Earlier this year, we informed you that the six special schools under the Parallel Learning Trust (PLT), including Victory Park Academy, are set to transfer to new academy trusts. This decision aims to ensure continuous improvement across all our schools.
Over the past few months, we have been in discussions with the Thinking Schools Academy Trust (TSAT). These discussions have been positive, leading the Trustees to initiate a formal consultation starting today and ending on 14th March 2025.
The Trustees carefully evaluated the strengths of various academy trusts interested in Victory Park. They aimed to ensure that the new trust would align with Victory Park in terms of ethos, culture, and vision. After thorough discussions, they concluded that joining Thinking Schools would be in the best interests of Victory Park Academy’s pupils, their families, and the staff. Additionally, two other PLT schools, Sutton House Academy and Ramsden Hall Academy, are also set to transfer to Thinking Schools.
Thinking Schools is recognised as one of the strongest trusts in the country. It comprises a family of schools across the South of England, including Essex, united by a common goal of providing transformative education to the children and young people it serves.
Thinking Schools Academy Trust is a highly successful Multi-Academy Trust operating across the south coast of England, with hubs in Medway, Kent, Portsmouth, and Plymouth. The Trust oversees 26 schools, encompassing nursery, primary, secondary, and alternative provision education. Their educational principles are grounded in the Thinking Schools research model from Exeter University, which is internationally renowned for its expertise in cognitive teaching and learning.
The Trust has expanded at the request of the government’s Regional Schools Commissioner and has welcomed a variety of secondary and alternative provision schools over the years. They prioritise shared practice and collaboration in all their decisions, truly transforming life chances for their students.
We are delighted that the next chapter in Victory Park’s story will be with a organisation that prioritises the development of children and young people. We hope you share our excitement.
Over the past term, we have met with TSAT colleagues and had the opportunity to raise questions directly with them. Both parties have been conducting due diligence behind the scenes, and no significant concerns have been identified to date.
Therefore, the academy trustees wish to run a full stakeholder consultation process. We encourage you to participate alongside our students and staff. The formal consultation process is web-based and can be accessed via the button below:
Complete our Consultation Survey
Please be assured that we are confident this is the right direction for our students, staff, and wider community, both now and in the future.
Thank you for your continued support.
We are Transforming Life Chances at The Thinking Schools Academy Trust
Every young person in our community deserves to have the best opportunities at life regardless of their individual circumstances.
Education is the key to accessing these opportunities and we support and develop every member of our community to:
- Think about their Thinking
- Be their Best self
- Shape their Success
In this way Thinking Schools Academy Trust transforms life chances.
At the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, we are immensely proud of what it means to be a family of schools that are stronger together.
As a Trust, we foster collaboration among our schools, enriching both staff and students through shared expertise. Our inclusive culture encourages students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to grow together.
We encourage you to read our staff case studies, showcasing the stories that define who we are and what we stand for.
Click the button below to hear from Steven Hulme, Headteacher of Alternative Provision School, Lodestar Academy, who join our Trust in September 2023.
We welcome all schools to our Trust family and look forward to getting to know their staff, students and community so that we can work together to create a brighter future.
For schools interested in joining the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, we’ve created this step-by-step timeline of events outlining the different actions to be taken before the date of transfer.
Our team will support you throughout the process, we work with you to establish a timeline that is suitable for you and us.
Are you considering joining a Multi-Academy Trust?
We understand that joining a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) is a significant decision for your school, and it often comes with a lot of questions. Whether you’re a school leader, teacher, support staff, or part of the community, you may be wondering about the changes, opportunities and benefits that come with being part of a MAT. We want to make the process as transparent and straightforward as possible.
We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions to help you feel confident about what it means to join Thinking Schools Academy Trust.
Please see below:
The majority of schools who have joined us have kept their name, however some have chosen to change their name due a variety of reasons. Any decisions would be made by your Headteacher.
The governors of your school will be given the opportunity to join the new Academy Governing Board (AGB) who will work with the Regional Governing Board (RGB) on school governance. The processes they follow will become aligned with those in place at TSAT. We have a friendly team of governance experts who will support this transition and provide any necessary training.
Nothing! Some Heads bring their school into our Trust ahead of their retirement with plans to retire shortly after. However most stay exactly the same and get to utilise the network of 20+ strong Heads in our family of schools. Headteachers will have line management with the Regional Director for the hub that their school will join.
Yes, this is a requirement of joining our MAT. However, the timescales in which your schools adopts this is down to your leadership team. Our Head of Thinking, Teaching and Learning will arrange to meet with SLT within the first two terms of joining to outline an appropriate timeline that meets the schools priorities to embark on the Thinking Journey. In most cases, schools decide to embrace their Thinking Journey by the half way mark of their first academic year as a member of the Trust.
Yes, we would encourage schools to maintain their connections within the local area alongside the new connections within our organisation.
At TSAT we use Microsoft Office 365 across the organisation and within the classroom. All schools will need to be Microsoft users to access the collaborative elements of being a member. If your school is not a Microsoft school, we will put a detailed project plan in place complete with training to work towards migrating the school to Microsoft over time.
The school’s Headteacher and Business Manager will be the key members of staff involved in the conversion process. We are conscious of the workload for these members of staff and always create the project plan for the process according to their needs.
Our Head of Onboarding will work with the Headteacher and Business Manager to identify the priorities for onboarding across the services and education. We break the onboarding process down into three areas: Trust Integration, Education Integration and Central Services Integration. Once the school has joined the support continues for as long as required until the school considers itself a ‘Trust school’.