About Our Central Services Team

Prosper Learning Trust (PLT) has an Executive Leadership structure and Central Services Team that offers support to all our academies. The Executive Leadership work collaboratively to ensure the key development priorities for the Trust are focussed upon and established. The Central Services Team supports the Executive Leadership and all our academies to deliver on the key priorities and to support academy leadership in delivering an outstanding educational experience for our pupils.

The Executive Leadership and Central Services Team have been developed to deliver the following underlying principles of the Trust:

• All academies to actively support and challenge each other, to identify and share best practice for the benefit of all our pupils
• To improving the educational experiences of all our pupils
• To recognise and celebrate the achievement of both pupils and staff
• To provide a stimulating learning environment in which a team of highly skilled staff deliver quality, well-resourced teaching and therapeutic support to meet the needs of all pupils
• To ensure a safe, secure and supportive environment that allows pupils to
  become more independent and resilient, where they can be happy and enjoy learning
• To encourage each academy to celebrate its distinctive identity
• To value the entire school community, promoting well-being to all pupils and staff
• To work in partnership with all stakeholders
• To provide high quality CPD which promotes high quality and effective teaching and pastoral care for all pupils
• To promote leadership development and succession planning from within the Trust
• A commitment to provide quality-assured services to keep our academies legal, financially robust and continually developing

Through strong collaboration and a commitment to uphold the values and ethos of Prosper Learning Trust all member academies are provided with the following:

• Stability and protection in a fast-changing educational landscape
• Strong strategic and operational guidance and advice
• Collaboration and sharing of best practice
• Clear accountability for school improvement with profession led response to
  areas of development
• Maintaining the integrity and independence of good and outstanding schools
• Improved outcomes and progress for pupils including major focus on next steps and transition opportunities
• Training and development opportunities including greater opportunities for leadership development and succession planning
• Strong pedagogical models shaping professional practice and improving
  outcomes, supporting the development of excellent teaching
• Wider range of curriculum opportunities
• A climate for further innovation
• Strong and robust governance structures
• Strong partnership working model including with:
  • Local Authorities
  • Mainstream and Special Schools in multiple local authorities
  • Universities
  • Education Partnership North East
  • Newcastle College
  • ESPA
  • Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
  • Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • National Association for Hospital Education
  • Newcastle United Foundation
  • Alternative Provision providers
  • Employers

• Reassurance of compliance with all legal regulations
• Financial sustainability and efficiency with economies of scale and cost savings for centrally procured services

How we charge for services

As a Trust we retain a percentage of recurring funding to pay for central services.  For services that are not wholly central to the Trust a charge to relevant academy budgets is applied.  This academy contribution to the MAT enables us to provide:

• Educational support and challenge: central data lead, central compliance and policies lead
• Financial coherence and sustainability, coherent strategic planning, management of organisation risk
• Central finance support and audit, HR, policy writing
• Trust membership of The Key, Schools North East, National Governance Association and Confederation of School Trusts
• Insurance procured across the MAT
• Premises/estates management, health and safety services and capital works
• One shared INSET day per year, shared twilight sessions

As the number of academies in the Prosper Learning Trust MAT increases, and the income of the Trust increases, opportunities will be taken to review the provision of central/shared services. These reviews will be performed in the context of the Trust’s need to ensure appropriate use of public funds, and the need to deliver value for money with improved quality in service provision. It is anticipated that the MAT will invest in the provision of some additional central services as the Trust grows, to remove costs from individual schools and provide more efficient and effective services.

Monitoring and review of central services

Central service provision will be reviewed on a bi-annual basis by Trustees to ensure the service is providing a value for money, effective service to the Trust and to the member academies.  As Prosper Learning Trust MAT grows the structure of central services will be reviewed and changes considered and approved by Trustees.

Any concerns or issues should be reported to the Finance and Operations Director in the first instance for resolution or reporting to the CEO/Trustees.