The Denbigh Alliance Multi Academy Trust

Care • Education • Opportunity

CareWe are a big organisation with a small feel and offer individualised care to our students

Welcome to the Denbigh Alliance Multi Academy Trust. I am Andy Squires, CEO and Executive Headteacher of the Trust. I am very proud to lead an organisation which has at its core the values of ‘Care, Education and Opportunity’ for young people. The Trust’s aims are to support continual school improvement, raise standards of attainment and provide quality staff development and training to ensure that our students develop into rounded confident young adults. I have been a senior leader in Education for almost 20 years and know that by working in partnership with like-minded individuals we can support each other to achieve great things.

The Trust embraces its prestigious partners; the Denbigh Alliance Teaching School, the Enigma Maths Hub, the Tommy Flowers SCITT, the Science Learning Partnership and most recently the NCCE Computing Hub. These partnerships demonstrate our desire to support the learning of young people both within the Trust and across our local region. Working with these partners allows us to offer our family of schools access to exceptional continuing professional development opportunities that support career progression and create exciting opportunities for all our staff. It has also enabled us to establish productive partnerships with universities and local businesses.

The schools currently within the Trust are Denbigh School and Watling Academy. We want to grow as an organisation and spread the successful ‘Denbigh ethos’ that we have developed over many years. We know that we will become stronger by working in partnership with schools that align with our principles, ethos and moral purpose. Our strategic plan is for measured growth over the next five years in the primary, secondary and special settings and we will achieve this by drawing upon the rapid expansion of Milton Keynes and MK Council’s Growth

Strategy and bidding for new free schools through local competition. We will also approach existing schools that align with our ethos and values.

The pace of our expansion is key; we want to balance the benefits growth as a Trust brings with the challenges that can occur with rapid growth. This is best achieved by new schools joining us that have a common focus on improving the lives of children, whilst valuing the diversity and rewards that growth can bring.

Welcome to the Denbigh Alliance Trust

CEO Andy Squires

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EducationTo achieve outstanding outcomes for all students, regardless of ability or background

Who are we?Our Vision and Values

It is our belief that the individual Care we provide our students can exist within a larger organisation, where no student is anonymous. We have a determination to deeply understand our students and staff, whilst safeguarding their needs. We know that when you look after your students and staff everything becomes possible. This must be underpinned by a first-class Education experience, where within a culture of continuous learning, we all strive to do our very best, whatever the challenges. Finally, we believe that setting the learning journey within a context of Opportunity is crucial if our students and staff are to see the relevance of what they do. The opportunities that we provide through the Trust are both inspirational and enriching.

Care

We pride ourselves on being a big organisation with a small feel. We achieve this through the individualised care we offer our students. Our students will feel and be safe and have their pastoral needs met through a tutorial system. Pastoral leaders will oversee their attendance and behaviour and will build lasting relationships with them and their families. Through the PSHEE curriculum, students will embody the Trust’s ethos regarding respect for all, British values, tolerance of others and the need to make well informed choices regarding their physical and mental health and wellbeing. This will also encompass behaviour outside of school and using online technologies. The Student Voice is a strength of the Trust with student councils playing a pivotal role in the running and development of our schools. Students with pastoral and learning needs will be identified early in the transition process by the Trust’s dedicated SEND team. Disadvantaged students will be supported by a dedicated ‘Pupil Premium Champion’ who will ensure equality of opportunity. All students will have access to high quality, independent

advice to enable them to make informed choices at key transition points and will also gain an understanding of financial capability and economic awareness.

Education

We want to achieve outstanding outcomes for all students, regardless of ability or background in all our schools. Each school’s curriculum will be underpinned by our Curriculum Intent Statement, which explains how we are preparing our students for the world of work in an expanding, vibrant Milton Keynes at the very heart of economic development in the Oxford to Cambridge arc. We appoint motivated and highly qualified teachers who are encouraged to join our team through our track record of success and the opportunities that the Denbigh Teaching School Alliance, the Enigma Maths Hub, the Computing Hub, the Tommy Flowers SCITT and the Science Learning Partnership offer.

Opportunity

Crucial to achieving outstanding educational outcomes, we have a responsibility to enrich, broaden and deepen our students’ learning. We do this by providing valuable experiences both inside and outside the classroom that promote independence and skills, helping them to become successful and fulfilled members of society. The Trust offers an Enrichment programme, extra-curricular activities and student leadership opportunities that will develop the skills of Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Independence, and Communication (LORIC). Students will be encouraged to test their skills in local, national and international arenas and will be consulted regularly on opportunities they would like to be made available within the Trust. The Student Voice is a strength of the Trust and we provide a wide range of leadership opportunities for our students, including membership of Student, House and School Councils feeding into local governance.

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Our Family of Schools

DENBIGH SCHOOL

Denbigh School

Denbigh School is a successful forward thinking 11- 19 Academy offering an excellent educational experience to approximately 1750 students on the West Flank of Milton Keynes. The School is recognised nationally for its commitment to excellence in teaching and learning and consistently outperforms the Milton Keynes and national averages in terms of the results its students achieve.

www.denbigh.net

Watling Academy

Watling Academy is a brand new, purpose built 11 – 16 secondary school, which will open in September 2020. Located in the Western Expansion area of Milton Keynes, it will serve students who live in the Whitehouse and Fairfields developments and beyond.

www.watling.academy

OpportunityWe have a responsibility to enrich, broaden and deepen students’ learning by providing valuable experiences inside and outside the classroom

Our MAT is growing

The aim of the Denbigh Alliance Trust is to provide the best possible education to students between the ages of 3 to 19. We want to grow as a Trust in a measured way and work with schools where we can make a significant difference to the progress and attainment of students through the application of the ‘Denbigh Ethos’.

Central Service Functions

As a Trust we recognise the financial challenges of delivering outstanding education within budget constraints. We want to achieve economies of scale by maximizing the benefits of working together as a family of schools. The Trust operates central core services led by the CEO and CFO. Each school is asked to contribute 4.5% of its General Annual Grant income for these central services. 4% will be used directly for central services and 0.5% is re-invested to be used for capital and a contingency fund to cover unexpected events that schools have not planned for. Our management fee and the structure and services we offer as a Trust are continually reviewed to ensure that the highest standards of service and expertise are available to our family of schools.

Why join our MAT?

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Central Support from the Trust

The Trust offers support in the following areas:

• Admissions and Appeals

• Auditing Services

• Back Office Administration

• Capital Planning and Expenditure

• Catering

• Financial Systems

• Governor Services

• Headteacher Support

• Human Resources Support

• ICT Services including Procurement

• Insurance

• Legal Services

• Media and Marketing

• Payroll and Pension Services

• Policies and Procedures

• Procurement and Contracts

• Safeguarding Services

• School Improvement Services

• Strategic Site Services

What we can offer you

Each school will have its own starting point and we will support schools to maintain their autonomy, leveraging those areas of commonality for mutual benefit. Joining our family of schools will offer you:

• Access to the leadership experience which has developed the successful ‘Denbigh ethos’ with its focus on leading educational thinking, pedagogy and outcomes in Milton Keynes

• Outstanding leadership expertise in both the primary and secondary sectors

• The opportunity to shape the Denbigh Alliance Trust as it grows

• Access to our five prestigious CPD, staff development and Teacher Training partners – The Tommy Flowers SCITT, Enigma Maths Hub, Denbigh School Teaching Alliance, NCCE Computing Hub and the Science Learning Partnership

• Collaboration and shared staffing and recruitment opportunities

• Economies of scale in terms of administration and procurement

• A comprehensive range of Central Support Services

• A competitive management fee, a proportion of which is re-invested for capital and contingency funds

• High quality Governance at Trust level and the opportunity to develop governance at local level based on effective challenge

High quality governance is central to the success of the Denbigh Alliance Trust and all involved work in partnership as critical friends of the Trust providing challenge and accountability.

We have three levels of governance:

Members providing independent oversight of the Trust Board of Trustees setting the strategic direction and policy of the Trust Local Governing Bodies for each school within the Trust

This governance structure is based upon clear lines of responsibility and delegation to encourage effective communication and business, whilst avoiding bureaucracy and duplication. Each school joining the Trust has its own Governing Body, referred to as a ‘Local Governing Body’. The Board of Trustees will delegate responsibility to the Local Governing Bodies and the level of delegation can vary according to each school’s situation.

When a school joins the Trust, discussion will take place about whether any of its governors will sit on the Board of the Trust. It is likely that most governors will continue to use their experience and expertise on the School’s Local Governing Body. The governance structure will develop as the Trust grows. This is the structure for our current family of schools.

The Governance Structure of the Trust

Members

Trust Board

Audit & Risk

Committee

Resources Committee

Denbigh Local Governing Body

Watling Academy Governing Body

Remunerations &

Nominations Committee

Standards Committee

The Trust has a small but very experienced Executive Team with a wealth of expertise in all phases of education. The Trust supports wholeheartedly ‘The Framework for Ethical Leadership in Education’. John Howe is the Chair of the Trust and is very experienced in educational governance. He has been involved with Denbigh School and the Trust for over 20 years.

The Framework for Ethical Leadership in Education

TrustLeaders are trustworthy and reliable

WisdomLeaders use experience, knowledge and insight

KindnessLeaders demonstrate respect, generosity of spirit, understanding and good temper

JusticeLeaders are fair and work for the good of all children

ServiceLeaders are conscientious and dutiful

CourageLeaders work courageously in the best interests of children and young people

OptimismLeaders are positive and encouraging

Trust

LeadershipOptimism

Courage

ServiceJusticeWisdom

HonestyOpenness

KindnessIntegrity

ObjectivityAccountability

Selflessness

The Executive Team and Chair of the Trust

John Howe Chair of the Trust

Sam North Chief Financial Officer

Lizzie Bancroft Executive Associate

Headteacher

Paul Quinton Executive Associate

Headteacher

Andy Squires Executive Headteacher

& CEO

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Our PartnersWe are delighted to be able to off er our schools access to our fi ve presti gious partners. Collecti vely they off er excepti onal conti nuing professional development opportuniti es and give colleagues career enhancing experiences to become facilitator deliverers, mentors, subject studies specialists and project leads.

The Tommy Flowers SCITT Graded as an ‘outstanding’ provider of primary and secondary teacher training in Milton Keynes by Ofsted in December 2017, the Tommy Flowers SCITT provides high-quality teacher training through our primary and secondary PGCE courses and Assessment Only pathways. Working in partnership with schools across Milton Keynes and the surrounding area, our teacher training programmes provide access to outstanding training, mentoring and pastoral care. We develop trainees into excepti onal teachers who develop positi ve atti tudes to learning and behaviour in their students, have strong subject and professional knowledge and engage their classes with enthusiasm and energy. With a 100% employment rate following the completi on of the course, our Newly Qualifi ed Teachers (NQTs), ‘oft en exceed levels of performance expected at such an early stage of their career.’ Ofsted 2017.

The Denbigh Teaching School Alliance Denbigh School was one of the fi rst schools in the country to be awarded the presti gious Teaching School status and the Denbigh Teaching School Alliance off ers a wide range of training and professional development programmes for teachers and other educati onal professionals across Milton Keynes and the surrounding area.

The Enigma Maths HubDenbigh School is home to the Enigma Maths Hub, one of only 37 Hubs nati onally. This is a nati onal initi ati ve to improve the teaching of Mathemati cs and student outcomes across the country. Our Maths Hub provides leadership and CPD acti viti es across Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Luton and Aylesbury Vale. ‘Teaching for Mastery’ features prominently in the professional development opportuniti es off ered by the Hub as well as a rich mix of other projects off ering extended collaborati ve CPD acti viti es across all educati on sectors.

The NCCE Computing Hub The Trust’s Computing Hub is one of only 30 across the country, serving Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire. It provides local, responsive and appropriately tailored support to all computing teachers in state primary and secondary schools and colleges in the area. It is a focal point for local computing CPD and draws upon local expertise to provide a range of opportunities for teachers.

The Science Learning Partnership The Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and South Northants Science Learning Partnership is run through Denbigh School. This is one of 50 Science Learning partnerships that provide Professional Development for Science Teachers across the region in conjunction with STEM learning. STEM learning and the Science Learning Partnership provide on-line, face-face and bespoke CPD opportunities for Primary and Secondary Science teachers and schools.

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The next steps...

If you are interested in becoming part of the Denbigh Alliance Trust please contact Andy Squires, CEO of the Trust on 01908 330507 or email CEO@theDenbighAlliance.org.uk

The Trust will undertake a comprehensive due diligence process on any school wishing to join the Trust and provide the school with the opportunity to explore further the work undertaken by the Denbigh Alliance Trust to ensure that it is the right choice for their organisation.

Chief Executive: Andy Squires BSC Hons PGCE NPQH NLE

Denbigh Alliance Multi Academy Trust, c/o Denbigh School, Burchard Crescent, Shenley Church End, Milton Keynes MK5 6EX

Tel: 01908 330507 Email: CEO@theDenbighalliance.org.uk www.thedenbighalliance.org

The Denbigh Alliance Trust is a registered company (company number 07527108) and an exempt charity.