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The Futures Trust

The Futures Trust

What We Can Offer Your School

We Offer Security In A Changing Landscape

Schools have traditionally enjoyed the security of being part of a Local Authority. However, changes happening now as a result of Government policy means that the L.A.’s role is radically shifting and the intention is that all schools must become academies.

Becoming a single academy converter means that your school would shoulder all the risks of independence alone.

Joining The Futures Trust ensures that your school will be part of a family of local like-minded schools, with a shared set of values, bringing together experienced educationalists and business specialists who will provide your school with support and assistance where and when you need it.

What’s more, we firmly believe in the need for schools to retain their unique identity. This is why we are called The Futures Trust and not named after the founding school, so that joining schools retain their unique brand and identities. Unless your school is in very severe difficulties, joining The Futures Trust would mean retaining autonomy whilst working in partnership with similar academies and their leaders centrally supported by specialist functions.

 

We Are Stronger Together!

Combining the expertise within The Futures Trust with your professionals will help your school realise its potential and navigate challenges whether that is preparing for the next OFSTED inspection or making sure your school can recruit good quality teachers.

We have developed a team of specialists who are able to offer real help to schools who have no experience of the requirements of operating as an academy school.

Your Next Ofsted Inspection

We employ qualified OFSTED Inspectors in our Trust and we are able to provide you with planning and support to ensure that you as the Head teacher retain control during your inspection. We are also able to attend your OFSTED inspections and demonstrate additional capacity where needed.

Helping With The Conversion

The process of academy conversion can be time consuming and quite daunting. The Futures Trust can help you through the process and will provide project support to ensure you are never left wondering what you have to do next to get to the end of the process.

The Futures Trust Services

By joining The Futures Trust, you will immediately benefit from a range of School Improvement, HR, Finance, Risk and Business Continuity Management, ICT, Marketing and Governance services which have been developed by our MAT.

This will mean that you will no longer need to buy into a number of SLAs from the L.A. What's more, our management charge set at only 3.5% of GAG for primary schools and 5% of GAG for secondary schools, is one of the most competitive available. This charge covers the costs of our services to your school.

As a group of schools, if we are unable to provide a service that every school needs, we use our combined purchasing power to procure those services in a transparent and cost effective way. This includes a number of jointly procured services including Insurance, Legal and Energy contracts which have already delivered significant savings to our schools. For example, we have secured a £25,000 annual saving on insurance premiums together with more extensive cover.

Financial Self Sufficiency

The Futures Trust has no interest in taking control of your school’s funding. We believe that as long as your school is in reasonable financial health, Head teachers must have the freedom to spend in the way that best suits them and their pupils.

The Futures Trust will provide your school with new tools and techniques for managing your finances so that you are able to plan for and respond to the changing needs of your school.

Our approach to budgeting means that you are able to get staffing in place to meet your educational priorities well ahead of the new school year.

We also offer 5 year planning and stress testing plans that underpin your school improvement priorities and which future proof your budget against inevitable challenges such as rising staff costs.

The Futures Trust employs an experienced Accountant who ensures that the additional requirements associated with being an academy, such as year-end statutory accounts and returns to the Education Funding Agency, are taken care of for you.

Staffing Your School For Success

Getting staffing right is the key to success and having quality HR support makes all the difference. The Trust has employed a highly experienced education HR specialist who will be on hand to help you manage your way through your staffing issues. Whether it is managing casework to get the desired outcome for your school, recruiting and retaining excellent teachers or ensuring your safer recruitment procedures are watertight, you will never need to tackle these without support.

Transparent Pricing and Real Savings

Currently, all community schools are charged a top slice by the Local Authority.

In addition, your school pays charges for SLAs.

As a school within The Futures Trust, you will be charged a single management charge based on the Trust’s central costs which are accounted for transparently and shared openly with all our schools. These costs are allocated to your school on a fair basis, based on pupil numbers (linked to your funding level and therefore affordability). Our charge is currently a modest 3.5% of GAG for primary schools and 5% for secondary schools.

The only other charges schools will have to pay will be for services that the school itself wishes to buy. For example, your school may wish to continue to purchase grounds maintenance services from an existing supplier.

What Next?

There is an expectation that the number of schools joining MATS will increase over time.

We welcome dialogue with Head teachers about their schools, their priorities and their needs. Come along and see us. Please contact Tracey Galland on tracey.galland@thefuturestrust.org.uk to make your appointment.