1 SEPTEMBER 2023 - 31 AUGUST 2024
From the CEO
It is a privilege to lead the Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust family of schools. Our shared mission is to create a community of schools, built on solidarity and subsidiarity, to support our pupils’ formation and achievement and to preserve and strengthen Catholic education. Our further growth this year is testament to this, as is the support we have provided to other schools.
This Trust is a seed-ground for the apostolic mission of the Church. All our schools aim to prepare their pupils for the responsibilities as Catholics in society, working in partnership with parents and carers to guide them on their individual spiritual, creative, emotional and academic journeys. We want to prepare a community of pupils, able to respond to the needs of tomorrow’s global society and in doing this to reach out to God.
This approach has been, validated by our combined CSI, Ofsted and public examination results. What is harder to quantify, but perhaps of greater importance, is measuring the ways in which our mission and ethos is shared by every member of the Trust and our individual communities of parents and carers. I believe that the achievements noted in this report show this to be true, since none of it would be possible without a unifying ethos.
But we cannot stand still. This has been a year of consolidation and growth, welcoming St Augustine’s to the Trust in April, we have prepared to welcome the St Thomas More Language College at the start of the 2024/2025 academic year and undertaken considerable preparatory work for other schools to join.
In the coming years, the moral purpose of the Trust will face challenges, including, but not limited to, government funding levels, pupil place planning amidst falling birth rates, teacher recruitment and making our school estate more sustainable through modernisation, in the spirit of Laudato Si.
To retain our unity of purpose and deliver Catholic education focused on formation and achievement it will be necessary to respond with a blend of intellectual coherence and intelligent recalibration of existing good practice and adaptability. I must thank all those pupils, parents, staff and volunteers who form the Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust. Their faith, dedication and commitment has brought us to this stage, and I look forward to navigating the challenges of the future with confidence.
SJSCAT COMPOSITION
For the year ending 31 August 2024 The Saint John Southworth Catholic Academy Trust consisted of:
·TheSaintJohnSouthworthCatholicAcademyTrust
·TheCardinalVaughanMemorialSchool
·StAugustine’sCatholicPrimarySchool(from1April2024)
·StJoseph’sCatholicPrimarySchool,Chelsea
·StJoseph’sRCPrimarySchool,MaidaVale(from1April2023)
·StJohnXXIIICatholicPrimarySchool(from1April2023)
Mission Statement
The Trust’s motto (Omnia in Uno – Everything in One) captures its foundational essence and institutional mission: just as we are all one in God, so we set out jointly to create a community of schools to give our pupils all they need to grow. Our schools model unity in diversity, together but unique (‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ’ – 1 Corinthians 12) and work for the formation and achievement of alltheirpupils(‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart’–Colossians3).
Our great patron is St John Southworth, one of the Tyburn martyrs who laboured fearlessly for the Faith in the area which the Trust serves and who is buried in Westminster Cathedral, which is also situated within its bounds; Southworth is a powerful symbol, and presence, in our endeavour: the formationofthewholeperson.
Appointment of a Trust Chaplain
CentraltotheTrust’smissiontopreserve and strengthen Catholic education was the appointment of the first Trust-wide Lay Chaplain, Caroline Moulinet in April 2024.
She has contributed to spiritual and pastoral care within our community of schools by fostering a supportive and nurturing environment, rooted in Catholicvalues.Shepromotesourvalues of dignity, service and perseverance by overseeing the Chaplaincy provision within each school. Preparatory work has been undertaken to provide a monthly prayer session for all parents across the Trust from September 2024. This will strengthen the bonds of our wider faith community.
In June 2024 she coordinated the first annual Trust-wide fundraising campaign in support of the Diocese of Westminster PriestsTrainingFund.
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Chelsea
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Maida Vale
Extra Curricular Provision Across the Trust
Annual Report For the Year Ended 31 August 2024
Ofsted Inspection Outcomes
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School October 2021
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School November 2021 Outstanding
St John XXIII Catholic Primary School June 2022 Outstanding
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Chelsea
June 2024 Outstanding
Key Performance Indicators – Primary
St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Maida Vale April 2024 Outstanding Key Stage 2 2024
Key Performance Indicators – Secondary
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
Grades
The Staff Community
Teachers and support staff are our greatest strength and asset, integral to the delivery of excellent Catholic educationacrossallofourschools.
During this year, we have sought to establish a strong and supportive framework of CPD and teaching training, building on the best practice within individual schools. By integrating this withinaTrustwideframeworkwecanlay thefoundationsforourfuturegrowth.
the internal promotion of staff members to the Central Services Team. Additionally, a Site Manager for the entire Trust has been appointed from withintheorganisation.
All of this is underpinned by a comprehensive programme of Trust wide inset days, individual school inset days and an annual Ethos Day. The Trust aims to create a more attractive and supportive environment for staff which in turn will assist with recruitment and retention.
Continuing Professional Development
Continuing professional development of allstaffwithintheTrust,isintegraltothe delivery of the Trust’s mission. All teaching staff are encouraged to undertake national professional qualifications, and the same provision is made for support staff, where appropriate. School to school support will enhance collaboration and support between schools all of which combines
Essentially the Trust can now provide support from the start of a teacher’s career, through to Headship and all the stagesbetween.
The
Saint John Southworth Enterprise and Research Alliance (SJSERA)
SJSERA is the teacher training arm of the Trust.
The Trust is actively developing career pathways for staff across its various schools. This initiative includes the creation of subject-specific advisors and
SJSERA Omnia inUno Sa int JohnSouthworth CatholicAcademyT rust
It provides an in-house opportunity to train the next generation of teachers and senior leaders, many of whom have historically gone onto support schools withintheTrust.
Professor Anna Lise Gordon, CPD Day 2024
Annual Report
For the Year Ended 31 August 2024
SJSERA has grown rapidly. During 2023/2024, it undertook partnership work with 84 other education providers including the Church of England, the Catholic Education Service, Roehampton University and other schools including; St Thomas More Language College, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Primary School, The Rosary Catholic Primary School, St George’s Catholic Primary School, Larmenier & Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Our Lady ofVictories,StGeorge’sCatholicPrimary andStThomasofCanterbury.
Against a national backdrop of declining teacher training recruitment, SJSERA has demonstrated resilience and growth, returningtopre-Covidlevelsoftrainees.
Year
2019-2020
2020–2021
2021–2022
2022-2023
2023-2024
This has been achieved by looking to the wider Trust community. Applicants have come from alumni, family members current staff and Learning Support Assistants who have transitioned to teachingroles.
This trend highlights the enduring strength of our wider community and the lasting impact of our shared Catholic ethosbeyondtheschoolyears.
SJSERAoffers:
One year school-based teacher trainingcourses: ToobtainPrimaryor Secondary Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)withanoptionalPGCE National Professional Qualifications (NPQs): Advanced training for qualifiedteachers
Paid 3-week Summer Internship Programme: This is intended to allow undergraduates to gain valuable insightsintotheteachingprofession Online and In-Person Get into Teaching Experience Sessions: To understand the requirements and pathwaystobecomingateacher.
The opportunity cost of such provision is outweighed by the quality of new staff entering teaching and we are keen to sustainthismodelintothefuture.
2024 School Direct Trainees
Financial Summary
The financial position this year remained relatively stable in an otherwise unpredictableworld.
This year the largest capital projects have been for energy conservation and upgrade works, which should contribute to reducing our overall carbon footprint. One of our schools is at the planning stage in the last tranche of the RebuildingSchoolsprojectscheme.
Staffing remains our most significant cost, offset by our exceptionally low staffturnover.
The Trust’s Risk Register has identified responding to the changing environment as currently the most significant risk. A significant decline in pupil numbers of over a fifth in recent years together with a substantial shift in demographics, in particular the proportion of SEND pupils with complex needs, creates pressure on currentresources.
To ensure compliance with educational reporting requirements and GDPR regulations, the Trust introduced the Arbor school management system to The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. As existing supplier contracts end, this provision will be rolled out across all the other schools. This should improve operational effectiveness and reduce costs.
As in the Parable of the Talents, we seek to provide an account of what we have achieved with our talents and the value added. The Trust has demonstrated financial management value added through its external audit, which reported no management points and in the internal scrutiny process which reportedasfollows:
OverallInternalScrutiny Summary&Opinion
Review1-ITStrategy(2 Mediumrecommendations)
Followareviewofrequested documents,regardingIT strategy,anddiscussionwith theTrustitwasfoundthatthe TrusthasstrongITstrategy controlsinplace. Substantial
Review2-Premises Management(2Medium,3 Lowrecommendations)
Followingareviewof requesteddocuments, regardingpremises management,anddiscussions withtheTrustitwasfound thattheTrusthasreasonable premisesmanagement controlsinplace.
Review3-BudgetSetting(1 Lowrecommendation)
Reasonable
Followingareviewof requesteddocuments, regardingbudgetsetting,and discussionswiththeTrustit wasfoundthattheTrusthas strongbudgetsettingcontrols inplace. Substantial
For the immediate future, measures to consolidate best practice and school improvement remain at the heart of our plans. In the longer term capital investment is needed to address the works identified in the Trust’s Estate ManagementPlan.
The2023/2024AnnualReport&Financial StatementsaredetailedinAppendix3.
The SJSCAT Community THE FUTURE
A period of rapid intelligent growth is anticipated in line with the Diocese of Westminster’s Academy Strategy. There is no absolute timescale by which individual Governing Bodies must indicate their interest to join, although the Conservative government indicated thatthisshouldbeachievedby2030.
Preparatory work undertaken this year suggests the potential growth profile maybeasfollows:
StAugustine’sRC PrimarySchool
TheCardinalVaughan MemorialSchool
2023/2024 Current Situation
StJohnXXIIICatholic PrimarySchool
StJoseph's,Chelsea StJoseph’s,MaidaVale
2024/2025
2025/2026
Supporting This Growth
In anticipation of this period of growth, strategic planning will be the focus of the coming year to ensure that the Trust has the resilience and flexibility to meet the short, mid and long term needs of the Trust’svisionof‘Omnia in Uno’.
Thisplanningwillneedtoconsider:
Maintaining the unique ethos and identity of each school, within the Trust
Financial sustainability to ensure thatallschoolsremainviable
The impact of declining pupil numbers at each school, exploring optionstorespondtothis.
Capacity building to effectively managealargernumberofschools
Ways to enhance the educational offering available to all communities servedbytheTrust
Regulatory compliance across all schools
StThomasMoreLanguage College
OurLadyofVictories RCPrimarySchool
StThomasofCanterbury CatholicPrimarySchool
StVincent'sCatholic PrimarySchool
StVincentDePaulCatholic PrimarySchool
Community engagement to build strong relationships supporting the Trust’sactivities
Equitable resource allocation among schools
Crucially, responding to the Diocese of Westminster Care for Creation protocol
The Future Trust Estate
Since a healthy, safe and sustainable environment is essential to promoting good pupil outcomes, estates planning is a key element of preparing for the future oftheTrust.
Estates planning must consider the sufficiency, suitability and condition of the entire estate at both a Trust and individual school level to inform strategic decision on the current and future use of facilities. This includes potential rationalisation and alternative use, which will in turn guide development plans and the prioritisation of capital funding.
Such planning is further guided by the Diocese of Westminster’s protocol on the Care for Creation. The Trust is committed to its responsibility of working towards being carbon neutral which has a direct impact on the developmentoftheTrustestate.
This requires three distinct but inextricably linked stages to be completed during the 2024/2025 academicyear:
1. An asset management plan – how the Trust will maintain its estate ensuring statutory compliance and risk management
2. An estate strategy plan – how the estate should be developed to meet future needs, taking into account environmental and sustainability requirements
3. A capital strategy plan – how revenue and capital resources will be prioritised to meet the immediate and midtolong-termneeds.
From these it will be possible to develop anoperationalplan.
St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Maida Vale
St John XXIII Catholic Primary School
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Chelsea
Annual Report For the Year Ended 31 August 2024
The Future of the Trust 2024/2025 & Beyond
We are grateful to the Diocese of Westminster for the assistance and guidance provided during 2023/2024. A year of reflection and consolidation ahead of an anticipated period of intelligentgrowth.
As a Trust, firmly focused on the formation and achievement of its pupils we recognise that to meet the challenges of intelligent growth during 2024/2025 will require a period of rigorous strategic planning. Key components of this planning will include but are not limited to:
Catholic Life & Mission:
The introduction of monthly prayer sessions for all parents across the Trust, ledbytheLayChaplain.
Pupil Focus:
Review existing arrangements and develop cross phase provision to ensure a smooth transition for pupils moving between key stages within the Trust community
Review current trust-wide extra curricular provision in order to further develop and also ensure Trust-wide accessibility.
Curriculum:
The appointment of further Trust wide curriculum subject advisors
Staffing: Expansionofthe Central Services Team
A skills audit of staff in post versus staffingrequired.
SJSERA: Continuedinvestmentandfocusin trainingthe next generation of teachers againstadifficultrecruitmentclimate.
Governance:
Browne Jacobson Governance Review to report midway through 2024/2025.
Financial Planning:
Measures to consolidate best practice and school improvement remain at the heart of our plans.
Philanthropy:
Extending the model of a professional, Development team led fundraising to every school joining the Trust.
Asset management:
Undertake a sufficiency, suitability and sustainability review, considering both potential rationalisation and alternative use. This will then guide development plans and the prioritisation of capital funding.
Incorporate the Diocesan Care for Common home at a macro estates level. Trust wide there are numerous measures
mission, continuing to build a community of schools for the future, built in solidarity and operating by subsidiarity to ensure the formation and achievement of our pupils.
When the time comes, we want our pupils to leave the school gates behind them prepared to be men and women for others, living their Catholic values.
Continuing to model and share the values of our Patron, Saint John Southworth, Dignity, Service and Perseverance.
Appendix 2
SJSCAT IMPROVEMENT PLAN
AnextractfromtheSaintJohnSouthworthCatholicAcademyTrustDevelopmentPlan 2023/2024
QUALITY OF EDUCATION
OBJECTIVE
ACTIONS
All stakeholders demonstrate an understanding of the SJSCAT’s approach to Catholic life, RE and collective worship across its schools
Appointment of Subject Advisor in RE
Creation of a cross-CAT chaplaincy
Schools to share good practice
Annual ethos day for directors, governors and school leaders
Annual Mass for Southworth schools at Westminster Cathedral
Review CAT SEND to enable the Trust to evaluate the effectiveness of its schools’ provision for pupils with SEND in five key areas: leadership, identification, tracking and monitoring, intervention and provision
Formulate and embed a CATwide holistic strategy for SEND
Review and enhance Ofsted preparedness in SJSCAT schools
Creation of a CAT wide SEND offer SEND Advisor for the Trust appointed Develop training and understanding of SEND across the CAT
SEND hub providing local facilities
Development of speech and language service across the CAT
Develop parental workshops
Visit schools HT half termly, following QA format, reviewing schools’ SIPs
Audit websites
Appoint Subject Advisors in areas of identified need
Schools to share good practice
Seek expert subject knowledge where possible for staff CPD
Support schools during OFSTED calls and inspections
FINANCE OBJECTIVE ACTIONS
Embed robust financial services supporting SJSCAT schools’ financial efficiency
Develop strong financial literacy and compliance with ESFA Academy Trust Handbook and Trust policies and procedures (including Finance Manual) across all staff
Careful monthly monitoring of budgets
Growth of the Trust allows for partnership contribution of <5% to be rationalised further or more services offered
All high value areas of procurement reviewed and value for money assessments in place
Schools and Trust actively pursue opportunities for funding.
Extend partnerships with local maintained schools to positively impact on the local communities we operate within
The Trust engages with Teaching School Hub networks and actively contributes to nationwide school improvement initiatives
Establish Austerity Plans in SJSCAT schools to meet different scenarios
Training programme established to support school leaders and governors in interpreting data
Austerity triggers agreed by Executive and approved by the Board
School leaders draw up Austerity Plans in line with agreed triggers
The full SJSCAT Annual Report & Financial Statements Year ending 31 August 2024 can be obtained following this link: www.sjscat.co.uk/docs/Governance_Files/Annual_Report_and_Financial_Statements/SJSC AT_Annual_Report_and_Financial_Statements_2024.pdf
