How We Support Our Academies
We are in the business of supporting schools to become and remain excellent.
Our academies can access a package of core central services grouped under the following headlines:
- Finance and Business Support
- HR and Payroll Support
- Governance and Policy Support
We have brokered a number of services and contracts that academies have the option to use and as well as mandatory services such as health and safety, with value for money and quality of provision as our priority.
Schools within St Benet’s benefit from:
- A dedicated School Improvement Team who support and challenge the Senior Leadership Team within each academy to drive up standards and ensure every pupil receives the best possible educational start in life.
- A central training/CPD calendar and expert-led networks for English, Maths, SEND, EYFS and ECTs.
- Termly Collaborative Academy Review Days (CARDs) held in tandem with Academy Review Meetings (ARMs).
- Diocesan School Support Officers (DSSO) provide pastoral care, wellbeing support and affirmation for Headteachers. They are all former church school Headteachers so are well-placed to carry out this role.
Every school, every leader and every governing body benefits from peer-to-peer support.
For example, the St Benet's Leaders' Forum bring together school leaders and Trust officers in a consultative and productive half-termly forum, determining the priorities and developmental needs of the schools within the strategic plans set by the Trust Board.
Trust officers and Headteacher recognise the particular strengths of individual Teachers and use them in a specialist leader capacity - we have seen improvements to Early Years, Phonics and Mathematics provision across the Trust.
Our Best Practice Groups bring together subject leaders and Teachers from every school, from Infants through to Secondary, in creative and collaborative training sessions that shape curriculum development and provide reassurance and support.