We are: one MAT, one family, one community
- Excellence based on a commitment to empowering all the children and young people in our care.
- Excellence, whatever the challenges, in developing leaders of the future regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, background.
- Excellence derived from the riches brought by diverse families and communities living in a vibrant, global city.
- Excellence in achievement for all, resulting from children receiving an education matching world class outcomes.
- Excellence in the design of a forward thinking, innovative, curriculum.
- Excellence in a pedagogical approach to teaching firmly embedded in and informed by research.
Our core values are:
- All responsible for all, inclusion for all by all.
- High aspirations across the broad curriculum which take account of the ‘whole child’.
- Openness, honesty and transparency.
- To share expertise for the greater good of the MAT.
- A safe environment where risk taking and learning can thrive.
- A willingness to challenge and support to achieve excellent outcomes for all.
- Equity and equality for all.
- Success for all.
Strategic Aims
1. To ensure all our schools deliver the best outcomes for pupils. To increase the proportion of Very Good and Outstanding schools within the Trust.
Areas of development include:
- To share and collate outcomes so best practice can be identified, shared and spread across all the schools in the MAT.
- To implement consistency in feedback so it impacts on learning and outcomes.
- To be consistent in assessment procedures so that we can compare and contrast standards across all schools.
- To create opportunities for our children to work collaboratively together and to compete against one another so they can aspire to improve.
- To plan together, to observe each other, to compare and contrast learning over time and data stories so that we can identify the MATs strengths and share and support and challenge each other so the bar is raised for all.
- To ensure teaching and learning across our schools is nothing less than good with much that is outstanding
- To use SLEs and our best practitioners to work with less experienced or developed teachers to improve teaching and learning across all schools.
2. Promote a wider educational experience for all our children, in particular those from socially challenging backgrounds.
Areas of development include:
- To offer an enriching curriculum that is engaging and motivating for our pupils that takes the best practice from all schools and disseminates it.
- To research, trial and then share models of best practice from world class education systems so our pupils are competent and prepared for the world they live in.
- To identify and develop the talents of our children so they know what they are good at and can continue to grow.
- To create an environment where all can achieve because support is available for children from challenging circumstances or with barriers to learning and their needs are met.
3. To grow and develop an outstanding workforce at all levels through recruitment, training and CPD.
Areas of development include:
- To build capacity within each school so that staff are available to work alongside each other to develop and challenge each other.
- To moderate standards of teaching and learning, progress over time and data across the schools in the MAT so accountability challenge and support can be provided.
- To use the same educational consultant across the MAT to find strengths that can be shared and weaknesses that can be worked on and improved
- To create an environment where leaders collaborate and work together to challenge and support each other to create a place where all achieve.
- For leaders to hold each other to account and offer support and challenge so high expectations and outcomes are achieved.
- To share expertise across the MAT so the highest quality of CPD that is focused on teaching and learning is delivered and implemented.
- To be outward looking working collaboratively with teaching schools, SWNG etc. to share and improve practice.
4 . To ensure we are robust and accountable in all aspects of the trust.
Areas of development include:
- To implement consistent practice across the MAT by developing MAT policies in areas such as safeguarding, financial management, etc.
- To ensure consistency in the management of finances, health and safety and safeguarding by using a MAT HR person and financial director to oversee all duties and procedures.
- To ensure financial savings are achieved through economy of scale by sharing expertise of staff and resources across the MAT.
- Ensure staffing structures are affordable, sustainable and fit for purpose.
- Identify additional funding streams where possible.
5. To improve and maintain our learning environments so they offer the best facilities possible to our pupils.
Areas of development include:
- To ensure our school buildings are used to their full potential for the benefit of our pupils and the community.
- To ensure the buildings are safe, clean and well maintained at all times.
- To ensure learning can take place outside as well as inside, by creatively planning a holistic learning environment.
- To develop inclusion further through ensuring our learning environments are fit for every child’s purpose regardless of any ability.
Founding Principles
The Trust has been established in light of a number of “founding principles”, which reflect a steadfast commitment to and expectation of all partnership members supporting the partnership, being committed to implementing its vision and values and supporting the continued development of the Agate Momentum Trust. The Trust recognises that while there is an expectation that all partners uphold a common vision and set of underpinning values this will manifest itself differently as different organisations are driven by meeting the needs of their own communities and both respects and celebrates the uniqueness and independence of each academy within the Trust. Although bound together by a common vision & values the singularity of each academy within the trust will continue to be embodied in its own uniforms, logos and websites as well as less visible features such as a curriculum that reflects the needs and diversity of the individual communities that each academy serves.
While not prescribing a common curriculum experience the Trust expects that each academy will commit to sharing and developing best practice across its schools so that each can extend its professional development offer by learning from each other. Sharing of experiences and expertise across the academies in the Trust will be encouraged to improve outcomes for pupils and through achieving economies of scale reduce staffing costs where appropriate.
Leadership and governance
A local governing body has been formed for Hallsville and Scott Wilkie schools. Schools that join the multi-academy trust post conversion will each have a local governing body, subject to due diligence.
Principles for Effective Partnership
The Academies, and those responsible for the governance and management of the Trust and the Academies, have committed to working in partnership, supporting one another and there are clear underlying principles around how that partnership will work:
Equal Partners
The Academies are equal partners within the Trust and at all times the partners will strive for consensus in decision making, recognising that each Academy has both strengths and weaknesses. The Academies will seek to preserve and protect each other’s distinctiveness and will be respectful of each Academy’s respective ethos and mission. The Academies will work collaboratively with each other, sharing resources, knowledge and best practice, to fulfil the Trust’s mission, vision and values.
Transparency
All those involved in the running and oversight of the Trust and the Academies will be open and honest in their dealings with each other, at all times acting in good faith and recognising the value of independence and separation in relation to decision making.
Subsidiarity
Decisions are to be taken at the level nearest to those affected by those decisions which is compatible with the principles of solidarity and support for the common good, avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and aiming in so far as possible to make changes to established practices only where it can be demonstrated there is a reasonable need.
Solidarity
All those with responsibility for the Trust and the Academies share a particular commitment to the mutual support of all Academies for which the Trust is responsible, especially those that are in need of assistance at any particular time.
The Common Good
All recognise their responsibility towards the common good, not just of the Academies for which the Trust is responsible and the wider family of local schools, but of all of the families and communities in the areas served by the Trust. The Trustees will ensure that common action and collaboration is conducted at the correct level and that the balance between subsidiarity and solidarity serves the common good in the most appropriate way.
