Core Offer

All schools in our Trust and those joining the Trust will access our core school improvement offer which is outlined below.  Central to this is our universal and targeted Professional Development Programme.

Those schools who require additional support who at Phase 1 or Phase 2 access the core offer and enhanced support through a bespoke programme co-created with the Head Teacher in response to a forensic review and agreed action plan.  Expertise from both within the trust and externally through professional partners will be used to work alongside the leadership team to drive rapid improvement.

The core offer includes:

1. Robust Review, Reflection and Quality Assurance

• The CEO will visit each school at least once every two to three weeks, with interim virtual and telephone support.  Working with the Trust Director of School Improvement, they will provide support and challenge, celebrate success and broker any additional support for school improvement.  Visits will include joint learning walks with the Heads of School, capturing staff and pupil feedback and reviewing pupil outcomes.  The CEO will work with the Trust Director of School Improvement to identify and build additional capacity to support Heads of School as required and the Trust Director of School Improvement will review the school development plan half termly.
• Heads of School will meet weekly with the executive leadership team including the CEO to review progress and impact and identify risks and ways to overcome barriers.
• Schools participate in Challenge Partners, a national network of more than 550 schools and more than 100 trusts, to support improvement through peer review, working together, to combine expertise.
• An experienced, expert central executive team work alongside school leaders to guide, coach and support leadership and school improvement.  The Trust’s executive leaders provide weekly on-site support and challenge for each school. The team offers expertise to support school improvement including curriculum delivery, teaching and learning, SEND and inclusion, training, safeguarding, people development, school operations and health and safety.
• To assure consistent quality improvement, schools at each stage of their development participate in our independent external review process.  Education, safety, SEND and safeguarding reviews are brokered by the Trust provided by experts, to enable quality assurance, accurate self-reflection and evaluation.
• The Trust deploys a range of IT solutions and management information systems (MIS) to support leaders with school improvement.  Trust leaders retain significant expertise and provide on-site support each week to train and help staff to embed these systems, to enable school improvement, reduce workload and inform diagnosis and improvement planning.

1. A comprehensive training and development offer

• To support learning and development, all our people benefit from high-quality individual performance development (appraisals) to support and plan career pathways and professional development.
• Leadership work with the staff team to identify succession planning routes and opportunities to capture talent.
• We offer a Trust-wide comprehensive staff benefit package with an enhanced reward and well-being support including access to a 24 hour employee assistance line and telephone medical advice.
• Opportunities for staff to contribute and feedback through staff surveys, “leadership surgeries”, daily briefing meetings, weekly staff meetings and collaborative working parties.
• All schools have access to our ‘Training and Development Programme’.  The annual programme schedule is confirmed termly but in draft form for the year to allow for some flexibility and a responsive approach. There is also a directory of development opportunities which is reviewed annually and outlines courses, accredited programmes and how to access support across the trust. 
• The trust operates a coaching culture and coaching groups are established in our schools.  There are also opportunities for individual coaching with our trained coaches by request and as part of individual career pathways.
• Peer to peer support through professional networks, year group and subject meetings and on-going virtual support as well as modelling good practice support are available to all.
• All opportunities are advertised internally.

1. Engagement in Trust-wide processes

• All schools engage and contribute to the Trust’s established governance model and future development.
• Heads of School are members of the Trust’s Executive Team to ensure school improvement and pupil outcomes remain at the heart of decision-making and strategic-planning.
• Heads of School provide and present termly reports to the Local Advisory.
• Our Trust has a defined operating model with common approaches for policy development and provision of shared centralised services. The Illuminate Minds Trust sets out clear parameters where  schools and services are expected to align with the Trust, its policies and activities and where they can maintain autonomy to suit their specific contexts. This operating model applies to all schools to enable:
  • Leaders to focus on school improvement
  • Economies-of-scale and value for money.

Examples of our enhanced support (“Intensive Care Programme”) offer may include:

• Mentoring for the school leaders with planned programmes of individualised support;
• Enhanced support or intervention from the Trust’s Executive Team, or other commissioned specialists, brokered by the Trust Teaching and Learning Lead, Trust Director of Safeguarding, SEND and Inclusion and / or the CEO.
• The Trust may broker a National or Senior Leader of Education (NLE/SLE) from a similar contextual setting or with appropriate experience.
• The CEO (NLE) may be based in school on a weekly basis to work alongside the Head Teacher and leadership team.
• The Trust Teaching and Learning Lead will provide direct on-site support to the leadership team over a set period of time for up to 4 days per week.
• A tailored CPD programme to rapidly upskill staff in specifically identified areas.
• An “Intensive Care Programme” (ICP) with fortnightly review against a co-created action plan.  The programme may operate for an agreed period of between 3 – 12 months.
• Increased governance oversight through a designated ICP Committee – CEO three-weekly report to the committee on progress made and next steps.

• Curriculum planning and development

Please contact us for further information office@illuminateminds.org