Our Next Chapter
It is time for the next chapter in the lives of our children to be written. Across our schools and Trust, we share the privilege and responsibility of shaping what that chapter becomes. Through the magic, hope and power of education we can create storylines, plots and characters that inspire lives with greater opportunity and choice.
Yet our world is distracting, with lots of change that tempts us to chase what is not worth having. In a world of change, we should remind ourselves that what carries the greatest value is often that which is timeless and ‘forever true’. As the next chapters are written, we should ground ourselves in why we exist and double down on what we are good at: protecting our attention on delivering the strongest and most enabling education for all children.
Inspiring every child to flourish through an inclusive, all-through education that nurtures opportunity, equity, and agency for life.
To meet our mission, we will prioritise securing higher performance, raising standards, strengthening our belief in what is possible, and shifting our underlying identity towards that of a high-performing Trust. By focusing on what children need and where our expertise lies, we will deliver an inspiring education that enables children’s personal development and delivers strong outcomes that forge keys to unlock the doors in their future.
As we approach a new academic year, the following sections set out the priorities and actions that will guide our next chapter.
Performance-Oriented Trust
We are a performance-oriented Trust: we seek to provide an excellent education and secure outcomes that give our children greater self-agency as they move into adulthood. Our focus on outcomes and the best possible attainment in every stage of education is a powerful lever for greater inclusion, and placing every child as the hero in their story.
We seek higher attainment in every school and year group because strong performance across the Trust creates the capacity and expertise to raise standards further and increase children’s opportunities. We are relentless in helping those who fall behind to catch up and keep up, building greater self-belief and self-confidence. High attainment also supports strong progress, demonstrating the value and dividend that we add across the Trust.
The Art of the Possible
Our beliefs can limit what we see as possible. Too often, they protect us from the risks associated with striving for more. We should engage ourselves and our teams in the art of the possible. We know that greater performance is achievable because it is already evident in several of our schools and teams.
This year, we will continue to raise standards by believing that much more is possible, overcoming context and having the highest expectations of what all children can achieve. The strongest schools unswervingly secure high-quality provision, use assessment intelligently, invest in deliberate practice, know the rules and are brave enough to apply equity to close gaps. We do this because it is why we exist, where our expertise lies and what our children need. It is easier for us to write their next chapter than to rewrite their previous ones.
Our investment in provision
Our work across the Trust is guided by our school improvement triangle. Our significant investment in curriculum, assessment and pedagogy over time is central to our work, overseen by effective leadership and set within strong cultures. These are the main levers for high performance and the areas in which our investments have been made over time. It is the enactment of the curriculum and the use of formative assessment that unlock higher standards and raise attainment.
Performance-oriented Trusts, teams and schools understand when decisive action is required to change trajectories beyond those achieved through normal provision. Lighting escape fires and ‘doing different’ can achieve an alternative future and improve outcomes.
We will also continue to assess the improvement journey of schools and teams against the forming, storming, norming and performing continuum. Most of our schools and teams across the Trust are norming or performing. The strongest schools continually evaluate their performance and refine the norms and approaches that sustain high performance and support further improvement.
Performance-Oriented Inclusion
We recognise that some children carry more than most, have had fewer opportunities and experiences in their early childhood and so need us more. They lack neither the ambition or ability, but they have less capacity, fewer resources and face barriers that tip the odds against them. In difficult times, education has the power to transform lives to gift the outcomes required to level up. The performance and development of these children are the most important measure of our worth. They should find their voice and become the central character in their story.
Our strongest schools increase the life chances of under-resourced children by securing excellent provision with the highest expectations, applying equity to give children what they need and building a culture that closes gaps. Taken together, these approaches tip the odds in favour of disadvantaged children and become embedded in each school’s identity: it is what they do.
Trust Strategic Plan
As we enter Year 2 of the Trust Strategic Plan, Building a High-Performing Trust, we recognise that it takes a whole organisation to create the platform (blue) that enables high performance (green).
Inspiring All-Through Education | 570 Weeks
We will prioritise securing the best start in life for all children, focusing on the quality of provision in these early and formative years as a key lever in our disadvantage strategy. We will seek to secure the best possible provision across the 570 weeks of education by enacting and teaching our shared curriculum and focusing on the effectiveness of our personal development curriculum for all children.
Raising Standards | Applying Equity and Closing Gaps,
We will raise attainment and secure progress in line with our ambition to be a performance-oriented Trust. We are passionate about outcomes for disadvantaged learners and need to continue to close gaps, offering the keys and gifting the agency necessary for those who need us most. We exist to drive up attainment in each phase of education, seeking liberating outcomes for all children. In doing this, we will better meet the needs of all children with SEND.
Standing Tall on our Platform
As a Trust, we continue to build the platform with the conditions, systems and support that colleagues and schools need to focus on the quality of education. We understand that our greatest asset is our colleagues across the Trust, and we will continue to invest in every colleague to ensure they feel empowered and able to inspire lives. We maintain our focus on leadership and strong teams across the Trust as a key lever for improving performance and raising standards. We are committed to ensuring an efficient and effective platform, recognising the need to focus on the quality of communication and connection between key teams.
We will also focus on effective growth as the Trust grows to 40 schools and on using our strong financial position to invest in our future, including digital technology and responsible use of AI to improve the quality, efficiency and reach of our work.
Writing the next chapter | pouring ourselves a cup of ambition
As we venture into the second year of our plan, guided by our mission and values, we should proceed with confidence and greater self-belief, based on what has been achieved by the exceptional work of all colleagues. We will focus on being performance-oriented and raising standards by investing in our core purpose and provision, closing gaps and meeting the needs of those who need us most.
So go, inspire and create the next chapter for your colleagues and our children. Much of our work already advances our mission, yet there is still much to do. The next chapter must create greater opportunity and establish the conditions for every child to flourish. It is on us to forge the keys that open more doors, build character and inspire children with greater opportunity and choice.
You make the difference.
Thank you.
Dan Nicholls | September 2026
Dan Nicholls 