Education & Professional Services Offer 2022-23

Working in partnership to raise achievement for all.

About Us

The Voyage Education Partnership is a charitable MultiAcademy Trust (MAT) working in Lincolnshire to educate more than 3,800 learners from the ages of 3-16.

We currently have 9 academies in our family, and work in a small geographical area around Boston and Spalding, with each academy no more than 30 minutes from each other. This is essential to how our MAT operates, enabling us to give immediate support when needed and for our academies to collaborate and work closely together.

Voyage is an inclusive and learner-centred Multi-Academy Trust which values and promotes excellence in learning. Our commitment as a MAT is to educate, empower and champion all learners. We work closely with the families and communities we serve to ensure that all young people meet their full potential. We are exceptionally proud that learners in our MAT speak

32 different languages and that 50% of our young people are bilingual, multilingual, or use English as an additional language.

Seven of our academies have been graded Good or Outstanding by Ofsted and the remaining two academies are confident they will be graded Good at their next inspection. Academic outcomes across the MAT have improved over time in all academies.

The Voyage Education Partnership has a clear education strategy and has prioritised the formation of a Central Education Team, which provides our academies with support and expertise in Teaching and Learning, Professional Learning, Inclusion, Early Years and Data/Assessment. Centralised support and guidance for Safeguarding, Attendance and SEND support complement our education offer.

About Us (cont.)

(cont.)

At Voyage we also have a well-developed Central Team which oversees and offers technical expertise and leadership in many operational areas including Finance, HR, IT, Estates, Health and Safety, Catering, and Marketing and Communication.

Having these professional services provided centrally enables our Headteachers to focus on leading learning in their own academies, knowing they can rely on the partnership with the operational managers to help them achieve their individual strategic aims.

At Voyage we are proud to work with a wide variety of schools, academies, MATs and strategic partner organisations. Our strategic aim for Trust growth is to improve the lives and life chances of more young people. For many years we have been proud to have the Connect Teaching School as part of our Trust, which has given us the opportunity to create a network of trusting, inclusive and productive partnerships focused on leading improvements in teaching and learning - and

improving outcomes.

We are delighted to be a lead delivery partner for ECF and CPD working with the Lincolnshire Teaching School Hub. We are also proud to remain a strategic partner of Lincolnshire SCITT and to be training both primary and secondary ITT trainees in our area. Providing training and contributing to the regional supply of new ITT and Early Career Teachers entering the teaching profession is part of our commitment to System Leadership.

The Voyage Education Partnership is governed by a Board of Trustees which devolves some responsibilities to the Standards and Curriculum, Finance and Audit, and People and Estates Committees. Each of our academies has an Academy Council comprised of community representatives, parents, and staff to provide local and community accountability.

- Nelson Mandela

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Outline

The DfE have recently released non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education for academy trusts which aims to set up Trust Partnerships arrangements with standalone schools/ single academy trusts.

The DfE see this model as the ‘preferred’ model and have reengaged publicly with the sector.

The Secretary of State has outlined the aims of the DfE:

- For every school to be part of a family of schools in a strong Multi-Academy Trust

- Signalling a move away from the current dual systems towards a single model

Purpose of this Document

This document aims to outline a possible ‘try before you buy’ model for local, Lincolnshire schools who may want to consider joining our Trust.

This document is based on DfE guidance and outlines our

Trust offer to a local school which may wish to work within some of the structures of our Trust for a time limited period and then consider joining the Trust at the end of that period.

This document can also be used for a discussion about the possibility of Traded Services from Voyage Education Partnership to another local school, academy, or Multi-Academy Trust.

Education and Professional Central Services Offer

We can provide a broad range of central services for schools, which include the following headlines.

Our offer is flexible and can be bespoke but could include:

School Improvement - School improvement visits and support from our Chief Education Officer to consider the quality of education and review essential improvement documents, such as Academy Improvement Plan, Pupil Premium and Sport Premium documentation. Also, Termly School Performance Meetings to review the curriculum intent and the quality of teaching and learning with the Headteacher.

CPD/Central Education Team Support – We run our own comprehensive CPD model for our academies based on academy needs and outlined priorities/ Trust priorities. This includes:

• Bespoke CPD including staff meetings and training days

• Moderation (all year groups)

• Networks (including Subject, EYFS, SEND, DSLs)

• ECT development programmes and support

• Leadership networks including ‘Deputies’ network

• Middle Leadership programme

• Subject Deep Dives

Central Education Team and Lead Practitioners - We have a Voyage Central Education Team and employ several Lead Practitioners/SLEs who can support both senior and middle leaders. We also support coaching, including instructional coaching and mentoring of classroom teachers. This adds capacity at school level, supporting and improving teaching and learning in the direction given by the school/Trust.

Ofsted - We can support a school with Ofsted preparation, including the SEF and associated documentation, preparing leaders for interviews and reviews.

Headteacher Performance Management - Our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Education Officer and Chief Operations Officer are highly experienced and can support a Headteacher and Governing Body with the annual HT PM process.

Education and Professional Central Services Offer (cont.)

Safeguarding, SEND and Attendance – We have our own members of the Voyage Inclusion Team who provide expertise in these areas. Support and challenge in this area can include Safeguarding, SEND and Attendance reviews to consider current practice at the school and formulate a ‘headlines’ dashboard for future follow ups/development. We have welldeveloped audit processes that can give assurance and a wealth of expertise for support and challenge in the area of Inclusion.

Finance – Strategic central finance support linked to income, expenditure, audit, VAT, budget setting, and accounts. Operational elements linked to contracts, procurement and VFM. Budget analysis from our CFO, including unpicking in detail how it would be possible to afford a MAT working model, should the school wish to pursue this at the end of the arrangement. This could include a benchmarking report to clearly outline the efficiencies that could be made when joining a MAT.

Human Resources - Our approachable Human Resources team provide a fully managed service working with leaders to support employees through all stages of the employee lifecycle. Offering clear, practical advice to leaders

and employees, as well as providing efficient guidance through casework (such as absence management, poor performance and conduct issues).

Our HR Service would be able to work with the Headteacher to provide advice and support on any staffing matters that may arise.

Health, Safety and Estates Management – Our Health, Safety and Estates team provide support and guidance to leaders, site staff and the wider workforce in all aspects of health, safety and estates management including the provision of planned and preventative maintenance, estate conditions, contractor management, and risk and incident management and support. Our Health, Safety and Estates service can make a termly visit, supporting all building and health and safety compliances. We would help to support informed information to share at Governors’ meetings.

To make the most of this service the school would be required to procure ‘Every Compliance’, the estate management information system used across the Voyage Education Partnership.

IT Services – We deliver high quality managed IT services to academies through our IT Services team. This includes our ‘Cyber Essentials accredited’ (cont.)

Education and Professional Central Services Offer (cont.)

(cont.)

network infrastructure, dedicated ‘super-fast’ point to point connections to each site, data management, VoIP telephone systems, managed print solution and high quality professional support coordinated by our IT Service Desk.

Our IT Services team can provide support with procurement, GDPR and IT security, as well as leadership advice and guidance.

Governance – We have our own Governance Lead to ensure our Governance model is delivered in line with statutory requirements. This supports our compliance with the expectations of the DfE and Companies House. We employ our own Clerk who supports the HTs to arrange governance meetings, including agendas, and they also ensure that the minutes are recorded and actions are followed up on. These are stored within our electronic system called Trust Governor for everyone to access.

Catering – Our Catering team provides a full catering service to academies, ensuring all learners within have access to nutritious meals during the school day.

Using our fleet of vans, featuring specialist transport ovens, we deliver hot, fresh food directly to each academy. Our food preparation and serving spaces have been judged to have Grade 5 food hygiene standards. We also recycle food waste for bio-fuels and plastic bottle recycling.

Our Catering team can provide support in complying with statutory requirements, including around hygiene standards, as well as providing procurement support and staff training.

Marketing and Communications - Our Marketing and Communications Officer works with academies, helping to promote them via press releases, photography, social media, the formation of links within the community and many other avenues.

Marketing campaigns and the creation of promotional literature are also a key part of this service. All of these aspects help ensure valuable exposure is secured for the fantastic work which is taking place within schools every week.

Headteacher Meetings – We meet regularly with our Headteachers to discuss educational and strategic and operational priorities, and our overall Trust strategy. This is the ‘engine room’ of the Trust - and these meetings drive our development and future growth.

Quick Call – Access at all times to strategic and operational support from the Voyage Executive Team, including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Education Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

‘Try Before You Buy’ Offer

This offer is for the academic year 2022/23, with a planned meeting by the end of April 2023 to discuss how the school would like to move forward. If the school wishes to move forward and join the Trust, the consultation for this would ideally commence during May/June 2023 for a joining date of 1st September, 2023. It is entirely possible that the school/Trust will not want to move forward with the next step, but we are hopeful that this will not be the case. The Voyage Education Partnership will draw up a Trust Partnership Service Level Agreement for schools wishing to engage with the offer.

Reduced costs will enable the school to access ‘the offer’. If additional support was requested, we would happily discuss this and try to support wherever we could.

Please note: we are offering this at a significantly reduced rate to enable both the Trust and the school to decide if a ‘working relationship’ is something both parties wish to pursue.

We warmly welcome a discussion with our CEO about costs for anyone interested in this offer.

Traded Services

The Voyage Education Partnership will discuss individual traded services and support for schools on a one-to-one basis, depending on the needs of the school.

Support for central services is likely to be charged at £350-£400 per day, as this is the usual market rate and provides good value for money.

To find out more about us, or to join the Voyage Education Partnership

We are always very happy to hear from those who wish to join our Voyage family, or who simply want to learn a little more about us and what we do.

Please contact our CEO for an informal discussion by emailing: emma.hadley@voyage-education.org

We are approved for growth by the DfE and are looking to expand and grow our Trust.

We would be very happy to set up visits to our current academies, as well as meetings with our Headteachers for an open conversation.

Together, we are an ocean.

“Individually, we are one drop.

- Ryunosuke Satoro

“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

- Mattie Stepanek (Poet, 13 years old. 1990-2004)