Collaboration

The Westbrook Trust is made up of a community of schools that aim to ‘achieve together’. We embrace the chance to collaborate within and beyond our Trust because we strongly believe that we all benefit and learn from the opportunities this brings.

The Westbrook Trust has a proven track record of supporting improvement through collaboration in other primary schools. The Trust is mindful that this is a two-way process and that engaging in meaningful collaboration supports reflection and improvement in our Trust.   We are committed to developing a supportive learning community that leads to everyone 'achieving together'.

We recognise that Trusts, schools and individuals are likely to want to collaborate in different ways to meet their individual needs and maximise the impact in their setting.  Some different options for collaboration are outlined below.

Professional Development Opportunities

We engage in regular professional development activities internally and externally and welcome other schools and Trusts to participate with us and add to the richness of the learning opportunities and activities. They are free for schools to engage in and each activity has a shared agreement for those that are taking part.  Examples include:

• Subject Leadership Development
• Moderation (alongside trained moderators)
• Teaching Pedagogy
• Governor Training
• Leadership Development

 ‘This was a great opportunity to collaborate with staff from other schools to share good practice and ideas.’ CPD Delegate

School-to-School Support

The Trust is committed to supporting schools in areas where both parties agree that it will lead to real impact. When engaging in school-to-school support The Trust will always act in accordance with its values and its aim to ‘achieve together’ so that the support is collaborative and leads to sustainable impact.   

'The Westbrook Trust offers highly effective support to the school. The trust has worked with firm purpose to stabilise the school.'  Ofsted 2018

The Trust has a number of staff who were previously designated as Local and School Leaders of Education through the local teaching school who are available to help with school improvement.

Trust Partnership

Governing Bodies and Head Teachers may wish to explore the benefits of being part of an academy trust. A Trust Partnership is a time-limited way for a school to benefit from trialling membership in an academy trust and explore how a permanent arrangement might work. A Trust Partnership is a sector-led arrangement where an academy trust works with a school, realising the benefits of a formal relationship to access the academy trust’s networks and services at an agreed cost through a service charge. It can be a powerful school improvement tool providing quick and accessible support from a strong trust.

The DfE has released guidance for schools and Trust considering entering a Trust Partnership:

Trust Partnerships: Guidance for academy trusts and prospective joiners

For further information regarding collaborative work, please contact Steph England at 01634 852981 x321 / sengland@thewestbrooktrust.org