OUR FUTURE

Wolds Learning Partnership

Multi Academy Trust

We believe, as a family of schools with shared values, that we can work together in partnership to provide the very best education for the children in our care. As a collection of community, church and village schools, we are passionate about being part of the communities we serve and wish to ensure our community schools not only survive in the future but continue to thrive. In the current period of change, we believe it is important that we build upon our already strong links and seek together, in partnership, to support each other and to do the very best for our children and the communities we live and work within.

The Wolds Learning Partnership unites a family of schools who work collectively, in partnership, to serve our local community. The Wolds Learning Partnership is a Multi Academy Trust, a Trust that brings together a community of schools, to ensure they retain their own unique ethos, identity, name and Governing Body structure. Our vision is that the Trust will, due to changes being brought about by the national government, become the natural home for schools that will be required over the next few years to become academies. We are also conscious that other Multi Academy Trusts, nationally, may not share similar values and, as a family of local community schools, we believe it is crucial that we remain accountable to our parents, villages and communities. We feel it is important, therefore, that before schools are required to convert, we establish a Trust that reflects our values and ethos to provide an alternate option to the national chains. As a family of schools, we have a responsibility to plan for the future, to ensure we do the very best for our children, teachers, schools and our communities.

Why have we established the Wolds Learning Partnership?

  • To bring together a family of schools who are not only close geographically, but who also share common values and have a shared vision for education.
  • To establish a clear mission statement for the partnership, to support our pupils, teachers and schools in ensuring our village, church and community schools can continue to serve the young people of our villages and local communities.
  • To focus on doing the very best for the children in our care, through the sharing of best practice across the schools on a regular basis.
  • To share resources and services in order that, in this time of austerity and also in the future, we can focus on the children in our care and the quality of teaching within the classroom, to ensure our children receive the very best education.
  • To ensure each school retains its individual identity and can continue to focus on serving its local community.

Board of Trustees

  • The Academy Trust is open to all local schools.
  • The Board of Trustees is made up of representatives from our partner schools.
  • The size of the school (the number of pupils on roll) will not factor in decision making – all schools will be treated equally and fairly within the partnership.
  • The Board meets at four points in the year to discuss and plan for strategic matters. It has its own long term development plan that feeds into each school’s improvement plan.
  • The Academy Trust Board will not invite company sponsorship and has no plans to follow this model.

Individual Schools

  • All schools will maintain their own distinct identity and have their own governing committees.
  • The starting grant (provided by the DfE) will be used to support development across the trust. Schools will need to agree a small percentage of funding that will be used to either continue to purchase services from the LA or from alternate providers, so as a collective we can negotiate the best deal for our schools. The intention is that schools working collaboratively will have greater control over the quality and cost of services purchased and will, therefore, be able to make savings whilst improving quality.

Parents

  • We believe passionately in parental choice. To this end, schools will continue to ensure all of our children have the freedom to apply to attend the school of their choice. The Wolds Learning Partnership will, therefore, have no effect on transition from primary to secondary, or secondary to post-16 education.
  • We believe schools should serve their pupils and parents. We believe passionately that schools should be at the heart of their communities and should not be consumed into large chains of schools nationally. For us, this is about ensuring each child remains at the heart of all we do and that we are, as a family of schools, accountable to parents for the quality of education we provide.
  • Parents will, if their school joins the Wolds Learning Partnership, be opting into the sharing of best practice among our local schools to ensure their son or daughter receives the very best education.
  • The Trust will bring stability in an ever-changing educational world, so as schools we can focus on what really matters, our children.

Staff

  • National changes mean that ultimately more schools will become academies; therefore, we believe it is important to be proactive and to ensure we do the very best we can to support our colleagues throughout this period of change. We believe that this transition also has the potential to strengthen our partnership, to support the sharing of best practice and to ensure that, as a family of schools, we can do the very best for our staff.
  • We do not make any changes for staff employed at our schools – we promise the terms and conditions and pensions will not be affected during the transition to an Academy. All staff will be (TUPE) transferred from the council to the academy HR/payroll.
  • The Trust will also be able to ensure, that all colleagues are supported through tailored CPD across the partnership. We know our schools best and we believe we can tailor support to meet our needs.

Academy

  • A school who wanted to join the Wolds Learning Partnership would need to become an Academy. We believe that eventually most schools will become academies; therefore, we are conscious that we must be proactive in accepting the change while also ensuring we remain absolutely focused on doing the very best for our children.

Finance

  • We don’t expect to see any increase in funding for schools or academies, save what we can generate through collaboration within the Academy Trust. Schools can also bid for additional funds to replace or update buildings or facilities.
  • A school that converts to an academy can also spend its funding more freely; our intention is to ensure that money is used in the classroom to provide the very best education for our children.

 

THEIR FUTURE

 

 

Our Vision

 

We Educate

We are committed to educating the whole child and believe that every child should reach their potential. We enable leaders and schools to be ambitious in the education we offer.

 

 

We Empower

We will empower our whole school community through support, development and value in the pursuit of excellence.

 

We Engage

We will engage in best practice to develop the personal qualities and aspirations of pupils and staff whilst supporting each school’s ethos and values and embracing each local community.

 

We Enrich

We will ensure our children and colleagues are exposed to a wealth of experiences and opportunities that broaden their understanding of the world, building both character and confidence.

Contact

Telephone 01759 302395

Email office@wlp.education

If you require a paper copy of any information on our website, please contact us.

 

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Wonder Learning Partnership is part of the Wolds Learning Partnership, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with Company Number: 10518602