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The Newman Catholic Tust Dividend

Understanding the Trust Dividend

The concept of the Trust Dividend highlights the additional value generated when schools collaborate within a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) such as the Newman Catholic Trust.

 

The synergy achieved by working in formal collaboration enables individual schools to achieve higher performance levels collectively than they would independently. The Newman Catholic Trust Dividend is marked by enhanced educational outcomes, greater professional development opportunities and resource optimisation across all of the Trust's schools.

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Benefits of Joining the Newman Catholic Trust 

Professional Development and Support: Newman MAT provide extensive training and development opportunities for staff at all levels. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and professional growth.
Shared Leadership and Best Practices: Our school leaders benefit from the collective expertise within the trust, promoting a unified approach to leadership and school improvement strategies.
Resource Optimisation: By centralising administrative functions and pooling resources, the Newman MAT achieves greater financial resilience, ensuring more funds are directed towards teaching and learning.
Enhanced Student Outcomes: The collaborative environment within the Newman MAT ensures a consistent quality of education across all schools, providing equitable learning opportunities for all students.
Community and Civic Leadership: The Newman MAT serves as a hub of civic engagement, fostering strong partnerships with local communities and enhancing social mobility.

The Newman Catholic Trust Advantage

At Newman Catholic Trust, we are dedicated to creating an environment where every student and staff member can thrive. Following the conclusion of 2023-24, our recent reviews by external MATs, the DfE and auditors highlighted significant achievements and future strengths of our trust:

Leadership Development: Our comprehensive Leadership Development programmes ensure that leaders are well-equipped to drive school and trust-wide improvements. It also evidences the Trust's commitment toward succession planning and talent retention. 
School Improvement Strategy: our clear, non-negotiable standards guide our schools and Local Governing Committees in delivering high-quality education and provide first class school improvement support for our schools.
Support and Challenge: Our Board of Trustees provides robust support and challenge to school leaders, ensuring accountability and continuous growth.
Professional Impact: Staff across our trust have reported positive impacts on their professional lives, attributing their development to the support and resources provided by the Newman Catholic Trust.

Central Team Added Value

We add value to schools by drawing on system support in the following ways:
 

  • Mobilising specialist support & specialist leaders in education/consultants to support others to rapidly improve teaching, learning, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, behaviour & attendance.

  • On-site leadership support from our Central Team and external consultants/support providers (H&S, HR, Safeguarding, Ofsted,, School Improvement, Governance and more) 

  • Wide-ranging finance support, budget setting and strategic planning. 

  • A range of software tools to effectively track & evidence pupil progress, behaviour, safeguarding and attendance.

  • Ongoing support from our Trust Safeguarding Consultants (supervision, training, resources, and training). 

  • Access to external Safeguarding Supervision Support for Designated Safeguarding Leads and Family Support Workers

  • Fully centralised business service to liberate education staff and ensure that they can focus on raising standards in education:

Finance Support

  • Reserves are prioritised for strong sustainability & direct benefit for pupils

  • Increased economies of scale through collective procurement

  • Reduced cost of initial investment for new systems

  • Procurement management centrally

  • Lower service cost for existing schools/Trust

  • Integrated HR/ Finance budgeting software

  • Efficient use of software to reduce human workload

  • Accurate, efficient managed payroll service. 

  • Finance function - centralised function:

- Support Processing orders/ invoices
- Financial processing
- Management accounts
- 3-year strategic budget planning
- Risk audits and support 
- Education and Skills Funding Agency compliance
- Annual audits and compliance checks
- Central bank account
- VAT administration/submissions
- Funding monitoring/returns
- Central contracts to ensure value for money
- Academies Trust Handbook compliance

Human Resources Support

Our Trust has a strong Central Team who provide an excellent professional service supporting our schools and allowing them more time to focus on teaching and learning. We put in place strong, experienced and proven Human Resource support for our schools and Principals - focussing on recruitment, contracts, employee relations, strategic planning, organisational change, continuing professional development, wellbeing, policy development, absence management, TUPE and much more.

Human Resources support - functions covered:
- Recruitment
- Contracts
- Managed portal 
- Trust wide People Strategy
- Absence management
- Guidance for casework
- Single Central Records support

- Easy access to school-wide data and work force reporting

Operations & Compliance Support

  • Access to expert legal advice

  • Dedicated Data Protection Officer and UKGDPR Support, audits, advice and documents 

  • External Health & Safety/Compliance support facilitating site/school leaders to implement robust systems that meet regulatory & statutory compliance

  • Governance Professional: advice, support & clerking for local governance and the Trust Board

  • In-house audits & review

  • Specialist Health & Safety Consultancy

  • Dedicated Trust Health & Safety and Compliance Officer

  • External compliance and statutory testing support/provider

  • Trust-wide compliance platform for managing and monitoring statutory returns, policies and staff training 

IT & Technologies Support

  • Specialist IT provision with rapid response

  • Dedicated IT experience and support on-site for all schools

  • Integrated trust-based management information systems facilitating efficiencies & reducing staff workload

  • Strategic focus ensures fit for purpose infrastructure now and in the future

  • Trust-wide hosted and managed secure SharePoint platform.

  • Dedicated secure areas for document storage, collaboration, training and resources. 

  • Trust-wide emails and movement of school systems to the cloud

  • Technologies that support agile/ blended learning & working

  • Expert management of the life cycle of all equipment linked to our strategic financial planning

  • Robust asset management

  • Management Information System strategic management

Additional Support

In addition to this, we offer:-
 

  • Access to our dedicated networks

  • Shared Trust-wide CPD and INSET Days

  • Access to our highly experienced and dedicated Trust MAT Network Leaders who can offer guidance and subject leader support.

  • Extensive support with Section 48/CSI and significant changes to the RE curriculum and inspection framework. 

  • A dedicated programme of school support and collaboration. 

  • Offer schools the opportunity to access support, collaboration & partnership through the Trust School Improvement Offer & directly through our links and networks, locally and regionally

  • Support the Regional Schools Directorate by considering sponsorship of schools requiring improvement

  • Welcome collaborative projects with schools seeking to develop innovative opportunities for pupils with SEND to flourish and achieve their full potential

  • Executive Leadership School Improvement Support

  • Enrichment support facilitating the wider curriculum development offer & offsite curriculum enrichment

  • Trust Operations & Estates management

  • Legal support

  • Data Protection Officer

  • Policy management/compliance

  • Fundraising/bid writing support

  • Collaboration with Hub (National & Local Network of Excellence)

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