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The Rochester Diocesan Multi Academy Trust

Corporate Business Plan 2014 - 2017

A distinctive educational

experience driven by high

expectations

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Contents

Foreword Page 3

Introduction Page 4

Our vision, mission & values Page 5

Purpose of the Trust Page 6

Leadership & governance Page 7

Earned autonomy Page 8

School improvement strategy Page 9 - 10

Strategic & political context Page 11 - 12

3 year objectives Page 13

One year priorities Page 14

Developing & growing RDAT Page 14

Joining RDAT—Attracting schools Page 15

RDAT services Page 16

Activity tables Page 18 - 20

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Foreword

I am delighted to introduce the Corporate Business Plan for the Rochester Diocesan Academy Trust. The Trust was set up on the initiative of the Rochester Diocesan Board of Education in order to provide an opportunity for schools who wish to maintain their links with the Diocese of Rochester, and their identity as Church of England schools, to become academies in the context of a cohesive group of like-minded schools.

The Trust aims to enable Church of England schools in the Diocese of Rochester to secure their future as academies. Greater autonomy for schools should not, in our view, mean greater isolation. As the educational landscape is changing at an unprecedented pace, leading in particular to a marked reduction in the role and capacity of local authorities, the Trust aims to provide a supportive and collaborative context in which our schools can continue to thrive into the future.

That support takes many forms. Schools are first and foremost for education, so it is right that at the heart of what we do is a focus on school improvement, staff development, and enabling our young people to excel. We support schools in meeting the challenges of rising expectations through mutually supportive intervention and training. Secondly, the Trust takes responsibility for financial and resource management, so that schools can concentrate on what matters: the education of young people. And thirdly, because all our schools are Church of England schools, we support schools in the nurturing of the distinctive ethos which contributes so powerfully to the development of our students as rounded and balanced young people poised to make a contribution to society.

The ethos of the Trust is collaborative and participative. Every individual school has a voice, though the Trust’s open and transparent governance, in the key decisions which affect each school. Moreover, the Trust aims to value the healthy diversity which exists in our Church school family, and we actively encourage each school which decides to join the Trust to maintain and further develop its own distinctive culture and identity.

I hope that that pages which follow give you a clearer idea of the way in which the Trust puts these objectives into

practice.

Chair

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Introduction:

I am very pleased to introduce the first Rochester Diocesan Academy Trust Corporate Business Plan covering the period 2014 – 2017. This plan sets out our 3 year strategic objectives including our priorities for 2014 – 2015.

The Board of RDAT is determined to see a high performing Multi Academy Trust that delivers the very best educational experience for pupils at both primary and secondary level. The changing educational landscape continues at a fast pace with more schools converting to academies. This document sets out how we will plan, guide support and improve our academies (and schools that are yet to join) across our diverse geographical area that we operate, ensuring there is a clear focus on improving leadership & governance, teaching & learning and raising standards.

We have a cost effective organisation and a business model that delivers efficiency, effectiveness and economies of scale in order to free up more resources for the front line.

I am very grateful for a strong Board of Directors who provide effective support and challenge required to ensure that RDAT

is a good employer, and as a Multi Academy Trust an effective home for our academies with the leadership and track record

to succeed.

It’s often said that children get one chance of education. Our role at RDAT is to ensure that our academies provide the

highest standards to enable this.

I look forward to working with you to deliver this plan.

Ayub Khan

Chief Executive

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The Rochester Diocesan Academy Trust was set up in 2012 and is a Charitable Trust and Company Limited

by Guarantee.

Our Vision is:

Educational excellence with a strong Christian ethos where every pupil is able to realise their full potential

and is prepared for life

Our Mission is:

To support and encourage the work of academies in our Trust promoting Christian distinctiveness through

excellent education of children and young people.

Our Values:

To develop a strong culture of professional development amongst our teaching staff as the quality of education in our academies can never exceed the quality of its teachers.

To ensure that our academies are centres of excellence with a focus on the nurture and achievement of all their members

To Promote high quality professional development and encourage mutual support in the pursuit of effective teaching and good student progress

To develop future and aspirational thinking based on our educational heritage and to make use of the latest research in pedagogy and child development

To foster, maintain and celebrate Christian distinctiveness in our schools

To recognise and enable those who often remain invisible, through ethnic or cultural disadvantage, or through disability or poverty

To ensure our academies have a particular vocation to the least advantaged to enable them through education to change their lives

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Purpose of the Trust: The purpose of the Trust is to maintain good and outstanding schools and ensure the rapid improvement of Church schools which need support now (and in the future) and to act as a vehicle for enabling the sharing of best practice and economies of scale to be achieved across the group of academies. The Trust will act as the lead sponsor for any Church school within the Diocese of Rochester who wishes to become an academy or for Church schools which are being directed to become sponsored academies by the Department of Education.

The behaviours we expect to see: We encourage strong and capable leaders We enable our people to excel to provide outstanding education

We build trust and respect across our academies

As a Trust, the way we wish to grow is to develop:

Long term relationships in which there is an opportunity for continuous improvement

The principles by which we will manage the organisation: Openness to build trust, be transparent, sharpen accountability and drive improvement

We will operate a simple efficient low cost organisation

We operate an effective & strong governance framework

Tight control of our resources to achieve economies, efficiencies and effectiveness across our operations

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Leadership & Governance: As a charitable Trust our Board ensure that they comply with charity and company law requirements. The Board of RDAT has two core functions and that is to set the strategic direction of the organisation and ensure financial probity. As a Multi Academy Trust, the Board of RDAT is responsible for all of the academies in the Trust. We do this by delegating functions to the Local Governing Body of each academy through a Scheme of delegation.

The health and performance of organisations rests with leadership.

21st

century leadership with

the best leading the best

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Earned Autonomy:

The Board believes that best results will be achieved when each school’s Local Governing Body receives a level of responsibility and autonomy appropriate to its specific circumstances. Where the school is in an Ofsted category, there will be close supervision of the school by RDAT through its Officers. Where a school is Good or Outstanding, minimal day-to-day supervision by RDAT is needed and the LGB will operate with maximum autonomy.

For governing bodies to carry out their role effectively, governors must be:

Prepared and equipped to take their responsibilities seriously.

Acknowledged by the lead professionals in the schools and accountable to the Trust Board

Supported by the appropriate authorities in that task.

Willing and able to monitor and review their own performance. We would expect that the core business of each Local Governing Body to be:

Reviewing and monitoring the Academy Improvement Plan

Monitoring and reviewing Progress & Attainment

Financial Accountability. Making sure that the budget is on track and money is spent well

Reviewing and monitoring the Curriculum

Autonomy with accountability not

structures

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A Legacy for Tomorrow’s Generation The Rochester Diocesan Multi Academy Trust exists to enable Church of England academies to preserve and nurture their ethos and to achieve educational excellence for all students through mutual support and challenge. The Trust is committed to ensuring that all children in our schools, particularly the least advantaged, receive excellent teaching and make progress which matches the best. High quality professional development for teachers and school leaders at all levels lies at the heart of our approach, and we encourage teachers and students to take pride in aspiration and success. Opportunities for learning outside the curriculum which encourage wider interests and help support the development of young people’s character; values and resilience are also strongly promoted.

An RDAT Lasting Legacy A school led system ensures schools have strong networks and a strong voice in their own future. Our school improvement approach will help you build strong capacity to improve from within and a culture that looks outward and never stops trying to be better. Schools which join our Trust are able to help shape our work and benefit both from the support they receive and the opportunities for school improvement they are able to offer.

A Culture of Collaboration Leads More Easily to Success School autonomy should not mean schools working in isolation from each other. On the contrary, our academies, though independent from Local Authorities, have a strong commitment to each other so that individual schools and the family of schools grow and improve through working together.

School Improvement Strategy

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School Improvement Strategy: We will start by getting to know our academies. This will include data analysis, looking at all documentation including RAISE online and Ofsted reports and undertaking an in-school audit of provision. An integrated approach that will be done alongside the academy, taking full account of their own self-evaluation and identified priorities. We will also establish the academy’s own areas of strength and expertise that can be shared across RDAT and in particular, the skills of staff within the academy.

Our academies will have access to shared services provided by the Trust. Where academies are not already “good” or “outstanding” RDAT will facilitate a high quality, bespoke package of support.

Academy Challenge Partner:

A challenge partner (similar to a school improvement partner) will be allocated who will be responsible for quality assuring any support given to the academy. For our “good” and “outstanding” academies we will encourage and facilitate further development and also engage the academy in delivering school to school support within our family of RDAT academies. This will provide excellent opportunities for leadership development for key personnel in those academies. Links will be developed and high quality CPD will be organised. This partnership work is fundamental to our ethos within RDAT.

Our academy challenge partner will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the performance of support offered to academies as well as the performance of the academies themselves. This will be reported to the Board regularly.

High performing sponsors have protocols for taking control of failing schools. Their action is always swift and assertive. DfE 2014

All academies will be judged good or

outstanding by both Ofsted & SIAM’s

within 2 years of joining RDAT

All teaching within our academies will be

good or better

Progress and attainment in our academies

will not only exceed floor targets but will be

comparable with the very best for pupil

progress and outcomes

Our academies will demonstrate good

leadership including governance and this

inspirational leadership will be shared

across academies

Our academies will be able to accurately

self evaluate and will have a high culture of

continued improvement and high aspiration

High quality CPD of staff will mean our

academies will attract and retain the very

best teachers

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Strategic & Political Context: The Academies Act 2010 enabled more schools to become academies, and the Education Act 2011 has increased the powers of the Secretary of

State to intervene in poorly performing schools and require these to become academies. The 2011 Act creates a presumption that all new schools

will be academies or free schools.

The Geography & Communities we Serve:

The Trust operates across a diverse geographical area covering Medway and the London Boroughs of Bromley, Bexley & Kent County Council.

Medway:

Medway came into existence as a unitary authority in 1998, located on the southern bank of the River Thames bordered by Kent in the east,

south and west and bounded by the river to the north.

Medway has substantial infrastructure in place and immediate access to green open space and areas of outstanding natural beauty. It also

forms part of the largest regeneration project in Western Europe, the Thames Gateway.

In recent years, as part of the Thames Gateway regeneration area, Medway has undergone extensive regeneration. This will include the only

new settlement in the Thames Gateway at Lodge Hill, Chattenden, which will accommodate approximately 5000 homes. This development will

include new school provision.

Overall Medway is not a deprived area and is ranked 150th most deprived local authority area out of 354 in England, but it has higher levels of deprivation than neighbouring local authorities in Kent and the South East and at ward level pockets of deprivation co-exist with affluent neigh-bourhoods. There are some heavily populated urban and residential areas, but these are never more than half an hour away from rural farm-land and village communities.

According to Medway’s mid-2007 to mid-2008 population estimates has predicted a population of 253,500. Of those approximately 66,200 are

children and young people (aged between 0 - 19 years). It is forecast that Medway’s overall population will increase by nearly 5% by the year

2020

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Bromley:

Bromley is situated in south-east, outer London and is notable for being the largest borough in London, The borough shares borders with

Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley to the north, Southwark and Lambeth to the north west, Croydon to the west; and the counties of Surrey to

the south and Kent to the south east. Major areas of settlement within Bromley include Beckenham, Penge, Orpington, Biggin Hill and

Chislehurst as well as Bromley itself.

With only around 16% of its population “non-White,” Bromley also has a far less ethnically diverse population than most other London

boroughs, although a distinctive group within the borough is a settled traveller community in St Mary Cray in the east of the borough. With an

estimated 2,000 members, this is the largest such community in Britain and one of the largest in Europe

Bexley:

Bexley is situated in the South East of London and covers an area of 23 square miles with an estimated population of 232,000. Bexley borders the Thames to the north, the boroughs of Greenwich to the west and Bromley to the south and the County of Kent to the east.

The borough has one Strategic Town Centre Bexleyheath, and has four major district centres – Crayford, Erith, Sidcup and Welling. The borough is suburban in nature and consists of 21 electoral wards.

The number of children in Bexley increased by 7% from 56,135 in 2001 to 60,000 in 2011. There was a 14% increase in children aged 0-4 years and a 21% increase for 15-19year olds.

Kent:

is in the southeastern corner of England. It borders the River Thames and the North Sea to the north, and the Straits of Dover and the English

Channel to the south

At the 2001 UK census Kent, including Medway, had 1,329,718 residents and 646,308 households, of which 1,329,718 residents and 546,742 households were within the administrative boundaries. Of those households, 48.9% were married couples living together, 9.0% were co-habiting couples and 8.7% were lone parents; 28.0% of households consisted of individuals, 14.6% had someone of pensionable age living alone, and 30.4% included children aged under 16 or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males.

The 2011 census showed the ethnicity of Kent to be 89.1% White British, 4.6% other White, 1.6% South Asian and 1.1% Black

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Corporate objectives 2014 - 2017 As a Multi Academy Trust we have clear strategic aims built on our mission and values. Our three year

corporate business plan sets out the following objectives to ensure that as a Trust, the public, parents and

stakeholders have confidence in our approach. We aim to deliver the best in:

Corporate Governance:

To ensure that the Board of Directors of RDAT acts on behalf of its moral and legal owners in the best interests of

the Trust, governing lawfully in accordance with its Articles of Association and having governance arrangements

that demonstrate legitimate and visionary leadership, clarity of governing and managerial relationships, effective

oversight, adequate support structures for sustainability and to achieve the greatest possible economies.

School Improvement - Teaching & Learning:

To ensure that our academies provide the very best Teaching in order to promote and provide high quality

learning for our children and young people and that there is support in place for Teachers to achieve this and

make a difference for our pupils.

Continued Professional Development:

To implement a CPD programme for our academies to ensure that our staff have the right skills to further raise

standards deliver good teaching and learning and disseminate good practice to ensure the rapid improvement

Quality Assurance:

To ensure that there is a rigorous and robust programme of Quality Assurance that helps to support teachers,

build expertise and capacity and raise standards in our academies to deliver positive outcomes for pupils.

Integrated Support & Shared Services:

To ensure that the Trust has business arrangements that are efficient and effective and enables it to deliver on its

commitments to grow and prosper and deliver value for money across all of our operations. Delivering best

practice, minimisation of risk and for management of resources to be concentrated to the front line of our

academies.

VALUES

3 YEAR OBJECTIVES

MISSION

INDIVIDUAL STAFF PLANS

1 YEAR PRIORITY ACTIVITIES:

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Objectives 2014—2015:

On our journey to deliver against the 3 year corporate objectives in 2014 -15 we will focus on the following:

1. Enhancing the governance of the RDAT Board

2. Improving the local governing body to ensure better performing academies

3. School improvement and effectiveness

4. Financial management ,business efficiencies & effectiveness

A detailed set of activity tables at the end of this document provides further information on the key stages of

delivery against our one year objectives.

Developing & Growing RDAT Central Operations:

A key strategy is to promote and develop the Trust and the services we offer to a wider cohort of schools.

This means that our academies can focus on improving Teaching & Learning and delivering educational

excellence. We will work across a range of partnerships including neighbouring Diocesan Multi Academy

Trusts, and other partners to share good practice and jointly procure services to bring about better value for

money and economies of scale.

Our approach will be to:

Identify the key services required by schools joining the RDAT and develop clear specifications for

commissioning such services.

Develop a prospectus detailing a range of approved and trusted providers and services to support our

academies

Work closely with the Diocesan Board of Education and other partners to understand the range of

solutions they can support their schools with, but continue to develop the clear distinction between the

role of the RDAT and the other work of the Diocese.

Develop and document our offer and entry criteria to each type of school likely to consider joining the

RDAT

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Joining a forward looking Multi Academy Trust - Attracting Schools

A key aim of RDAT is to have high performing schools as part of our family of academies. We accept that

each school will be at a different starting point in their journey of improvement and we will work

collaboratively to achieve our objective.

Our improvement approach is for schools to support schools and to achieve this we aim to attract Good or

Outstanding schools into our Trust. Our engagement of these schools will focus on a two core approach:

1. Communicating the benefits of being part of RDAT

2. Proactive engagement with the Trust Board

In discussion with the Diocesan Board of Education, we will work together to agree which schools will benefit

from joining the Trust. These schools will typically be those that are performing well (i.e. Good or

Outstanding) but may not have the capacity to achieve greater flexibility in driving forward improvements in

non-teaching activities. The infrastructure of the Trust will take away the burden on schools to manage

support services and allow them to focus on effective teaching and learning as well as having the

opportunity to deliver school to school support across our family of academies. For these types of schools

we will also offer the following as a way of attracting them into our Trust.

A flexible scheme of delegation for their LGB to continue to lead and manage the school

A chance to generate income & lead our school improvement by offering school to school support

CPD for all staff

An opportunity for a member of the LGB to join the main Trust Board

Free licences for PS financial services to manage school finances

Stability in a fast changing educational landscape

Access to shared services & economies of scale

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Our Services:

Managing academies brings financial challenges and responsibilities that would not be considered within a local authority, our cost effective infrastructure eases the burden on our academies. We provide the following services

Preparing financial statements in line with the Department for Education (DfE) and Education Funding Agency (EFA) requirements

VAT returns

Taxation advice

Responsible officer reporting

Budget preparation and monitoring

Monthly/Quarterly management accounts

Software and processes training for school finance staff

Monthly/Quarterly management accounts

Academy Conversion from start to completion

Property management & asset management

HR support & consultancy

We also offer school improvement services and high quality professional mentoring for Head Teachers

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Activity Table 1

Priority 2014—15 What will we do Lead Timescale What will success look like Which 3 year

objective will this meet

Enhancing the governance of the RDAT Board

Agree a 3 year corporate Business Plan for the period 2014 – 2017 to include one year progress measures Board meets six times per year Board implements and resources subcom-mittees: Finance & Audit Committee Performance & Standards Committee Board appraisal is implemented Skills gaps analysed and recruitment process agreed

CEO

Chair

CEO

CEO CEO

Chair

Chair/CEO

September 14 On going November 14 November 14 February 15 April 15

The Board of directors are supported ensuring that a framework is established and maintained for optimising the employment of all the resources available to the Trust to enable it to meet its business and financial objectives The RDAT Board fully understands the management of risk to the Trust and has in place mitigating actions to tolerate and control such risks RDAT Board is continually refreshed with the right skill set to drive forward the organisation

Corporate Governance

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Activity Table 2

Priority 2014—15 What will we do Lead Timescale What will success look like Which 3 year objective will

this meet

Improving our Local Governing Bodies to ensure better performing academies

Governors are recruited and developed. Agree a scheme of delegation to ensure that the Governing body is able to function & supports and challenges the Head Teacher to deliver outstanding education Broker support from approved organisations such as the NCSL, NGA to provide on-going training and support, in particular to the Chair of the LGB Ensure that Local Governing Bodies provide regular reports to the RDAT Board on the performance of the academy CEO & RDAT Board Members attend at least one LGB per academy and that minutes of meetings are distributed to the RDAT Board

Chair/CEO

CEO

CEO

COG

RDAT Board

On going Prior to each conversion February 15 Termly Termly

Local Governing Bodies have the right balance of skills and experience along with clear plans & processes in place to effectively carry out their role LGB’s take greater ownership of accountability are more open and transparent acknowledging individual and collective accountability to the RDAT Board. Pupil’s parents and the local community play an active part in school. LGB’s provide first level scrutiny and chal-lenge on behalf of Trust Directors

Corporate Governance School Improvement Teaching & Learning Continued Professional Development

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Activity Table 3

Priority 2014—15 What will we do Lead Timescale What will success look like Which 3 year objective will

this meet

School improvement & effectiveness

Implement the RDAT Academy Improvement Strategy Assign the School Improvement Challenge Adviser to work with each academy Each academy prior to joining the Trust will undergo a school performance review to assess the current position of Teaching & Learning and performance against pupil progress Each academy produces a robust self-evaluation procedure to ensure that judgements of school performance are accurate and highlight strengths and development needs Undertake an audit of leadership skills and expertise within each academy and across the academy group to identify strengths and development areas Provide coaching and mentoring programmes

CEO

CEO

CEO

COG

RDAT Board

CEO

September 14 September 14 Prior to conversion September 14 March 15 When required

All academies will be judged good or outstanding by both Ofsted and by SIAMs within 2 years All teaching within our academies will be good or better. Progress and attainment in our academies will not only exceed floor targets but will be com-parable with the very best for pupil progress and outcomes Our academies will demonstrate good leadership, including governance and this inspirational leadership will be shared across academies Our academies will be able to accurately self-evaluate and will have a culture of continued improvement and high aspiration High quality professional development of staff will mean that our academies will attract and retain the very best teachers

School Improvement Teaching & Learning Continued Professional Development Corporate Governance

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Activity Table 4

Priority 2014 - 15 What will we do Lead Timescale What will success look like Which 3 year objective will

this meet

Financial management business efficiencies & effectiveness

Implement a framework of financial planning, treasury management, systems to enable the proper management of the financial resources within the organisation Set a realistic service support grant contribution for each academy Implement PS Financials for the MAT & Schools Specify & procure School Improvement Services for schools in & outside of the MAT We will consolidate each academy’s accounts and support academy Business managers to ensure they comply with RDAT & DfE finance regulations

HoF

RDAT Board

HoF

HoF/CEO

HoF

October 14 Prior to each conversion September 14 On going As per DfE cycle

Business management structures, systems and ways of working enable trust resources (whether finance, staff, buildings, systems or information) are primarily directed to supporting the leaner and not back offices or administrative activities. All commissioned services whether from third parties or the Trust staff have added value over time to the learner and to the business ensuring they are effective, efficient and avoid duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy.

Corporate Governance Integrated Support & Shared Services

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