The following frequently asked questions are designed to helps schools who would like to be part of St Lawrence Academies Trust. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We live by our values of integrity, community, hope and aspiration and genuinely believe you know your communities best. We want to help you – “stronger together”.
Trust and confidence in your professionalism
- Dynamic and inspirational leaders
- Brave and forward thinking champions for their school communities
- Personalised and unique experiences
Celebrating Distinctiveness
- Cherishing our diversity
- Excellent outcomes for all
- Equity of entitlement for all
Enabling all to Flourish
- Unrelenting high expectations for all
- Developing future leaders
- Innovative and inclusive environments
Purposeful Partnerships
- Collective responsibility
- Professional generosity
- Engaging families and communities
The Trust is called St Lawrence Academies Trust (SLA Trust). Each school within the Trust retains its own name and becomes a partner school, working in collaboration to be stronger together.
Partner schools will continue to be great schools where everyone is valued. Life will continue as usual with the ethos, values, uniform and culture of the school remaining in place. The Trust will support school improvement with a continued focus on unrelenting high expectations.
No, schools would retain their names, uniform policies and unique identities.
Children and families will directly benefit from the school’s membership of SLA Trust. The centralisation of efficient, bespoke support services across the Trust enables school leaders to be free to focus on pupils and the educational provision in their school.
Staff should not notice significant changes in their everyday working lives. Terms and conditions for existing staff would remain the same and pensions arrangements would remain the same. Staff contracts TUPE across from their LA/current employer to the Trust.
There may be opportunities for staff to work across partner schools to support their professional development. This would be agreed in partnership with all concerned parties.
The Trust values professional development for staff at all levels. There will be a variety of opportunities, including partnership working and networks, training events, national training qualifications, peer coaching and support.
Headteachers will TUPE over on their current terms and conditions. We cherish the uniqueness of our partner schools and value our Headteachers as those best placed to know the needs of their pupils and wider community. Headteachers in our partner schools will have delegated powers to lead their own school and the flexibility to develop creative and innovative approaches within their classrooms.
This would be supported by the Trust and the LGB It will involve]
Mike Adnitt, CEO
The Trusts’ Education Support Partner linked to the school
The Chair of the LGB in line with the Performance Development Policy.
Yes, under the existing OFSTED arrangements schools will be inspected separately. Schools will be supported by the Trust to prepare for inspections and throughout the process.
No, this would continue to be arranged by the school and their Local Governing Board.
Academies do not have to follow the National Curriculum, however the Trust believes in offering a broad and balanced curriculum.
SEND provision and support will remain the responsibility of individual schools, however the Trust will offer SEND advice and guidance. Specific strengths and expertise in partner schools can be shared across the Trust to better support SEND pupils.
The Board of Directors is responsible for the Trust. Each school will continue to have its own Local Governing Body (LGB) making local decisions in line with the scheme of delegation.
For a school to join the Trust, their governing body, as well as the SLA Trust Board, would have to agree that it is the right move for all parties.
The Department for Education has a master funding agreement with St Lawrence Academies Trust and supplemental funding agreements with each partner school. The Trust receives the allocated funding for the whole trust and distributes the General Annual Grant (GAG funding) to each school. A percentage of funds known as ”the top slice” are retained centrally to develop and provide core services around Education Support, IT, HR, Health and Safety, Finance and Management. At the local level, schools still make decisions about how they spend their agreed budget. As a Trust we are guided by very strict financial controls through the Academy Trust Financial Handbook, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acts as the Chief Accounting Officer with some delegated responsibilities to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
The Trust will be subject to external audit by an independent firm of auditors/accountants. The Trust will also make arrangements for internal scrutiny of systems, in keeping with the requirements of the Academy Trust Financial Handbook. In addition, the CFO and CEO will carry out further quality assurance of financial matters to ensure all schools remain financially viable in line with the expectations of the DfE/ESFA.
The school will be fully supported in all aspects of conversion by the Trust.