Why Join the Bolton Impact Trust - What do Schools get?
Area
Support from the Central Team
Support with Behaviour, Inclusion and School Culture
Trust
Menu of Services
● Access to support from the Executive Leadership Team who have a track record of school improvement, including in alternative provision and school turnaround.
● Deploy on-call and on-the-ground leadership support from the Executive Team when required
● Access to external experts through the trust pool of external advisors
● Support to develop expertise in areas such as subject leadership and curriculums, school culture and safeguarding.
● Access to a cutting-edge, research-informed leadership coaching programme (Enabling Leaders)
● Access to the Bolton Learning Partnership programmes.
● Open-door approach
● Drop-In Schedule
● Academy Analysis and Development meetings
● AMT Schedule
● QA Schedule (Standards)
● Inspection preparation processes
● Hub systems
● Academy Calendar
● Regular CEO Communications
● Office Team Meetings
● Central Team meetings
● Established relationships with Commissioners
● CEO Drop-ins
● Parent drop-ins
● Support, advice and training from a highly knowledgeable and experienced Executive Team who have demonstrable impact of improving outcomes for the most disadvantaged pupils.
Behaviour policy development
Behaviour systems
Behaviour/pastoral staffing structures
Tracking and monitoring systems
Reward systems
Praise culture
Embedding routines, habits and consistency
Trauma-informed and de-escalation strategies
Suspension reduction strategies
High quality re-integration systems
● Access to membership of national alternative provision and SEND networks.
● Access to external experts through the trust pool of external experts
● Access to BIT’s nationally recognised Internal Alternative Provision blueprint
● Access to high-quality pastoral CPD led by trust experts and external partners
● Access to an innovative approach to cross-trust support for vulnerable pupils.
● Support with identifying student needs via BIT profiling systems
● Co-designed systems for tackling school-specific issues such as internal truancy.
● Full access to and advice and guidance from the Trust’s Therapeutic Specialist
Support with Safeguarding
Support with Student Attendance
A strong trust safeguarding culture that prioritises ensuring that all pupils are safe, happy and thriving across schools led by the Director of Academy Operations
Access to centralised safeguarding policies, procedures and Risk Register
Support with Prevent risk assessment and action plan.
Regular SCR oversight, including training and external SCR Audits.
Intensive safeguarding support for any vulnerable schools, including additional on-the-ground capacity from the Executive Team or Trust Safeguarding experts.
Co-constructed and executive leadership support on:
Safeguarding culture
Effective use of CPOMs
Developing effective safeguarding systems
Creating effective safeguarding staffing structures
Tracking and monitoring systems
Effective challenge and promoting ‘tenacity’ with agencies
Access to the Trust Safeguarding Hub - dedicated collaborative planning and development time - Strong, high-quality safeguarding advice to all schools
Safeguarding audits
DSL supervision from Trust Leadership Coach
Access to the Central Safeguarding dashboard
Effective trust relationships with LADOs and external agencies.
Trust support with statutory and non-statutory safeguarding training.
Trust-brokered annual safeguarding audit, including SCR.
A strongly established culture around all aspects of safer recruitment
Membership of the Bolton Learning Partnership Safety and Welfare hubs
Access to Safeguarding CPD for all staff
● Access to centralised attendance policy and procedures, annually reviewed, with school-based adaptations where needs are greater.
● Centralised dashboard with indicators of local attendance leading to support via school-based attendance strategies where necessary
● Deployment of additional on-the-ground attendance support, to those schools and areas with the greatest need of support.
● Centralised expert training in areas such as EBSA, mental health and multi-agency working.
● Access to dashboard to identify support for vulnerable pupils, including to reduce persistent and severe absence.
● Co-constructed executive leadership support on:
Attendance culture
Attendance policy design
Attendance staffing structures and systems
Tracking and monitoring
Working effectively with the Local Authority
Understanding Attendance guidance
Support with the Quality of Education
● A broad curriculum offer, including a range of vocational qualifications.
● A co-constructed curriculum policy and structure.
● Co-constructed executive leadership support on:
Effective curriculum design across subject specialisms.
Effective curriculum implementation and teaching strategies.
Effective monitoring and evaluation from Trust Leaders and external partners
Building effective feedback and coaching systems.
Building effective monitoring systems to identify day-to-day impact and next steps
● Access to research-informed training and support around subject development planning, assessment and pedagogy.
● Access to centralised trust training around research-informed pedagogical excellence
● Access to a centralised trust subject curriculum hubs so that leaders can grow centralised curriculum work and facilitate raising standards initiatives
Support via Monitoring and Quality Assurance
● Access to trust centralised specialist SEND training to enhance teachers’ SEND expertise.
● Access to research-informed training around assessment, marking and feedback strategies
● Access to Subject curriculum intent exemplars and lesson resources to support consistent implementation in all subject areas
● Access to the Trust’s Insight software (target-setting, data analysis and tracking systems)
● Access to co-constructed central trust academic reporting systems.
● Access to Innovative trust-wide raising standards initiatives to address knowledge gaps and rapidly improve outcomes
● Access to guided reading programmes.
● Access to levelled support reading strategy.
● Access to the ‘Support Develop Embed’ School Support Model
● Access to central trust data systems
● Co-constructed and Executive Leadership support on:
Self-Evaluation.
Qualitative and quantitative impact measures.
Building and maintaining effective monitoring systems.
Effective monitoring and evaluation
● Access to systems to identify and monitor outcomes and provision for all students
● Access to centralised academy SEF templates
● Access to centralised SEF Checklists
● Support via the SEF Tracker system
● Access to the central trust quality assurance calendar.
● Support via Academy Analysis Meetings.
● Access to centralised trust self-evaluation and Development Plan templates.
● Access to thematic trust reviews of key areas such as governance, safeguarding, behaviour, attendance, SEND and the quality of education by experts (ex-Ofsted HMIs).
● Access to a centralised trust approach to identifying good practice across schools to be shared between schools.
● Access to training and support around Ofsted inspections.
● Support from the Executive Leadership team - Inspection preparation
Support with Staffing and Workforce Development
● Access to expert Executive Leaders.
● Access to the Teach First SCITT to aid recruitment, retention and staff development.
● Access to the Enabling Leaders Bolton Leadership Framework constructed by leaders at the trust with Anne Marie Duguid and Diana Osagie at the World Education Summit. This allows all leaders to access high level coaching and training supported by the World Education Summit.
● Access to trust subject specific collaborative ‘hubs’
● Access to networks of national and local best practice.
● Access to well-established trust professional networks across leadership, subject teams and partner organisations.
● Support with Staff Wellbeing
● Access to a positive, respectful and supportive trust culture where staff feel well-supported.
● Access to a trust Wellbeing Charter led by the CEO and Executive Leadership team
● Access to trust-wide support such as Wellbeing champions, workload support strategies and Wellbeing credits.
● Access to extensive health support such as counselling, occupational health, physiotherapy, menopause support and men’s health support initiatives.
● Access to trust-wide Wellbeing champions and equality champions.
● Access to trust-wide systems to monitor and gauge staff wellbeing.
● Access to high quality equality, diversity and wellbeing training (One Education)
● Regular staff surveys
Support to face outwards
Opportunities for BIT staff to deliver training
Opportunities for staff across the organisation who have shown demonstrable impact to lead school-to-school support initiatives
Opportunities for staff to join best practice hubs and networks
Support with Finance
Support with Governance and Risk
● Central financial strategy and planning.
● Trust finance system, with centralised ledgers and payments.
● Centralised payroll.
● Centralised procurement for all main supplies and services.
● Internal and external audit organised by the Central team.
● Co-constructed finance policies and standard operating procedures.
● Centralised asset management planning and registers.
● Experienced Trust Board with diverse skills set
● Strong Local Governing Bodies (LGBs)
Trust Leaders attend every LGB meeting
Trust Committee System is well embedded
Evidence of impact at LGB level
Governor Weeks are well-established
All LGB members have link responsibilities
Risk is well-managed
Reports are comprehensive and include reference to KPI areas
Meetings are professionally clerked
Scheme of Delegation was updated in October 2024
● All Academies have an operational scheme of delegation
Support with Human Resources
● Co-constructed central HR policies and operating procedures.
● Centralised HR advisory service.
● Centralised trust support around teacher recruitment and retention strategies.
● Centralised induction programme
● Trust performance appraisal policy and structure.
● Trust-level Trade Union Recognition Agreement (TURA) and JNC meetings.
● Trust-wide Employee Access Programme, health and well-being support
● Centrally managed high-level and complex HR cases (include absence support)
Support with Estates Management
● Centralised capital programme bidding and project delivery.
● Centralised estates and facilities strategy, prioritisation, planning and policies.
● Energy and utilities contracts managed centrally.
● Grounds and buildings maintenance provided by dedicated sites teams.
Support with Health and Safety
Support with Community Engagement, Communication and Complaints
● Trust-wide system for ensuring health and safety, fire safety and statutory compliance.
● Co-constructed health and safety statement and policy.
● Procedures to support trips and visits.
● Central trust internal and external communications strategy.
● Co-constructed trust vision, identity and branding whilst schools are able to retain their distinct identity.
● Trust communications policy, strategy and support for academies.
● Trust media relations and crisis management support.
● Trust support with high-level complaints
● Well-developed Parental Engagement Strategy which includes regular parent drop-ins and delivery of the ‘Who’s in Charge’ programme
Support with Policy and Compliance Policy
Policies split into academy level and trust level to give individual academies more autonomy over things like curriculum and behaviour but non negotiables on all staffing related policies
A collaborative approach, (led by the trust via a hub system) is used to develop many policies including; SEND, Safeguarding and Exams related policies.
Wherever possible and where it best serves each of our academies, the Central team will develop trust wide policies in consultation with leaders.
Staffing policies sit at trust level and One Education model policies are used as a starting point for development to ensure they comply with all legal requirements.
Where necessary policies are ratified by LGB’s or the trust board
A policy review schedule is in place and updated by the Director of Academy Operations.
All policies are available on the website and key policies are included in the new staff starter checklist. Key polices are discussed with new starters.
Support with Administration
Staff are informed when a policy has been updated and regular policy webinars and questionnaires take place throughout the year to ensure we identify are gaps in staff’s understanding of policies.
Compliance
Internal/External Audit
Audit Recommendations Tracker reported to A&R Committee
ESFA Investigation Reports review at Risk and Audit Committee for any learning
Internal management visits
Analysis and Development Meetings
● Access to support from the central team.
● Regular cross-trust meetings and working groups.
● Development of Standard Operating Procedures.
● Monthly Office teams meetings