About the trust
The trust formed in April 2020 and now has three schools. We believe that how we work together makes us stand out. Our Trust is passionate about securing the future of quality all through education in the Forest of Dean. We acknowledge the potential sustainability risks for rural schools and see our Trust as instrumental in ensuring these vital schools survive.
We place quality teaching at the heart of all we do and raise aspirations for young people and teachers in all our schools. The Trust applies proven strategies to raising the quality of teaching, outcomes, leadership and management to all schools. We demonstrate that through effective leadership and management, all of our schools can thrive and provide beacons of high standards in our wider community.
All of our schools work on building CULTURES
Our school improvement model sees experts working across a two year programme where we select certain years in focus each half term and curriculum areas each half term. Led by two senior leaders and across schools, these specific foci enable excellent support for teachers (especially non specialists in primary) and a clearly manageable way of looking at each year group and not just those that are facing examinations. Evidence of the impact can be seen in the improvements in outcomes at Drybrook.
Following this half termly model allows us to have greater insight into understanding the children in our schools (a clear focus on PP and SEN), we observe teaching and reflect on quality learning and developing teamwork across staff in the trust. Staff have already benefited from being in the trust with changes of roles, better CPD and in same cases the chance to learn with colleagues they would not have worked for before.
We feel this approach allows schools to retain their uniqueness, but also has a spine of easily evaluated systems and structures. One of these is a relentless focus on attendance (which is well above national averages in all school across the trust). It is led by and develops experts in all areas and behind all of this, sees a trust wide approach to ensure that all schools have the very best safeguarding practice.