Development Themes

The Grand Union Partnership will involve colleagues across all our schools in a wide range of workshops and training around the themes that have been developed in the trusts strategic plan. We plan opportunities to meet across the academic year that allow staff to move the themes forward and reflect on each others practice.

The 9 themes (listed below) were created as a result of surveys, conversations with senior leaders and trustees, input from our whole trust joint training and reflecting on our annual review.

Development priorities for 2024-25

Curriculum Design

• Continue to embed the work of Subject networks established across the trust in 2023/24 to inform curriculum review and development particularly focussed on assessment
• Continued expansion of curriculum enrichment opportunities for children at all schools in the Trust to access

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

• Development of Trust level principles linked to assessment and feedback. All schools to include relevant actions within their development plans to ensure effective assessment is embedded across all aspects of the curriculum
• Establish the good assessment practice across the trust in relation to foundation subjects 

Leadership

• Adapt current budgeting and forecasting approaches to respond to feedback linked to the outcomes of the SMRA process
• Expand use of focus groups to follow up stakeholder survey outcomes.
• Work with our IT Service Provider to establish a staff intranet that supports cross trust communication and working
• Harmonising pay sales and job descriptions across the trust

Governance Development

• Extend guidance and frameworks for trustees and governors in relation to specific link roles and trustee visibility across the schools
• Implement recommendations linked to external review
• Develop training opportunities for Governors and trustees
• Supporting the transition to a new governance model

Growth

• Tickford Park Primary School to be supported to join the trust on 1 December 2024 
• Partnership agreements to be established with the three local primary schools who are committed to continuing to explore joining 
• Continue conversations with local primary schools as and when they are looking at joining a MAT
• Look at the development of the Unit model and associated SEN pathways with a view to introducing equivalent provision for children in other schools in the Trust

Organisational Development

• Develop plan for the next phase of central trust roles that will support the Trust as it grows. Likely to include increasing capacity in relation to Teaching and learning, finance, administrative support for marketing and communications (e.g. websites, GDPR, etc) and the wider systems used across all of the schools in the trust (e.g. Arbor, MyConcern, etc). Capacity building in relation to governance that will be sustainable as the trust continues to expand
• Establish a shared calendar with supporting guidance for all non-teaching functions to ensure that expertise linked to key non-teaching processes is shared and new schools to the trust can access clear guidance on joining the trust

Staff Health and Wellbeing

• Monitor the impact of resources that enable staff to access external support linked to mental and physical health and wellbeing

Asset Management

• CIF bids linked to Asset Management Plan applied for in relation to each school
• Establish central trust model for resource projects that schools can bid for
• Carry out and implement any changes from a health and safety review of the schools
• Review the use of on line portals for logging works and incidents across the schools

Financial Sustainability

• Additional finance resource sourced to support work across the schools
• Single bank account to be reviewed
• Finance software packages to be reviewed to ensure we are able enhance current reporting and forecasting arrangements to inform timely in year decision making .
• Review of cost savings as  some of the activities previously completed locally in schools move to central teams – ordering, procurement etc

Each theme will be developed further through the trust development plan and involving key staff in taking the work forward. In most cases staff will be used across the trust and will work using the 'Grow' framework. (G-Goal, R-Reality, O-Options, W-What will you do next)

In order to ensure the work is well supported each theme will have a central colleague linked to the work to provide advice and guidance while being a layer of quality assurance. This work will then feedback into the success and areas to develop for coming years.