Join Our Trust
DSAT CEO note to any school interested in joining a Multi Academy Trust.
If you are reading this and you are considering joining a Multi Academy Trust, then we hope you are inspired by our website to consider joining DSAT. We are a thriving, friendly trust who hold children at the heart of every decision we make. Our school leaders work incredibly well together to share expertise while at the same time maintaining those special characteristics which make each school individual. DSAT is a great team to be a part of.
Originally a small group of schools within the Diocese of Sheffield who chose to convert to academy status between 2013 and 2015, we have grown over the years to include church schools and maintained schools across South Yorkshire. We are currently a trust of 17 schools, all diverse and from a range of contexts: all unique. It is because of this uniqueness that we celebrate individual school identities. We do not have a ‘one size fits all’ curriculum offer, for example, or a replicated behaviour policy across all schools. Each school is able to decide on the best curriculum and behaviour approach for their own context, and our role as a trust is to support each school to help make their chosen approach be the best it can be.
Having met with many Head Teachers, Governing Bodies and parents during consultation meetings, I am always asked one question. What will happen to our school uniform? To the casual observer this could look like an unimportant question, but it actually gets to the really serious question: “If I join your MAT, will this school lose its identity?” The answer is a resounding no. This line of enquiry strikes to the heart of what DSAT stands for.
What binds DSAT, and what is common across all our schools, is high standards for quality of education and an aspiration that school should be a happy and safe place where each child reaches their own potential. A high performing school must deliver for everyone. Ultimately, to join DSAT is to sign up to wanting greater school improvement collaboration that is structured and challenging. The idea of taking on board support and giving it back is vital and one of the pre-requisites to joining us.
The central cost contribution or ‘top-slice’, as it is often referred to, is below the typical figure. We see the need to keep money in the classroom so that it is invested in teaching and learning resources.
I am encouraged that no single school or academy that has joined our MAT has any regrets and anyone who is thinking about joining can be directed to any one of our individual academies for a discussion on what it is like to be a part of DSAT.
Can I also reassure you about that word 'Diocese' and the 'Church' identity: It just so happens that we grew out of a collection of Church schools and collaborated initially to support a Diocese wanting to maintain the identity of its schools. We are equally as passionate to ensure the identity of schools that are not church schools - indeed the Diocese itself is very keen to stress this.
There are so many advantages to being in an academy, especially one such as DSAT, where collaboration is key, where school leaders feel supported to lead their schools, where teaching staff are equipped with the skills needed to deliver every day, and, very importantly, where every child matters. I do hope you consider journeying with us towards excellence.
Alison Adair
CEO
DSAT Trust Team Activity
Our DSAT trust central team is crucial in maintaining and enhancing improvement within our school academies, enabling our school leaders to focus more effectively on educational standards. The DSAT central team members are highly visible and recognised as supportive colleagues, adding a resource to support improvement while reducing the pressure on school teams to handle non-educational tasks.
In DSAT, there are four primary benefits to establishing a solid and high-performing central team:
Accelerated improvement in standards.
Elevating educational standards swiftly and sustaining them should be the focal point of any investment made by a trust. Our CEO (a trained OFSTED Inspector) is responsible for ensuring that the collective efforts across our schools lead to faster improvement compared to a scenario where the team doesn't exist.
Adding to the full-time team, we have developed internal capacity that spends part of their time supporting their colleagues while also leading or teaching in their home school. This approach lends credibility to the support process and facilitates the transfer of successful practices from one classroom to another across different schools.
Allowing leaders to shine and develop.
Often, leadership of a school encompasses a wide range of non-core tasks. Our strategically focused trust with centralised capacity alleviates some of these burdens, allowing leaders to concentrate on their primary responsibilities and ensuring that the classroom experience for pupils remains the core activity.
The DSAT central team coordinates and delivers a wide range of professional development opportunities for staff across all schools within the trust, organising workshops, seminars, training sessions, and conferences on various topics relevant to teaching, leadership, and personal development. A core activity of the central team is the organisation of peer-to-peer learning sessions, collaborative planning and online subject groups where teachers can exchange ideas, resources, and strategies. Sharing successful approaches and experiences encourages professional growth and development, but all this takes careful planning.
The professionalisation of non-teaching services.
Over time, schools became increasingly responsible for ensuring compliance with a raft of statutory provisions. However, developing competence in performing these tasks was only sometimes successful, and some of the ‘bought-in’ services cost significant sums, with mixed results.
Multi Academy Trusts, directly accountable to governmental authorities, cannot leave such critical functions to chance. At DSAT, we have a qualified accountant appointed as CFO and an HR leader as our People Director, with expertise in education and employment law. Our Head of Operations ensures our full compliance across the trust and secures the best deals for bought-in services or brings them in-house in the case of payroll services. This has reduced costs and improved delivery. Our Head of IT and his team provide the best on-the-ground support and ensure our infrastructure will be fit for the future. Two Senior building management professionals take away worries that distract school leaders.
Enhancing the professionalism of teams responsible for managing these core functions is essential because the DSAT central team is answerable to the trust's trustees.
Reducing the workload pressures of teachers.
The ongoing debate surrounding teacher retention frequently revolves around workload. Trusts have a real opportunity to re-evaluate this issue and make significant strides. However, if trust schools replicate and duplicate the same educational tasks they previously performed independently, they will miss this opportunity.
Fortunately, there is already plenty of good practice in DSAT to draw upon. We have developed a centralised ‘cloud space’ for sharing high-quality resources and lesson plans. Teachers can contribute and access resources, reducing the time and effort required for lesson planning and resource development. This centralisation ensures consistent access to quality materials and reduces duplication of work. Our in-house Educational Welfare Officer and our centrally engaged supply teacher further support teachers and schools.
The DSAT central team ensures that our teachers can collaborate on curriculum development across the trust, working together to design and refine curriculums and align learning objectives. This collaborative approach reduces the burden of individual teachers developing curriculum materials from scratch and again ensures consistency and coherence across the trust.