Become a Trust School

Becoming an Academy

How to become an academy

Becoming part of a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) and gaining access to a collaborative network of schools is a simple process that brings with it a wide variety of short- and long-term benefits.

Follow the steps below to start your journey towards becoming a MAT member:

Step One:
Start by registering your school’s interest in becoming an academy within our MAT using the following online form.

Step Two:
After registering your interest, we will support you through a consultation with key stakeholders to get the process up and running. This consultation is designed to explore the practicalities of your school joining the Trust, giving governors the opportunity to seek advice and map out the next steps in the process.

Step Three:
Following the consultation, the Governing Body of your school will meet to reflect on the key outcomes of joining the Trust. If your Governing Body choose to proceed with its MAT application, we will seek conditional consent from the Diocese of Chelmsford.

Step Four:
Pending approval from the Diocese, the Secretary of State will evaluate your school’s proposal and make an Academy Order.

Step Five:
At this stage, the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) consultation process begins. Although this is a council-led process, our MAT is more than happy to provide support for your schools throughout this time.

Step Six:
Legal documentation marking your school’s conversion to an academy in our MAT would then be drafted and finalised. This will include a comprehensive due diligence process, wherein existing strengths and areas for development with be identified in several key areas, including buildings and trusts, governance and school effectiveness, HR, legal and financial. As with the TUPE consultation, our MAT will work closely with you during this stage and support you wherever possible.

Step Seven:
The Local Authority, the Governing Body of your school and our MAT will all sign a Commercial Transfer Agreement and essential land documentation.

Step Eight:
Both the Secretary of State and our MAT will sign the Supplemental Funding Agreement for your school.

Step Nine:
Before your school can open up as an academy in our MAT, we will collaborate with your staff to ensure that all enhanced CRB checks are up-to-date and that adequate financial systems and insurance are in place.

Step Ten:
Your school is now ready to start its journey as an academy in our MAT!

Joining us

When you join the Vine Schools Trust your school becomes a part of our family. We are dedicated to creating a supportive and collaborative environment where schools can grow, learn, and thrive. Together, we can create new opportunities for our pupils and strengthen their education experience.

Our dedicated team have built our MAT from the ground up

We have extensive experience in the academy conversion process

We have built relationships and a reputation with the DFE, RSC EFA and Teaching Schools

Our Trust has the benefit of economies of scale in procurement of goods and services

The Vine Schools Trust has a skilled professional central team who care

Building Christian character

For those who are looking for a Trust that truly reflects the Christian heritage, ethos and values of your school, Vine Schools Trust is an ideal fit. We were created by the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Education, which means Christianity is at our core. We partner with many Church of England schools throughout Essex and support the development of good Christian character among our pupils.

If you are not a Church of England school, please know that we welcome all primary schools to join our Trust. We believe that our vision and values and our focus on school improvement will appeal to all schools.

Support and resources

At the Vine Schools Trust we are proud of our tight-knit support network. We believe that success is best achieved together, which is why we have taken time to create a system of collaboration between our schools and central services that works.

We also know that having access to excellent resources is crucial to developing primary schools, such as training, software, HR, legal, health and safety and curriculum guidance. These are just a few examples of what we provide our joining schools. We have worked hard to create a comprehensive school offer that blends excellent support with high quality resources to help your school have a successful future.

Committed to communities

We value school communities, which is why we always encourage our partner schools to be outward facing. Our academy trust schools understand the importance of contributing to their local communities and consider it an important part of upholding Christian tradition. We feel that community involvement gives children a chance to broaden their world view and access a variety of new learning opportunities.

Vine Schools Trust also helps schools to foster lasting links with their local parishes. This collaboration can help schools feel connected with their local area and can contribute to the holistic development of pupils.

Our Core Offer:

Stability and protection in a fast-changing educational landscape, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic
Access to a collaboration network between schools to share best practice
Decisive operational guidance and advice whilst maintaining the integrity and independence of your school
Dedicated School Improvement Leader to work directly with and support headteachers
Diocese of Chelmsford SLA high quality school improvement support for those requiring rapid improvement and those aspiring to become ‘Outstanding’
Financial support including strategic planning, compliance, VAT returns and helpdesk services
Legal, human resources, facilities and health and safety services
Training and development opportunities for headteachers and their staff
A wide range of innovative curriculum opportunities including the development of excellent RE teaching
And much more – fill in our contact form to receive information about our full offer

Testimonials

“I applied to join the Vine Trust in 2019 because their vision for education echoed my vision. Since joining, I have realised there is so much to benefit from, we are part of a real community. In education, we are constantly facing challenges of one kind or another and for a school needing to make significant and wide-ranging improvements, being part of a Trust with a strong school improvement team is extremely reassuring and helpful.

The Trust supports all aspects of the running of our schools (finance, premises, HR, training, etc) whilst managing to maintain the individuality, ethos and context of each school. This was another thing that was really important to me when I joined.”

Lisa DaleHead at Howbridge Church of England Junior School

“The Vine Trust ensures that everyone is supported and valued within our Vine Family. We have access to high-quality CPD opportunities, excellent school-improvement resources and a strong network between local Vine schools as well as within the wider trust.

As a Headteacher, it is great to be part of an academy where the CEO knows our schools and is in touch with us regularly – it adds a personal touch. As a Church of England academy trust, the vision for education is central to the values of the Vine. It is wonderful to be part of a Trust where children are firmly at the heart of all that we do.”

Karen Jones Headteacher at Great Clacton Church of England Junior School

Are you a school interested in joining our Multi-Academy Trust?

Fill in the contact form and we will get back to you with more information.

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