Developing our team
Professional development
The professional learning team support and work with all trust staff to support their professional development.
Areas of support
Trust Central support
The Trust central team is split into primary, secondary and special sectors and each has a highly experienced, successful Learning Community Trust Director whose role is to drive standards through close and effective professional relationships with each academy. Their role is to work alongside academy staff to drive focus areas of the academy, developing leadership, pastoral strategies, personal development and the main focus of quality of education.
Our ‘on the ground’ Learning Community Trust directors gain a true understanding of their academies and only through that knowledge can they accurately assess the priorities and the linked support package.
This team not only focuses on the academic as its joint role is to provide a pastoral and welfare support packages that allows for the foundations for learning. Our Trust welfare team consists of counsellors, educational welfare officers and mentors, alongside brought in services such as speech and language, educational psychologists and social workers to support our wider families and community.
Only through both education and welfare teams working harmoniously can we create the right environment and culture for student learning and staff professional development.
Learning community Trust Talent
The Learning Community Trust recognises the significant talent pool it has within our own settings. Our key driver for academy improvement is the very people who work so effectively within our classrooms, offices and corridors everyday. The ‘shop floor’ lived experience is identified and validated by Trust and then utilised within regular and highly effective collaboration approaches. Dissemination through collaboration model leads to Learning Community Trust staff working together towards shared improvement needs leads to rapid gains.
It is the role of the central and professional learning teams to identify and validate the best practice, promote its place in Trust, disseminate the knowledge and then distribute the support appropriately. Importantly, the Learning Community Trust talent pool used to support the wider trust needs to be celebrated through channels of recognition both within the trust and beyond.
External professional partners
Where high quality support cannot be identified internally for a specific area, the trust uses nationally and internationally respected professionals. These external supporters of our development provide research led approaches but are selected by a proven track record of impact. The trust is proud to be associated with experts such as Tom Sherrington, Natalie Packer and Craig Barton to name but a few.
External colleagues are also deployed to validate a number of key focus areas and provide current position summaries.
Professional learning team
The aim of the professional learning team is to provide the very best training and support packages to all Learning Community Trust employees, that leads to confident, forward thinking and committed staff. Through working together, accessing the very latest research and training, our staff will have the opportunities to grow within our academies and be the leaders of the future.
Co-ordination of best practice identification and dissemination is led by the Professional learning team. Recognising that the best way to create change is through peers, the team liaises effectively with Learning Community Trust talent, driving high quality delivery alongside our external partners.
Learning Community Trust offers a wide range of development opportunities for all staff roles within our academies. These bespoke continuing professional development packages range from one off, responsive training sessions through to employment pathways linked to our people strategy. One of the strengths of the programmes is its intrinsic link with external providers, educational providers and qualifications such as NPQ and National College. These opportunities provide our staff with the confidence to progress within their role and beyond.
The professional learning team’s remit is to meet the needs of all staff from admin teams to Executive Principals.
Example of our professional learning offer
- Bespoke training - Teachers, teaching assistants, middle and senior leaders
- Pastoral - Trauma, restorative, anger management, restraint etc
- Safeguarding - Safeguarding leads, staff and supervision
- Specific admin - Business managers, finance teams, people, and attendance
- Induction - Programme for new staff and staff moving into new roles
- Early careers teacher programme
- Appraisal management
- Health and safety - First aid, health and safety, minibuses
- Governor training and support
- Collaboration events - Trust, local, regional and national events
- Parent programmes
- Annual conferences
- Online resources and newsletters
