Our Central Education Team is led by the Director of Education, Sam Eden and consists of Education Development Advisers (EDAs), a Data Analyst, an Education Welfare Officer and also a strong variety of internal experts at both senior and middle leadership levels that help fulfil our strong support offer across the Trust. The Education Team work directly with school leaders and wider staff teams to deliver bespoke school improvement support via our School Improvement Framework, and this covers a raft of educational areas aimed at continual development.

Some of the current workstreams with schools taking place is focused upon:

• Coaching support for leaders including opportunities for growth and development of senior leaders to further enhance their skills and talents
• Developing pedagogy across all subject areas
• Middle leadership development to ensure that all tiers of leaders are being supported to impact upon standards and outcomes
• Enhancing assessment principles to ensure that teachers make the link between assessment, teaching and learning every day.
• Ensuring that all schools receive a package of support that prepares them for inspection depending on their proximity to any impending Ofsted or SIAMS

In addition to this, we have a growing range of specific networks, led by our internal and external experts, which connect and unite all of our schools as we strive to enhance our educational offer for every pupil in our care. We are continually developing these networks to ensure that their scope and remit address key issues at a subject level but also in other focused areas as shown below. Examples of our networks include:

• English – delivered in conjunction with the English Hub as well as our Associate Lead for English and the Subject Specialist Advisors in this area
• Maths – Led by our internal experts of Maths EDA and Subject Specialist Advisors
• EYFS – Led by our Associate Lead for EYFS
• SEND – Led by our Associate Lead for SEND
• SEMH – Led by our Level 3 Unconditional Positive Regard Practitioners and Wellspring Consultant
• Attendance – Led by our Education Welfare Officer and other Trust representatives.

*A comprehensive CPD offer is planned annually, and more details can be found by downloading this year’s CPD offer.

A strong, self-sustaining infrastructure for school improvement is essential for delivering excellent outcomes for pupils. As part of this infrastructure, we have established a hub model which enables schools to work closely together to address key priorities using the expertise that exists within and beyond the hub. The hub model enables:

• Schools to have a shared ambition to support and challenge each other resulting in a consistent drive to improve pupil outcomes.
• Opportunities for staff to have impact beyond their own school and contribute to the development of the Trust as a whole.
• Staff within hubs to receive a broad range of continuous professional development (CPD) from within and beyond the hub. Only the highest quality CPD is delivered and external courses, which may not have been affordable for individual schools, is accessible for schools within hubs as they are then able to deliver shared sessions.
• Schools to work together on shared priorities within hubs. The hub model does not restrict academies from working in other external networks such as the Teaching School Hub or any other collaborative partnership as we want our schools to be outwardly focused and embrace the opportunity to work with a wide range of partners to enhance education.

The hubs have been formed primarily around the geography of schools although we are always aware that there needs to be flexibility within the structure to allow schools to participate in projects led by other hubs where this is a school improvement need.  As new schools join our Trust, we review and adapt the model depending on geography.

Our current hubs can be found by clicking here

Before a school enters LAAT, the Trust undertakes a range of due diligence activities to gain a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development in terms of the quality of education (intent, implementation and impact), behaviour and attitudes, pupil behaviour, personal development and leadership and management. Activities include a review of external reports such as inspection reports, performance data and analysis of the current SDP and SEF. Discussions are held with senior leaders and governors around key priorities for development and there are joint monitoring activities such as a learning walks, lesson observations and a scrutiny of pupils’ work. It is through these due diligence activities that LAAT is able to determine the level of support required to improve pupil outcomes should the school join the Trust.

Directors are aware that schools must enter in a way that strengthens the whole. If through LAAT due diligence it is evident that a school wishing to enter the Trust exhibits issues that could potentially reduce the overall performance of the Trust (e.g. issues relating to finance, pupil projections or standards), then directors may defer the entry of that school until either the school has addressed such issues or LAAT has sufficient capacity to support the school without negatively impacting on other schools in the Trust.