Joining the Trust/Academy Sponsorship

We believe every academy, converter and sponsored, joining CLPT adds value to our collective school improvement capacity.

Hence the emphasis on partnership and parity in the resultant school improvement hubs; school to school support is a two way process. It is the joint resources within the partnerships which impact positively on the lives of all young people involved, by driving and delivering continuous, sustainable school improvement across the hub.

The benefits of joining the Central Learning Partnership Trust will be different for each school; pooling our resources allows us to provide a framework to support schools and flexibility to address individual needs. This includes:

School Improvement

The model is one of school to school support; practising school based staff working alongside colleagues: modelling best practice, supporting, mentoring, filling vacancies and working collaboratively to build capacity for the future.

  • Pool expertise of high performing academy leaders, practitioners, support staff and business managers
  • Network of partnership support across the Trust
  • Curriculum development support
  • Access to National Leaders, Local Leaders and Specialist Leaders in Education (NLE, LLE and SLE)
  • Link you with Head Teachers who can support your school improvement needs
  • Shared expertise and targeted support to underpin outstanding standards of teaching and learning
  • Support for strategic planning for academy or school improvement
  • Support structural change where this is the required school improvement route (but not change for change sake) and support any communications with Trade Unions
  • Opportunity to shape policy development
  • Quality assurance framework
  • Behaviour management systems support

Business, Site and ICT

The additional demands of academy status on the administrative capacity of a school are not insignificant. CLPT will provide whatever additionality is required, through the provision of a financial framework with access to high level financial expertise and provision of an accounting system and support. This support can be a fully comprehensive finance solution, addressing all budgeting and transactional needs or a basic package providing access to provision.

  • Advice and guidance on personnel and administration and provision of policies and procedures.
  • Provision of an ICT infrastructure with in-house technical advice and support.
  • Provide in-house business management and finance expertise
  • Where academy conversion is the desired route provide in-house academy conversion project management
  • Access to pay and grading expertise across the Trust
  • Insurance brokerage and procurement support
  • Access to legal advice
  • Ensuring policy compliance
  • Back office economies of scale
  • Line management for support staff including access to CPD and performance management framework
  • Economy of scale procurement
  • Support with academy conversion and access to legal support
  • Access to expertise and support on site management and maintenance.

Governance For New Schools Joining the Trust

For any new schools joining the Trust their governance would be directly related to their categorisation within the Trust. A sponsored Academy would have a maximum of nine governors which would include Trust appointed governors. The autonomy of such governing bodies would be limited only by the fact that the majority of the governors would be Trust appointees. In this way the pre-eminence of the core aims of the Trust would be maintained. A ‘partner’ academy could maintain its existing governing body (‘approved’ by the Trust Board) and would work over time to align to the CLPT membership model.

We can provide support for governance as follows:

  • A governance framework already in place that can accommodate a local governing body, similar in composition to your existing governing body
  • Share expertise and resources
  • General and / or bespoke training up to National Leader of Governance level