In March 2022 the government released a White Paper entitled Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers for your child.
Within this it stated that:
"By 2030, all children will benefit from being taught in a family of schools, with their school in a strong multi academy trust or with plans to join or form one."
The White Paper defines a ‘Strong Trust’ as:
High Quality and Inclusive Education
- Delivers high quality education, including for disadvantaged children and children with SEND, and operates fair access
- Has effective central leadership teams, strong school leadership and teaching, and uses evidence-based curriculum design and implementation
School Improvement
- Works quickly to improve standards within all their schools, particularly transforming previously under performing schools.
Strategic Governance
- Operates an effective and robust governance structure that involves schools and exemplifies ethical standards.
- Utilises the expertise and skills on its boards to oversee the strategic direction and hold leaders to account.
- Has a strong local identity, engaging effectively with parents and the wider community.
Financial Management
- Is underpinned by strong and effective financial management, prioritising the use of resources, including the estate, to deliver the best educational experience for children.
Workforce
- Trains, recruits, develops, deploys and retains great teachers and leaders throughout their careers.
- Deploys the best staff in the schools where they are needed most and prioritises staff wellbeing.
Naturally, we think we are a strong trust. When we talk to people about the benefits of being part of UST, we refer to the ‘Trust Dividend’. In summary, it’s the success through the synthesis of the work of our Trustees and central team, and the collaboration between our schools.
In response to the government’s criteria, this is how we believe the ‘Trust Dividend’ positions us as a strong trust.
High Quality and Inclusive Education
- The Trust Dividend offers all our pupils equal access to a high-quality educational experience.
School Improvement
- The Trust Dividend offers our professional educators exceptional development opportunities to enable them to achieve their full potential
- The Trust Dividend is the aggregate impact of the formal collaboration between our schools and the development of central services to enhance improvement
- Leading presents challenges but it also presents some extraordinary possibilities for codifying what works across multiple schools for the greater good of all.
- The Trust Dividend is the aggregate impact of the formal collaboration between our schools and the development of central services to enhance improvement.
Strategic Governance
- Our Trustees are all appointed from our founding University and Civic Partners. Ensuring strong strategic direction and innovation.
Financial Management
- Sound financial planning which enables investment and maximisation of economies of scale.
Workforce
- As part of the Trust Dividend, we believe pooling funding to develop central services is key so that school leaders, teachers and support staff can focus on our pupils.
- Wellbeing, workload and dynamic professional development sit securely in the ethos of schools and trust and all leaders work collaboratively to improve guidance and support to our staff.
