Brochure

Introduction

Education continues to evolve, bringing both challenges and opportunities for schools. At Aspire and Shine Education Trust (ASET), we believe that schools are stronger when they work together, sharing expertise, supporting one another and creating opportunities for children and staff.

ASET is an exclusively primary-focused Trust, bringing together 15 Church of England and non-church primary schools across Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Our schools serve diverse communities and each has its own character, history and relationship with its local community. We value that individuality and believe that being part of a Trust should strengthen, rather than diminish, what makes each school distinctive.

Our approach combines the benefits of collaboration and Trust-wide expertise with an understanding of the individual circumstances and needs of each school. Through strong educational, financial, operational and people support, we aim to reduce unnecessary duplication, strengthen capacity and enable school leaders to focus on what matters most – their children and communities. This reflects the developing ASET central model, which is intended to provide consistent specialist support while retaining flexibility for individual school circumstances.

The Trust is governed by a skilled and experienced Board of Trustees, with the strategic and operational leadership of ASET led by Chief Executive Officer Kate Watson, supported by our central leadership team. Together, we work alongside Headteachers, governors and colleagues across our schools to provide strong leadership, effective support and opportunities to learn from one another.

At the heart of everything we do is our commitment to the education, wellbeing and future of every child and our ambition to create welcoming, nurturing and inclusive school communities in which children and adults can flourish.

Our vision captures what we want that to look like across Aspire and Shine:

Be Courageous. Be Caring. Become…

These principles guide how we work together, the decisions we make and our shared commitment to the education, wellbeing and future of every child in our schools.

Ethos and Guiding Principles

At Aspire and Shine Education Trust, our schools are united by a shared commitment to putting children at the heart of everything we do.

Our Trust brings together Church of England and non-church primary schools, each with its own distinctive character, history and relationship with its local community. We value and celebrate those individual identities, while recognising the strength that comes from working together as one Trust.

We are committed to providing welcoming, nurturing and inclusive school communities where every child is known, valued and supported. Through collaboration, shared expertise and mutual support, we aim to create the conditions in which both children and adults can flourish and become the very best versions of themselves.

Our Vision

We believe in outstanding education and outstanding opportunities for all young people. This should be offered in local academies, rooted in local communities and allowed to develop their own distinct identities. ASET is committed to securing excellence by supporting academies and delivering a caring, compassionate and fulfilling learning environment. We offer high quality education to pupils of all faiths and none.

Working Together

At the heart of Aspire and Shine Education Trust is a belief that our schools are stronger when they work together. As an exclusively primary-focused Trust, we have a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise across our 15 schools, and we want everyone to benefit from that collective strength.

Collaboration is an important part of how we work. Our Headteachers, leaders and colleagues have opportunities to connect, share effective practice, learn from one another and work together on common priorities and challenges. This helps us to strengthen capacity across the Trust while ensuring that each school retains its own distinctive identity and responds to the needs of its community.

Our Trust-wide networks bring colleagues together across a range of areas, including:

• Headteachers
• Deputy and Assistant Headteachers
• Academy Business Managers
• Subject Leaders
• Early Years
• Early Career Teachers
• Chairs of Governors
• Business and Operations

Working together also creates opportunities beyond professional collaboration. We want our children and staff to benefit from being part of a wider family of primary schools, with opportunities to connect, develop and learn together.

By sharing expertise, supporting one another and making the most of the strengths across our schools, we can create greater opportunities for both children and adults to flourish.

ASET's Aims

• To maximise the opportunities for all our pupils, raising their aspirations to help them succeed and thrive in our academies.
• To provide strong support to help our headteachers and their staff focus on pastoral and academic excellence.
• To provide an environment in which all of our pupils, colleagues, parents, volunteers and members of the wider community feel valued.
• To ensure our 'take care' ethos ["taking care of ourselves, each other, the world and with our work"], based on core Christian values, is embedded in everything we do and is reflected in all aspects of the curriculum offered.
• To focus on the academic development of our children within a curriculum framework that also pays close attention to their personal development.
• To develop pupils' abilities to make informed choices, solve problems and make decisions.

In terms of specific, measurable objectives, we set ourselves high standards and expect to deliver the following:

1. All of our children should make good or better progress across all year groups so that most are at age-related expectations and many will exceed this.

2. All of our lessons should deserve to be graded 'good' or 'outstanding', ensuring that all pupils are fully engaged and behaving appropriately.

3. All of our academies should be well-led and governed.

4. All of our academies should be self-improving organisations that work to sharply focussed improvement plans, striving for ever higher standards in behaviour and achievement.

5. All of our academies should be judged good or better in Ofsted Section 5 inspections and, where appropriate, SIAMS Section 48 inspections.

Summary: what Aspire and Shine Education Trust has to offer

Aspire and Shine Education Trust offers a distinctive model for primary schools: the strength, expertise and opportunities of a wider Trust, while valuing and protecting the individual character of every school.

As an exclusively primary-focused Trust, our offer includes:

• A connected family of 15 primary schools, including Church of England and non-church schools, working collaboratively while retaining and celebrating their own distinctive identities;
• A shared commitment to the education, wellbeing and future of every child, with high expectations for the quality of education and opportunities provided across our schools;
• A strong focus on school improvement, with expertise shared across the Trust to support leaders, develop practice, identify priorities and build capacity;
• A central team providing proactive and responsive specialist support, including finance, operations, HR and school improvement, reducing duplication and enabling school leaders to focus on their schools;
• Strong financial leadership, governance, operational systems and Trust-wide controls that support schools to operate effectively, sustainably and compliantly;
• Opportunities for Headteachers, leaders and colleagues to collaborate, share expertise and learn from one another across the Trust;
• An experienced Board of Trustees providing strategic leadership, oversight and challenge; and
• A commitment to combining consistent Trust-wide support with flexibility for individual school circumstances, recognising that our schools and the communities they serve are different.

Above all, being part of Aspire and Shine means being part of a Trust where schools can benefit from the strength of working together while continuing to be proud of what makes them unique.

Trust Funding

Aspire and Shine Education Trust is committed to using its resources effectively and transparently to support our schools and achieve the best possible outcomes for children.

Our schools contribute towards the cost of providing central Trust services and expertise. This enables schools to benefit from specialist support, shared systems and services that would otherwise need to be commissioned or managed individually.

Our central support currently includes key areas such as financial management and accountancy, HR, operations and school improvement, providing both proactive and responsive support to schools. The aim is to reduce duplication, strengthen capacity and provide access to specialist expertise while allowing school leaders to focus their time and resources on their schools.

The Trust continually reviews its central offer to ensure that it remains effective, sustainable and responsive to the needs of our schools.

Our Academies

There are currently around 3200 pupils in the 15 academies of the ASET 'family'.

• Archbishop Cranmer CofE Primary Academy, Abbey Lane, Aslocton, Notts, NG13 9AE
• Gunthorpe CofE Primary School, David's Lane, Gunthorpe, Notts, NG14 7EW
• Ironville and Codnor Park Primary School, Victoria Street, Ironville, Derbyshire, NG16 5NB
• John Hunt Academy, London Road, New Balderton, Newark, NG24 3BN
• Kirkby Woodhouse Primary School, Main Rd, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts, NG17 9EU
• Langar CofE Primary School, Barnstone Rd, Langar, Notts, NG13 9HH
• Langold Dyscarr Community School, School Road, Langold, Worksop, S81 9PX
• Muskham Primary School, Main St, North Muskham, Newark, NG23 6HD
• Oak Tree Primary and Nursery School, Jubilee Way North, Mansfield, NG18 3PJ
• Ranskill Primary School, Cherry Tree Walk, Ranskill, Retford, DN22 8LH
• Scotholme Primary and Nursery School, Fisher Street, Hyson Green, Nottingham, NG7 6FJ
• Sir John Sherbrooke Junior School, Flatts Lane, Calverton, Notts, NG14 6JZ
• St. Peter's CofE Primary Academy, Kneeton Rd, East Bridgford, Notts, NG13 8PG
• Whitemoor Academy, Bracknell Cresent, Whitemoor, Nottingham, NG8 5FF
• Winthorpe Primary School, Thoroughfare Lane, Newark, NG24 2NN

Contact

For all enquiries relating to Aspire and Shine Education Trust, please contact the Trust Central Team:

Aspire and Shine Education Trust
Email: office@aspire-shine.co.uk

If your enquiry is for a particular member of the Central Team or the Board of Trustees, please include this in your message and it will be directed to the appropriate person.

For enquiries relating specifically to one of our schools, please contact the school directly via its website.