The Story of ‘BEST’Setting the Vision & Working Across Schools

What is a Trust?Why ‘go Trust’?

Reflections on Central Beds

• BEST – a natural progression from Learning Communities and the Pyramid working

• A Deputy Head was seconded and paid for by the Upper School for a year

• Endless meetings to explain the Trust and what it means• Established with the Upper, all 3 Middles, and only 6 of

the 18 Lowers.• Employs a CEO and an administrator now.• Immediate successes – the £2 million bid for a shared

services community facility (nursery, police, medical etc)• UTC, Academy support, lots of competitions,

collaborative learning, services,

• Setting a vision – dig-out your NPQH notes!• Involvement of all but ensure ‘action’• A 0-19 school across different sites with

different ethos• Improving the learning journey and transition• Set up a representative board of trustees• Relations with governors and individual

governing bodies• Based on educational decisions

• A Trust is a legal entity that allows you to collaborate within a secure framework

• Removal of personal relationships

• MUST go Foundation

• Trust is reversible

• How has Trust helped us? Why go Trust?• Think not of what the Trust can do for you..• Bids / Partnerships / Collaboration / Enterprise – Multi-

Services block, Teaching School, UTC, PRU, Extended Schools, Studio Theatre, Laptop classroom, Old Lower School, Academy solicitors / support, Co-op links,

• Shared staffing – Data, Languages, Supply, Drama, across Middle & Upper and across Middles (re-deployment of our ASTs)

• Morally, the right thing for our pupils?

• Central Beds and BEST reflections…• Top down or cross-phase?• The take-over?• Tangible and quick wins…• The difference in language and priorities• Governance and role of governors• Use it!• Base major decisions around it…