We are interested to hear from any school or MAT across the North of England that are looking to join a Trust and believe we may be a good fit for each other. 

 

 

How Does the Process of Joining Work?

If you're interested in joining the Co-op Academies Trust, after getting in touch we will arrange a visit to your school and meet with you and your team to explore whether we're the right fit for each other. 

Once both parties are happy to move forwards and governors and the Co-op Academies Trust Committee are in agreement, we start a process called Due Diligence. 

The Due Diligence process usually lasts between 4–6 weeks and is a way for both sides to meet by department; for instance, our finance department meet yours. This is to review processes and systems and agree a plan for working together. This is also an opportunity for your school staff to meet Trust staff that they will be working with, should they join the Trust. 

Following this process, if every department is still happy to proceed the application goes to the DfE Advisory Board for approval. 

Following approval the transfer process starts, this usually takes 4-6 months, but the legal complexities of this process can make it longer or shorter. For example, if your school is a PFI school, this can prolong the process. 

How Long Does the Process Take? 

This process can be fast or slow, it depends on many factors. The entire process, from a school getting in touch to transfer is usually around 6-12 months. 

First 100 days in the Trust

A bespoke project plan is designed and managed by our Project Manager. This is when different systems and training take place for the systems we need to share. For example, we use Google, and the training and implementation of this would be part of this plan. Our Finance, IT, and Safeguarding systems are the same across the Trust. 

In the first 100 days you will receive additional support and guidance as we learn to work together, you will have close contact with the onboarding team who will support and add capacity through this process when needed. 

In this time you will also have your induction, an event held at 1 Angel Square (Co-op Head Office) where all of your staff will meet key people from the Trust. This is a celebratory event where everyone learns what it means to be part of Co-op. 

By joining the Co-op Academies Trust, What Will Change in our School? 

We do not believe in replacing staff, so we will not be asking for any staffing changes, everyone would come with you over the the Trust. We believe in supporting schools and staff to be the best that they can be, we take an individual approach to this and the support each academy gets when part of the trust is entirely bespoke and decided on in a consultative way with the leadership of the school. 

Every school joining the Trust will adopt the Co-op ways of being, as well as branding such as signage and logos, this process is completed in consultation with your school. 

Uniforms will change too, however, we do not ask any parent to replace uniforms unnecessarily, this is wasteful. When uniforms wear out, simply replace them with the new ones. We will work with you and your suppliers to ensure this process is managed in line with our community standards.

Every Academy within the Trust will have a Co-op Governor, these people work for the Co-op Group in a senior capacity, and Chair each of our Academy's Governing body. Your existing chair of Governors will usually remain in place but as the Vice chair. 

What Difference will Co-op Make to our School? 

We believe in opportunities and experiences to enrich the education of our students, you will have opportunities as part of the Trust to take part in these events and programmes. You will have central team support in the following areas:

IT, HR, Finance, Marketing and PR, Safeguarding, Governance, Curriculum Development

You will be part of 37 schools, supporting each other to be the best that they can be, this network offers a huge advantage to any school who joins it.

We pride ourselves on a leading CPD offer for teachers and Careers Programme for students, these two areas are a passion for our Trust and offer huge value to our schools. 

School Improvement Programme

We believe that every child deserves the best education irrespective of their background and where they come from. As the Trust, we deliver a school improvement plan and programme, which is bespoke to every schools needs. 

In the last 3 years we have had 7 school's improve their Ofsted rating, the majority of the schools in the Trust are Good or Outstanding.