Opportunities and expectations

As a school considering joining Hope Learning Trust, York, there are a number of opportunities and expectations for you to consider. These fall in to the following areas:

• Education
• Finance
• Governance
• Career advancement
• Operations

To discuss this information and the opportunities in more detail, please contact Hope Learning Trust at hello@hopelearningtrust.org or telephone 01904 560053.
 

Opportunities

• Sharing best practice across our family of academies
• Utilising strengths of academies in the trust
• Openness about strengths and weaknesses in a supportive and challenging environment
• Access to specialist colleagues shared across our academies, including trust-wide support for SEND
• Utilising cutting-edge technology to transform learning
• Planned CPD and professional development across our academies
• Sharing colleagues across phases, such as PE/MFL/ART.

Expectations

• Willingness to be truly collaborative
• Openness and honesty in all areas
• Thinking about the educational provision across the trust and not just in one institution
• Sharing of data
• A desire to work across our academies
• An expectation to work with a Teaching Schools Alliance (TSA).

Opportunities

• Providing specialist financial support across the trust, so as to release School Leaders to concentrate on what matters in terms of working with young people
• Leading software (PS Financials) to support the decision-making and reporting in schools
• High quality financial reporting
• Efficiency of scale in terms of procurement
• Shared service efficiencies
• Building trust-wide capital reserves to look after buildings and premises.

Expectations

• Common financial software
• Common financial systems with shared processes
• Common procurement practices (may vary across phases).

Opportunities

• A framework for ensuring efficient use of time and an annual calendar of requirements to support compliance
• Governor training by experienced governors in all areas, including leadership of local governing committee (LGC)
• A governance review for all LGCs joining the trust
• Regular reports on health and safety and premises management
• Data for the LGC in relation to finance and pupil progress and monitoring to ensure efficiency. 

Expectations

• The LGC is fit for purpose and has undertaken self-evaluation and a skills audit
• The LGC will accept guidance and advice to ensure they are compliant with legal requirements.

Opportunities

• Supporting all staff on a journey to becoming highly effective and reflective practitioners
• Supporting staff development by providing trust-wide opportunities to work in different contexts
• Recognising and nurturing of talents and aspirations
• Providing opportunities for all staff to lead/engage with improvement teams
• Engage with the TSA in regards to CPD, leadership training, SLE deployment, school-to-school support, research and development, IT, regional projects and international work
• Trust-wide conferences and exposure to national events and leading educators.

Expectations

• All leaders are flexible about working across the trust
• Common training opportunities across the trust
• An engagement with the TSA

Opportunities

• Trust-wide policies in all key areas
• Trust-wide health and safety arrangements and support
• Access to specialist and general facilities/site management

Expectations

• A willingness to join trust contracts to support facilities/site management
• A willingness for joint trust health and safety arrangements/support
• A willingness to adopt common HR and facility policies.

The future is full of exciting opportunities for the Hope Learning Trust. We are keen to talk to school leaders who share our vision.

We are seeking partners who strive to generate a culture of excellence by being innovative and collaborative; schools that are or want to be high performing organisations – relentless in providing the very best education and nurturing environments for their students. Your school is unique and as a Hope Learning Trust academy, you will retain this distinctive identity.

Education is at a crossroads. Joining us could provide you with security, by helping shape a brighter and promising future for your school, families and local community. We provide a respectful and professional team that can work with you to inspire greatness. 

If you feel your philosophy and values are in line with ours, then let’s continue the conversation. Together we can embark on a unique and exciting journey. 

Contact us to find out more.