development of self-esteem and self-discipline where children take responsibility for their actions. We encourage high standards of behaviour and respect for other people, as recently recognised by Ofsted.

Park Community Academy Park Community Academy is a large vibrant, thriving, happy and successful school which aims to provide high quality educational provision for all of our children in a safe and secure environment which reflects care, happiness, enjoyment and success. There are currently 255 pupil son roll.

It is a Special Academy currently catering for boys and girls aged from 2 to 19 years. With effect from September 2015, PCA extended its provision to provide Post 16 education up to the age of 19.

The children who attend PCA have a wide range of learning needs including moderate to severe learning difficulties, complex learning difficulties associated with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and speech and language difficulties, sensory impairment, some complex medical conditions and varying degrees of social emotional and behavioural need associated with their SEND. Revoe Learning Academy RLA is an inclusive primary academy with 460+ pupils, aged 2 to 11, serving our diverse, urban and transient community. Our vision and priorities focus on raising the achievement and aspirations of all of our children, their families and the wider community. Our Vision: ‘To be a nurturing, high-achieving, ambitious learning community where excellence for all is achieved through collaboration, discovery, innovation and mastery’, is now translating into much improved progress measures, placing RLA in the top 2% of schools nationally (2017). Whilst we celebrate increased numbers of children attaining at age related expectations, attainment at end of Key Stage 2 is an on-going priority for us to improve.

RLA, sponsored by the Blackpool Multi-Academy Trust Academy since 1st April 2014 was last inspected by OFSTED in 2016. They confirmed that RLA made good progress against previous recommendations and that our Early Years is Good. Our

current self-evaluation overall judgement (April 2018) is Requires Improvement; however, we now judge pupil behaviour and the majority of teaching to be good; and our Children’s Centre to have outstanding features. We expect Overall Effectiveness to be Good by the end of 2017/18.

We work effectively with our extended learning community, including partner agencies, Sponsor, parents and children, to deliver an effective and purposeful curriculum offer which nurtures and develops the whole child to be successful and well prepared for their next stage of education.

RLA has particular strengths in multi agency working, inclusive practices, safeguarding, personal development, children’s voice and attitudes to learning, and a total commitment to improving all standards for all learners so that we all embrace our child-led mission statement: Respect. Learn and Achieve.

Our Structure Members

Board

Executive Leader Governors Anchorsholme Academy Head Anchorsholme Academy

Governors Devonshire Primary Academy

Head Devonshire Primary Academy

Governors Park Community Academy Head Park Community Academy

Governors Revoe Learning Academy Head Revoe Learning Academy

Salary package - to be negotiated based on skills and experience, and pro-rata for the two terms. Expectations are to be in the region of headteacher group 6. This is negotiable for the right candidate.

Role structure: The role requires sustained and substantial input at the strategic level. We are open to any head or school who wishes to discuss terms for a secondment, or a variation of the terms that still enable a leader to complete the tasks, e.g. home working, flexible hours, etc.

Interview timetable Application close date: Tuesday 8th May 2018 Shortlisted candidates will be advised by the end of the following week and invited to interview.

Interviews for short-listed candidates will be held the week of the 14th May with an opportunity to meet representatives, followed by an interview with the Appointments Committee.

Our ambition is to appoint a candidate starting as soon as possible. The post holder should be within travelling distance of Blackpool.

Further information: if you would like to discuss this opportunity, please email Mrs Annie Millard annie.millard@park.blackpool.sch.uk or telephone: 01253 764130 who will be happy to make arrangements for one of the board to call you back to discuss the appointment.

How to apply Please submit the completed Application Form which includes your detailed CV and a personal statement saying in no more than four sides of A4 in succinct bullet point format why you think you are the person we need, and providing verifiable evidence of your experience, skills, abilities and knowledge.

Your application should include full contact details (address, daytime, home and mobile telephone numbers where applicable and email addresses) and details of 2 referees.

For each referee please provide name, position, organisation, telephone numbers and email addresses where known. One of these referees must be your current/recent employer. If you do not wish us to contact referees at this stage, please make this clear.

Please return your completed application either electronically to: Email: annie.millard@park.blackpool.sch.uk Alternatively, send a hard copy, marked ‘Strictly Confidential’ to: Chair of the Board, C/O Mrs A Millard, Park Community Academy, 158 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, Lancs, FY3 9HF All appointments are subject to satisfactory references and eligibility to work in the UK. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS will be required. A probation period will be mandatory.

Job Description: The Executive Leader will be appointed by the Board, to lead the academies to achieve the ambitions and aims of the Trust and will be accountable to the Board, line managed directly through the Chair and appointments committee. They will be required to report to the Board, to Members and other key stakeholders, including the DfE, the Regional Schools Commissioner and other statutory parties. The Executive Leader will advise the Board and lead the trust in a way to ensure compliance with all regulatory procedures, and in line with our newly established Trust mission statement and vision.

Core Tasks: As a critical part of this role, we will require the leader to: -

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Complete a full feasibility study looking at shared job roles, possible shared facilities, staffing, resources, etc. and create a sustainability and ‘roll-out’ plan for how these could be implemented over time Review financial arrangements and SLAs, evaluating current systems and recommending any possible cost-effectiveness measures, to include those systems we may be able to deliver in-house rather than purchasing as external contracts.

Set up a cross-MAT quality assurance system, and recommend consistent cross-MAT approaches, staffing and create a shared calendar of activities Review current school improvement approaches and suggest a common approach, or where cost or efficiency savings could be made.

Evaluate the quality of practice and structures for evaluating teaching, learning and assessment, and recommend a leader responsible for this across the MAT. Look at possible similar structures for core functions such as safeguarding, or roles duplicated across the MAT. Review all contracts, roles and responsibilities, staffing structures and create a consistent ‘MAT’ approach to contractual arrangements, creating contract documents, job descriptions and policies for any new staff who may be appointed on ‘MAT’ contracts rather than to individual schools.

Review systems for data and reporting, and set up efficient systems for reporting school and MAT level data to the board and external partners.

Work with heads and governors to review and re-launch the ethos and vision statements, core purpose statements and refresh the MAT website and marketing materials.

Create a new growth plan. Set up and begin discussions with new schools, creating and following robust policies and systems for new partners, e.g. due diligence, GDPR, administration, etc.

Create a new career progression plan for staff that includes opportunities across the entire MAT, enhanced CPD and sharing of excellent practice.

Review enrichment opportunities across the MAT and look at sharing of these good practice opportunities over multiple schools Review our communication strategies, technologies and information sharing, implementing improvements to make these more efficient, effective and streamlined.

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Review our systems for GDPR, ensuring we are not duplicating any core functions, and are compliant across schools.

Create a five year strategic plan, to include the roles of each school and allocate accountability for leading and managing specific areas of the plan going forward.

This list is not exhaustive, and we anticipate there being actions arising from some of the investigations going forward. Regular meetings with the board, with the heads and with governors will be required, and regular reporting against an action plan which will require a good pace of completion, as we want to be looking for a permanent executive leadership post in the next year, and need structures and systems to be in place ready for this next phase.

Person Specification Professional competencies • Strategic planning and review skills, advanced analysis and evaluation skills.

• Finance – project costing and budgetary management • Resource management – estimating, monitoring and securing resources in a multi-tasking programme environment.

• Strong inter-personal skills in establishing relationships, both within the Trust and beyond, positively influencing stake-holders and partners.

• Programme and project management • Consulting – enabling partners to identify and/or clarify problems, and then developing and implementing appropriate solutions to address issues.

Essential skills and experience • Educated to degree level, and highly respected within the Educational sector, fully aware of Government policy, school management, and strategies for improving education outcomes.

• Strategic planning – reviewing progress against plans in terms of standards, performance and finances, and taking decisive action as necessary • Strong influencing, negotiation and advocacy skills • Proven experience of motivating and leading effective teams and delivering projects in a multi-skilled environment, to meet project objectives.

• A successful track record of building effective working relationships at all levels and reinforcing partnership.

• Successful school improvement experience • Sound judgement, ability to identify and escalate critical issues/risks effectively, and a proactive pragmatic approach to problem resolution • Ability to lead from the front with respected presence and gravitas mixed with collegiality.

Desirable skills and experience • Experience of working with, and/or on behalf of, young people.

• Successful inspection experience, either as a school leader or as a practicing inspector

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Financial acumen and ability to manage budgets.

Behavioural competencies • Pragmatic, action orientated, outcomes focused • Excellent and adaptable communication skills • Adaptable and flexible team player who is willing and able to take the lead.

• Business/commercial awareness • Resilient and able to adapt to emerging situations Personal attributes • Confident, calm, comfortable in a range of settings, • Passionate about understanding the needs of pupils and seeing young people achieve their potential.

• Ambitious • Empathic, able to adapt to situations with respect and sympathy to contexts, yet able to sustain actions to a desired outcome.