Welcome to Thedwastre Education Trust
Welcome to Thedwastre Education Trust. We are a high-performing Multi Academy Trust with schools based in Suffolk.
Thedwastre Education Trust is a local multi-academy trust in the heart of Suffolk. Our four village primary schools work very closely together to use the talents within all our schools for the benefit of our pupils. We have recently updated our strategy to reflect the progress we have made over recent years and our focus to ensure all schools in the Trust continue to strive for excellence for all pupils.
Our Trust includes church and community schools that collaborate to achieve excellence for our pupils, staff and communities, providing a broad and balanced education which enables everyone to reach their full potential.
We value every child, parent, volunteer and employee; we aim to ensure all are respected and children show respect to one another, learning to work collaboratively with their peers for mutual benefit. We have high aspirations for all pupils, staff and the communities we serve.
Our core principles are:
Excellence – We strive for excellence in education and have high aspirations for all children
Inclusive – Our schools are inclusive. We welcome diversity and support pupils of all abilities
Aspiration – Our schools have high expectations for all pupils and aspire that all children achieve their potential
Collaborative – Our schools collaborate and actively seek out partnership with like-minded schools for the benefit of all - we know we are stronger together
To see more about how our values influence our work, see the "join us" and "school improvement" sections of this website.
All Thedwastre Education Trust schools remain in control of their curriculum and each is designed to meet the specific needs of their pupils. Our Trust is committed to building on the individuality of each school and welcome both community and church schools. We support strong local governing bodies and ensure that they are actively involved in key decisions about their school. Local governors attend all Trust committees and are regular participants in Board meetings, to ensure we always put children first. Chairs are also invited to meet with the Trust CEO and Chair each term.
We support schools to continuously improve. This is done through supportive Trust staff and collaboration with colleagues from across the Trust. We have recently invested in a Director of School Improvement and are appointing Trust leaders to support safeguarding and SEND.
Wellbeing of all staff is important to us. We provide free access to a wide range of wellbeing services to all staff. Headteachers also have a professional coach with whom they meet on a half termly basis.
Our Trust is a welcoming and supportive Trust and we would very much like to talk to you if you are considering joining a Trust.
Phil Mackay, Chief Executive Officer
Trustee Vacancy
The Trust Board is looking to appoint additional trustees ideally with educational monitoring experience or financial expertise, but more importantly with a passion for ensuring the best outcomes for our children. Over the coming 12-24 months, key focus areas will be looking at strategic opportunities to grow the Trust, expand the Central Trust support and maintain the financial health of the Trust as a whole.
Board governance in education is a strategic commitment which typically involves attending c. six board meetings per year/6-8 hours’ time per month, including membership of one of the Board Committees.
You will be responsible for:
Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent
If you are interested in becoming a Trustee, please get in touch with our Chair, Gary McDonald by emailing chair@thedwastreeducationtrust.org.uk
Governor vacancies
We have vacancies for governors at Woolpit, Thurston and Great Barton. We would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in finding our more.
Local governing bodies act as critical friends and work closely with the school leadership team to ensure the quality of education meets the Trust’s requirements.
If you are interested in either of the above roles, please contact our CEO to arrange an informal chat by email in the first instance - ceo@thedwastreeducationtrust.org.uk If you feel that you have the skills and experience needed to fulfil either role, we will ask you to send us a copy of your CV.