Our Trust
More in about us
— DISCOVER
Why Join us?
The Heart of Mercia Multi-Academy Trust was formed in April 2019. We are extremely proud of what we have achieved in a relatively short period of time including the collaboration and mutual support that takes place between our academies and the strength that comes from being part of a collective.
The Trust currently consists of three sixth form colleges (Hereford, King Edward’s Stourbridge and Worcester) and two high schools (The Chantry and John Kyrle).
Our key focus and priority continues to be ensuring that our students achieve their academic potential. This includes providing excellent opportunities for enrichment and support that ensure they are best prepared to progress to the next stage of their education or career.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much autonomy would each college or school within the Trust retain?
Autonomy is a fundamental characteristic of our Trust. We aim to give each institution as much autonomy as possible. All academies within the Trust would maintain their individual ethos as we think this is a strength of the Trust. All academies who join the Trust, however, should align themselves to our values, ethos and strategic direction.
What are the advantages in joining the Heart of Mercia Multi-Academy Trust?
We feel that additional support, challenge and accountability are essential for maintaining high standards and excellence. We believe that there are clear benefits and advantages of being part of our Trust, including:
- sharing best practice, expertise and resources through collaborative working with the other institutions in the MAT;
- maintaining and developing a shared vision and ethos;
- having opportunities for staff to benefit from working in a larger organisation with access to high quality training, development and career opportunities. The Trust has been shortlisted in the MAT Excellence Awards for the Staff Development opportunities we have provided for our staff;
- succession planning and retaining and developing staff, including at leadership level;
- efficiencies and economies of scale through procurement or co-ordinating central Trust responses to government initiatives or changing educational policy.
The Future of the Heart of Mercia Multi-Academy Trust
We anticipate that our MAT will continue to grow in a planned, gradual and carefully considered way perhaps with other sixth form colleges, high schools and primary schools joining if it is the right thing for the Trust and the institution. As a Trust of five at present, we are already benefitting from the devolved capital funding that comes with being a Trust of this size. This is clearly a benefit to all institutions within the Trust.
Any college or school wishing to join the Trust has to be subject to “due diligence” in accordance with DfE guidance to identify any issues in the educational performance, financial position and conditions of buildings and to ensure that there are no significant liabilities. If approved by Trustees, the final decision on whether a college or school can join our Trust is taken by the DfE Regional Schools Commissioner. A Scheme of Delegation sets out the relationship between Trustees, Local Governing Bodies and the Executive.
What is the structure of the Trust?
The Board of Trustees, which is the overarching body responsible for the whole Trust, would be responsible for strategic aspects, financial planning, strategic staff development and policies. The Local Governing Bodies, each with a board of governors from a variety of backgrounds with relevant skills and knowledge, would be responsible for a wide range of areas covering all aspects of college or school life. The Trust has an approved set of Operating Principles for the Local Governing Body to which each academy would adhere.
The Executive Group sits separately from the Trust and is the key operational body and includes the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer, the Principals or Headteachers of each academy and others with a significant Trust role as required (including quality, curriculum, IT, HR, safeguarding, CPD, premises, health and safety and marketing).
How can colleges or schools find out more about joining our Trust?
If you are a college or school leader who would like an informal, initial discussion with the Heart of Mercia about our values and strategy and whether your future might sit with us, please contact us – (info@heartofmercia.org).
HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT
CENTRAL Areas of Support
Leadership and Quality Assurance
- Progress review meetings with the Chief Executive Officer and membership of the Executive Group for Principals and others with a significant MAT role;
- Support with the recruitment and appointment processes for senior posts and others as required;
- Development opportunities and training for senior and middle managers;
- Quality assurance collaboration across the colleges including quality visits;
- Annual Trust wide training days providing opportunity for collaboration in subject and cross-institution areas and support for CPD and sharing good practice;
- Support with ECT induction, mentoring and quality assurance;
- Support with Ofsted inspections and preparations;
- Trustees’ (and governors’) leadership and training opportunities plus attendance at our annual governance conference;
- A Trust Safeguarding Co-ordinator who works collaboratively with DSL’s at our academies with opportunities for safeguarding training across the Trust;
- Support for local Clerks from the Director of Governance.
Human Resources
The Trust has a HR Director to provide colleges with support and advice to existing HR/Personnel teams. They will also look to provide pragmatic solutions and options to swiftly bring to a successful conclusion performance and other HR issues. All staffing and contractual matters are processed, handled and maintained in confidentiality and with professional integrity.
On joining the Trust information, advice and support will be provided during the transition to academy status (where applicable).
As a member college, advice, guidance and support will be provided in relation to employment law advice, performance and absence management, staff recruitment and restructuring and many other aspects of HR management. The Trust has plans to introduce a fully integrated HR system which will undoubtedly bring significant benefits and is an example of Trust developments.
Finance
Led by the Chief Finance Officer, the central support team will provide assistance with, but not limited to:
- The administration of bank accounts
- Access to financial expertise and training from a range of MAT staff including the Chief Finance Officer and MAT Accountant
- Advice on compliance with the Academy Trust Handbook and the Trust’s financial procedures
- Provision of internal and external audit service
- Processing of all ESFA returns, VAT returns, BACS payments and month and year end procedures
GDPR / Data Protection
The Trust’s Data Protection Officer will provide support to DPO’s in our academies in relation to GDPR policy, ICO registration, audit provision, training, responding to data breaches and subject access requests.
IT
The Central IT Team led by the Trust’s Chief Information Officer will provide support across the academies with ILT strategy, development and implementation.
Support will be available to assist existing and new academies in the transition to core Trust IT services which will facilitate connectivity, communication, information management and collaboration. Advice and guidance is also available in the management and development of IT staff.
- Managing performance, maintenance and accessibility to the network infrastructure
- Printing deployment, management and administration
- System and data backup management
- Disaster recovery process and procedure
- Technical installation and setup
- Service Level Agreement
The Chief Information Officer, supported by the central team, can provide:
- Expert advice and evaluation of new software and technologies to support the delivery of the IT strategy
- Procurement of systems and technologies to support and enable delivery of the strategic plan
- Management of implementation of new systems and technologies
- Training and support for existing and newly acquired applications.
Safeguarding
The Trust’s Safeguarding Co-ordinator will provide guidance and work collaboratively with college DSL’s and their safeguarding teams to enable compliance with Safeguarding legislation and policies, facilitate relevant training and conduct internal audits. There is also support for adopting a whole academy approach to mental health and wellbeing.
Marketing
The Trust’s Marketing Co-ordinator will work collaboratively with marketing teams across the academies to promote the sharing of good practice and to celebrate successes across the Trust. With a responsibility for developing brand awareness of the Trust, the Marketing Co-ordinator can work with teams to ensure that the Trust’s shared ethos and vision is communicated across the academies.
