What does membership of The Spire Church of England Learning Trust mean for schools in the Trust?

1. Improved outcomes for pupils, for example:

• Improvement in pupil progress and attainment
• Improvement in the quality and consistency of teaching and learning
• Links with pupils in other schools, which will lead to a greater sense of social responsibility, improved attendance and behaviour and a more outward looking perspective amongst pupils

2. Access to a wider range of professional practice, for example:

• Working alongside a wider group of professional colleagues enables teachers to share and develop practice together
• Cross phase access provides insight into other phases of education
• Reciprocal visits provide opportunities for teachers to benchmark their practice against other schools and opportunities for longer secondments are possible
• University accredited programmes bespoke to context

3. Cost effectiveness, for example:

• Shared area provision enables some courses to be offered which might otherwise have proved unviable
• Sharing of external providers or joint purchasing of equipment and resources save on costs
• Sharing of specialist facilities, for example in music or sport

4. Recruitment and retention, for example:

• By raising the status of the school in the local community, schools often became popular and oversubscribed – schools ‘of choice’ for parents
• Additional challenge and motivation for outstanding school leaders means that they are more likely to remain in post for longer
• Developing and aspiring leaders can be promoted – often to other schools within the partnership

5. Raised capacity and morale, for example:

• The process of supporting others typically enables practitioners to develop their own professional learning, challenging and extending their own practice
• By building capacity, supported schools soon find themselves in a position to support others
• Pupils often enter secondary education enthused and ready to continue their study of specialist subjects, such as science or modern foreign languages.

We work with a range of strategic partners:

Educational Partners

• North Worcestershire Teacher Training Partnership with South Bromsgrove High School and Bromsgrove School
• The University of Worcester
• Worcester Diocesan Board of Education

School Improvement Team

We have a core School Improvement Team dedicated to working with our schools to support them on their improvement journey, with a clear focus on raising standards for the children in their care.   

Barry Newton – a Consultant and former Local Authority School Improvement Advisor with over 30 years of experience. He has a proven track record of supporting school improvement.

Neil Mills - a Consultant and former Headteacher with considerable experience of leading schools through change to secure improvement and successful outcomes for the children.

Stuart Evans - a Consultant who has also worked as an Inspector for Ofsted for the last 10 years. He has been a Primary Headteacher for 24 years, leading his schools through periods of change whilst achieving excellent outcomes for pupils. He also led a highly successful Pupil Referral Unit for 4 years, alongside supporting primary and middle schools with outreach work.