THE
OAK TRUST
K UST SCHOOL READY
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WORK READY
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LIFE READY
WELCOME FROM THE CEO The Oak Trust was established in October 2017, with the mission that all our children and young people will be ‘School Ready, Work Ready, Life Ready’. Our fundamental belief is that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter their background or the challenges they may face. As a group of schools, we believe we are stronger and more successful working together than we would be as separate institutions and we will use this strength to provide the highest quality of education to ensure that no child is left behind. We believe in schools having their own unique identity so they can serve their local community and provide the highest standard of education for all, but we strongly believe that collaboration with other schools and partners is key to strengthening the quality of education for the students we serve.
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Ensure that education extends beyond the classroom and teach our children to be independent and creative thinkers who are always curious.
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Strive to ensure our children develop a lifetime passion for learning and self-awareness.
We know that our children are the future, and regardless of their starting points in life, they will change the world. We believe it is our role to prepare them for this responsibility by instilling within them a sense of social responsibility that will inspire them to build a better world for all. Our values underpin all that we do and as a Trust we will always strive to: •
Work in partnership to always serve our local communities.
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Champion advocacy, celebrate diversity and embrace inclusivity.
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Promote integrity, honesty and respect.
Collectively we will:
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Value and recognise hard work and resilience.
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Provide high quality, inclusive education that does not limit aspiration or opportunity.
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Work hard to provide better life-chances for all our children.
Be committed to the development of all staff throughout their careers: and will grow highly skilled and reflective practitioners that will add value to our schools and the experiences of our children.
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Foster in our children a curiosity to discover who they are and what they are capable of, together with developing the resilience for them to test the boundaries of their abilities and build the skills necessary to face the future with confidence.
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Grow our children to be personally and socially responsible, promoting social mobility and social diversity.
Our vision is that we provide the children and young people in all our schools with the highest quality of education and create happy, successful and wellrounded individuals who will flourish and go on to make a difference in their own lives and their communities.
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Have a relentless focus on personal development, in order to grow children who are resilient, determined and confident and who will become good citizens, adding value to their communities.
We make no apologies for having the highest expectations of ourselves and our children and young people. Sarah North Chief Executive Officer THE OAK TRUST
HOW WE SUPPORT OUR STAFF
ITT The Oak Trust has always recognised its responsibility in developing high-quality professionals. As a result, we have strong partnerships, working with a range of well-established Initial Teacher Training (ITT) partners, to develop trainee teachers and build highly skilled teachers of the future. WE OFFER: •
Experienced and professional mentoring
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Dedicated and protected time for planning and reflection
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Scheduled meetings with mentors
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Bespoke Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
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Cross-Trust CPD
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Additional support for those colleagues teaching outside of their specialism
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Culture of sharing good practice
Trainees say…
“CPD has been so insightful! I feel much more confident with classroom management strategies, effective marking and feedback approaches as well as the role of a form tutor. Everybody across the Trust has been so welcoming.”
“The encouragement and opportunities to participate in wider school activities have been amazing! I have been able to attend staff meetings, parents and open evenings and support extra-curricular activities.” “My mentor modelled so many effective teaching strategies; I was able to reflect on these and adapt them for my own classes. The support my mentor offered each week really helped me to improve.”
“I have had a fantastic ECT experience which has been made much easier and less stressful thanks to the wonderful support of my Induction Tutor. Nothing has been too much trouble.”
ECT Joining The Oak Trust as an Early Career Teacher (ECT) is an exciting first step in your teaching career. We fully support your experience with the aim of making those first 2 years a happy, productive and satisfying experience. All ECTs: •
Are supported by a highly professional and experienced Induction Tutor
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Are provided with an experienced mentor in their subject
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Have weekly scheduled and protected mentor meetings
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Have an additional and personalised CPD programme
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Benefit from reduced timetables in their first two years of teaching
ECTs say…
“The support I have received from all the staff across The Oak Trust was second to none.” “My main source of development has been by interacting, receiving feedback and observing other colleagues. I feel I have grown in confidence and have real faith in my own ability as a teacher now.”
MIDDLE LEADERS Experienced teachers working across The Oak Trust have a wealth of opportunities to progress their careers and further develop their learning, including:
As an Oak Trust middle leader you can expect to be supported to set a strong vision and direction for your teams and lead high-quality teaching and learning or pastoral work, so that the needs of all our pupils are met and their school experience enables them to be school ready, work ready and life ready. You can expect:
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To be part of a reflective and supportive culture where colleagues are valued, open to new ideas and ways of doing things, and show a strong commitment to regular and ongoing CPD
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Middle and aspiring senior leadership training programmes, including the full range of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)
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Collaborative and staff-driven CPD that has a tangible impact on learning
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Excellent subject networks across the Trust and region
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Strong strategic planning frameworks
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Opportunities, training and support for leaders and aspiring leaders to flourish
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Opportunities to lead and work with talented and committed staff
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Continued investment in the development of pedagogical experts, based on the most current educational research including involvement in nationally recognised programmes and networks
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Robust, supportive line management with a collaborative approach to quality assurance
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Regular internal leadership training, delivered in collaboration with other leaders
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Career progression opportunities across the Trust
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Opportunities to shadow Senior Leaders across the Trust
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Opportunities to join The Oak Trust Talent Team
EXPERIENCED STAFF
“The guidance from my mentor has allowed me to reflect on my own practice and develop further.”
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Opportunities to contribute to in-school and crossTrust working parties
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Opportunities to shadow Senior and Middle Leaders
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Opportunities to join The Oak Trust Talent Team
SENIOR LEADERS
HLTAS & TAS
As an Oak Trust senior leader you can expect to be supported to create innovative, strategic direction for your schools, promote a positive work environment, manage change and inspire colleagues to make a difference to the lives of our young people. You can expect:
The Oak Trust is a highly inclusive organisation that prides itself on its inclusive and diverse approach to both its staff and pupils.
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Senior leadership training programmes, including National Professional Qualifications (NPQs); NPQSL, NPQH and NPQEL
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Excellent senior leadership networks across the Trust and region
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Opportunities to work as part of the Schools Partnership Programme (SPP)
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To contribute to and shape excellent strategic planning frameworks
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Opportunities to lead and work with talented and committed staff
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Robust and supportive line management
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Career progression opportunities across the Trust
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Opportunities to shadow Senior Leaders across the Trust, as well as the Trust Executive Team
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Opportunities to join The Oak Trust Talent Team
We have pupils with a range of needs across the Trust and our HLTAs and TAs play a valuable and integral role in supporting teaching, learning and wellbeing. They support young people with a variety of special educational needs, whilst ensuring their social, emotional development, both inside and outside of the classroom. TAs can expect: •
High-quality training opportunities across The Oak Trust including: o areas of specific interest within SEND o subject specific knowledge across all areas of the national curriculum o mental health and wellbeing for both staff and pupils
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Cross-Trust CPD
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Opportunities to work within a dedicated Inclusion Team
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Community partnership development
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Opportunities to work alongside one of the very few Additional Resource Provisions in the local area
SUPPORT & CHALLENGE
TRAINING
All Oak Trust schools have their own unique character and we strongly believe that this is a strength, as we can support and learn from each other. Challenge is an integral part of what we do in respect of leadership, curriculum and teaching and learning. Our open and honest culture means that this is always done with the best interests of our pupils and staff at the heart of it.
Working alongside personalised and successful support, the Trust offers a training package for all members of the school team, from support staff, pupil-facing staff, teachers to Headteachers. Evidence tells us that the most effective work we can do is to support high-quality teaching and it is therefore imperative that we provide high-quality training opportunities for all.
SUPPORT TEAM All our support staff team members have the opportunity to learn new skills, grow their knowledge and realise their potential. We offer access to continued professional development centred around current roles and responsibilities, whilst also being mindful of future aspirations as part of our ongoing work around succession planning. Training and development takes place via mentors and line managers in each school, and we also ensure support staff can access relevant external training pertinent to their role via several routes. Many of our colleagues have, or are currently undertaking, the following external development and professional training opportunities. •
Apprenticeships o Accountancy ACCA L7 Professional Qualification o Business Administration o Site Management
COLLABORATION Collaborative practice is a key feature of The Oak Trust offer and includes: •
Collaborative learning opportunities for pupils
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Network opportunities at all levels
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Joint CPD opportunities to grow expert teachers and leaders
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Bespoke school improvement support
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Trust support for Ofsted preparation and during inspections
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Professional qualifications o Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) o Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) o Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) o Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) diplomas o Microsoft 365 Security Administration
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Degree programmes o Part time degree courses o Foundation degrees
We proactively identify opportunities for professional development to ensure colleagues are equipped to embrace future challenges and to promote improvement in working practices.
HOW WE SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS GOVERNANCE Our Trustees have a wide-ranging skill set representing a variety of sectors who steer our vision and direction with thought, business acumen and a commitment to our values. Each school in The Oak Trust, has its own Local Advisory Committee who work alongside the Trustees to provide challenge and support. BENEFITS • •
Governance Professional to support all layers of governance GovernorHub – a secure portal for secure communication, efficient document sharing and meeting planning
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Membership of the National Governance Association
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Induction programme for Trustees and Local Committee Members
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Clerk for all Trust and Local Advisory Committee meetings
IT SERVICES HR & LEGAL SUPPORT We provide a full HR service including casework and strategic HR work which enables us to be an employer of choice. Our Trust HR team are well qualified and established, working closely with the Trust and Headteachers of all our schools, with the added benefit of external support from our legal partners. BENEFITS
We have a central IT Services team who are highly skilled and experienced, providing support and assistance when required. A shared infrastructure ensures our services are built around the needs of each school, allowing collaborative working in each school and throughout the Trust as well as offering resilience when required. BENEFITS •
Cyber security and compliance alongside cyber insurance
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Strategic IT plan for the Trust and each establishment
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Proactive update management
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Web Filtering and Monitoring
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Help desk and remote support with access to specialists
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Access to legal advice
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HR advisory services
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Recruitment and advertising
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Contractual documentation
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Dedicated onsite support available
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HR policies and procedures
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Disaster recovery plan with robust backup strategy
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HR casework, including capability, disciplinary and grievance
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Telephony and broadband
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Attendance management
Central Microsoft 365 licencing agreement with access to SharePoint and Teams
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Performance management, including appraisal
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Central procurement of equipment and services
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Single Central Record Tracker
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Print Management
ESTATES & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Our schools are supported by our Estates Team who have extensive knowledge and skills. They complete regular building inspections and provide support and advice to school leaders and school Site Managers. BENEFITS
STATUTORY COMPLIANCE The central team supports all schools within the Trust in ensuring all statutory and legislative compliance requirements are monitored and met. BENEFITS •
A Trust named Competent person for Health and Safety
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Statutory Health and Safety training for all staff
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External advice and audits undertaken by Health and Safety specialists
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A named Trust Data Protection Officer to act as single point of contact with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
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Estates Strategy
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Statutory central compliance software
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Asset management including capital funding allocation management
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Contract management advice
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Assistance with repairs, maintenance and building improvements
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Experienced Data Protection Officers to support and provide advice to our schools
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Legislative and regulatory inspections
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Data Protection training
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Policy framework
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Cloud based approach to risk assessment and management
FINANCE, PROCUREMENT AND PAYROLL At The Oak Trust we will provide a full and comprehensive financial service to all schools. Our aim is to reduce your financial burdens and support you, not only as an academy school, but also with all the financial requirements prior to conversion. All our schools retain their ability to make budgetary decisions and are allocated a designated Budget Support Officer to assist them in doing this. Our central procurement services ensure schools achieve value for money whilst supporting their individual priorities. We also operate a payroll and pension service which removes this responsibility at school level. BENEFITS •
Financial Management
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Revenue and Capital Budget Planning
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Budget Monitoring and Control
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Financial Reporting
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Assistance with Funding Streams
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Debt Collection
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Procurement
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Payroll Services and Pension Administration
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Internal Scrutiny and External Audit
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Statutory Accounts and Financial Returns
THE
OAK TRUST
THE
OAK TRUST SCHOOL READY
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Cathedral Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 0RR T 0161 785 5960 E office@theoaktrust.org.uk www.theoaktrust.org.uk
WORK READY
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LIFE READY