Case study: Bespoke support across an Academy Trust

How TT Education supported a series of primary academies in the Leigh Academies Trust with their varying school improvement requirements

Leigh Academies Trust manages a variety of different schools in and around Kent. At the time we started working with the Trust, we were primarily tasked with working with Hartley Primary Academy, Cherry Orchard Primary Academy, Dartford Primary Academy and Eastcote Primary Academy. Each school has its own unique context, ranging from small to large, outstanding to RI.

We were contacted by the Executive Principal of the four schools, looking for a package of support that would take into account the specific contexts of each school. Some had recently joined the Trust and all needed support in different areas, catering for differing levels and types of need.

We created a bespoke proposal (as we always do for packages of support) and ensured we had a great team of consultants who were able to provide the personalised work that was needed in each school.

Outcome

One requirement that all four schools had was to design a new curriculum, linked to the Trust’s clear vision and values, but taking into account the school’s specific context. This was a project we supported the schools with over a period of time, providing training in how to design a curriculum, practical ideas and support as the schools began the process, and challenge and objective reviews for each curriculum as it emerged. The schools worked incredibly hard, as did our consultants alongside them, to produce fantastic new curricula that interwove many of TT Education’s core principles with the Trust’s overarching vision, to ensure all children received a really fantastic series of opportunities for learning.

“As an Executive Principal of four primary academies, sourcing outstanding CPD opportunities for staff has been challenging. The new Ofsted framework rightly places emphasis on the quality of education and so the need for primary teachers to be skilled in teaching foundation subjects well has been key to our school improvement strategy.

Having searched for over a year for quality training, I attended a TT training session based in London, focused on delivering an outstanding primary curriculum. The day was rich with ideas and inspiring. Suitably impressed, I contacted the organisation to book further sessions for my academies. This was the training I had been seeking for my staff!

Sadly, COVID arrived after only receiving two of the three days we had booked. David and the team were fantastic – supporting us in receiving online CPD and advising us as to how to ensure ongoing quality professional development for our teaching staff.

We have now signed up to the School Improvement Club and are working collaboratively with David and the team to design bespoke programmes for each academy. Because we have all purchased membership, our benefits are growing through collaborating with each other. TT Education are impressive. The cost of membership and all that it offers has provided a very affordable package for each of the academies I lead, with an outstanding quality of training and support.

I am excited about the opportunities for my staff and their ability to develop their professional skills.”

Sarah Goosani, Executive Principal of Hartley, Cherry Orchard, Dartford and Eastcote Primary Academies