We are deeply committed to enhancing the Christian Foundation of all our Church Schools within the Trust to enable all people to flourish. As a mixed MAT we believe we are an inclusive community who work together for all our children and young people 2 to 18 years old. Our Church Schools are part of the Lichfield Diocese, and we have a strong partnership with the Board of Education.
The Church of England vision for Education is deeply Christian and seeks to serve the common good. We believe that the vision of our Trust of ‘Achievement Through Caring’ ensures that all our church schools are supported to live out this vision.
We work together with the Diocese of Lichfield in a regular and meaningful way we support our schools through:
We have a variety of expertise across the Trust to support Church Schools. Our schools are invested in their communities across Shropshire.
Within the Marches Multi-Academy Trust, the school vision is respected, providing a strong example of success to other schools. Extensive investment in the school site ensures multiple opportunities for pupils to interact with each other both inside and outside. Governors and trust leaders monitor the impact of the vision regularly, enabling pupils to grow. Adults are also empowered through high quality professional development, supporting the school community to flourish.
At Oakmeadow, we are very proud of our pupils, our staff and to be a part of The Marches Academy Trust and of our foundations as a Church of England primary. The Marches Academy Trust is a values-based trust which drew us to become part of this as they reflect our own school Christian values. The Trust values underpin the structures, processes and actions of the organisation with a mission of supporting every individual succeeding and reaching their potential through living their values. This absolutely resonates and links with our own vision.
Trust executives and Trustees have developed roles in order to be present in school and support us with our vision on a regular basis. School benefits from this, as experience is brought to school from other leaders with similar goals and aims. Trust executives also work within Church of England schools and can share knowledge and experience to enrich our offer here at Oakmeadow. We now have a link executive for Christian Distinctiveness who is supporting school leaders greatly in driving this element – the three Church of England schools have peer support visits to share good practice, we also have reviews focusing on Christian Distinctiveness. As a team we are also developing trust policies for spirituality, collective worship and RE.
The Trust listen well, supporting our agenda of enabling all pupils and adults to flourish. They initiate a ‘We Thrive’ survey every year to ensure the voice of staff is heard and acted upon. Each school also has a clear line management system so staff in all departments have somebody at the trust that they can seek support from. They have also provided leadership coaches for all Headteachers which supports our wellbeing.
The Trust are advocates of creating agents of change, within staff and pupils. The understand the pivotal role they play in supporting schools with this agenda. The Trust One voice project exists in order to bring pupils together to explore issues that are important to them. Trust representatives meet with them regularly to enhance the project. Trust initiated CPD has focused on belonging and content related on Chistian Distinctiveness is valued. We feel supported as a Church of England school and very much benefit from the collaboration within the Trust.
