Upper Shirley High School

 

 

Becoming a Foundation School underpinned by a charitable trust was the next stage in our development. We became one of the first schools in the country to be a Co-operative Trust, where the values and principles of the co-operative movement will underpin all that we do. The Trust will have an ethos of co-operation and democracy consistent with globally shared co-operative values. It will seek to empower learners and the community to achieve the aim of raising achievement and expectations of learning. The trust will recognise the fact that tomorrow’s learners will live in an increasingly global economy whilst facing the challenges posed by rapid environmental and economic change. Fostering the values of self-help and self-responsibility, it will help our young people to prepare for these challenges and their future as global citizens.

 

We have decided to use this model as it enables those who are directly involved in the school (parents, staff and learners) to become engaged in our long-term strategic development through membership of the Trust. We believe that engaging members alongside the organisational partners is essential if we are to achieve our vision of transforming educational opportunities for all in our learning community

The principle objectives of the Trust will be to raise aspirations, expectations and standards for the children of our community. It will directly contribute to raising achievement and improve the economic, social and physical well-being of students, by raising their aspirations alongside those of the local community. The expertise of the trust partners will help raise standards further by:

·        Improving the sharing of good practice;

·        Further developing the 14-19 curriculum;

·        Supporting a more seamless 3-19 approach for our children’s education with an emphasis on collaboration between all partners;

·        Better preparing our young people for advanced study;

·        Enhancing professional development for teachers and other staff;

·        Collectively being responsible for the five outcomes of Every Child Matters;

·        Appointing a minority of governors to further strengthen the school’s governing body. 

 

The Governing Body will retain its powers and responsibilities; principally, it will remain the employer of all staff and become responsible for its own admissions and assets. The Trust will hold the land and assets for the school, with the Governing Body having day to day responsibility for managing these. This will create the opportunity for the strategic use and development of facilities and maintenance of buildings with the support of the partnership.