Our education team works closely with headteachers and senior leaders to co-construct our educational strategy. It matters to us that leaders are empowered to make a difference in their distinctive communities while also collaborating on trust-wide projects that will benefit all pupils.

Schools have access to tailored advice, challenge and support from the central team in the following areas:

• Curriculum
• Teaching and Learning
• Inclusion
• Behaviour
• Personal development
• Attendance
• Safeguarding
• Digital innovation (Evergreen)

Each headteacher has a key senior point of contact in the trust and someone who gives due consideration to their professional growth in headship.

We also have a thriving teaching alliance where staff can access high-quality training and professional qualifications.

Our experienced finance team works in close partnership with headteachers and senior leaders to support effective management of the finances of both individual schools and the wider trust. By drawing on a comprehensive suite of financial tools, benchmarking data, and strategic planning resources, the team ensures that budgets are aligned with school priorities and long-term goals. Their proactive approach helps navigate the challenges and uncertainties of school funding, supporting financial stability and enabling leaders to make informed decisions that best support pupils, staff, and the wider school community.

Each school is supported by a dedicated named finance manager who provides tailored financial guidance and is a key point of contact for all finance-related matters. Monthly management accounts are produced and reviewed in regular meetings with headteachers and senior leaders to monitor spending, track progress against budget, and forecast year-end outturns. The team also provides support with debt collection, ensuring outstanding income is recovered promptly and efficiently. Budget planning meetings are scheduled to ensure financial plans are robust, sustainable, timely and aligned with strategic objectives.

In addition to day-to-day financial management, the finance team supports schools in reviewing staff structures for efficiency and affordability, identifying potential savings or investment areas. They also assist with preparing and submitting grant applications, exploring income-generation opportunities and advising on the financial considerations for expansion plans. Central finance services include treasury management, processing supplier payments, submitting VAT returns, and maintaining financial systems to ensure smooth and compliant operations. The team also coordinates internal and external audits and delivers training to build financial understanding and capability across the trust.

The internal HR team is a small but effective unit responsible for coordinating key HR functions across the trust. Their responsibilities include maintaining the HR Information System, developing and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs), and providing practical tools and templates to support every stage of the employee life cycle. The team also manages HR policy renewals and leads whole-staff communications related to HR and payroll matters.

The HR team works in close collaboration with an external HR consultancy and The Rivers Teaching Alliance to ensure compliance, consistency, and expert guidance and training across all HR activities.

Payroll services are outsourced to a specialist bureau with extensive knowledge of statutory requirements and regulations specific to both teaching and support staff within the education sector. The internal HR and finance teams coordinate the monthly payroll process, prepare reconciliation reports for individual schools, and work together to resolve any payroll-related queries in a timely and accurate manner.

Our IT provision is built on a trust-wide strategic plan aimed at delivering secure, modern and standardised infrastructure. All schools benefit from a managed Microsoft Teams environment, support with device procurement, and planning for IT investment. Regular audits and on-site and remote engineer support ensure systems are reliable and effective. The central operations, school improvement and IT support teams collaborate to provide support and training for embedding technology into classrooms and ensuring smooth remote teaching and learning capabilities.

The trust’s estates manager has oversight of the health and safety service to ensure that schools remain safe, compliant and well supported. While heads retain overall responsibility, they are guided by updated policies, statutory training and expert advice. Induction support is provided for new staff, and, in collaboration with The Rivers Teaching Alliance, training is offered for educational visits and more. Schools are supported with RIDDOR reporting, asbestos management, policy compliance and ongoing risk assessments, promoting a culture of safety and prevention across all sites.

The trust has a robust and forward-thinking investment strategy for estates and facilities, grounded in our mission to create extraordinary environments for our pupils. This strategy considers both the condition and suitability of buildings and infrastructure, ensuring that all premises are safe, functional and inspiring. Investment priorities are identified through detailed site surveys and consultation with school leaders, ensuring that local context informs strategic decision-making.

Capital projects—including design, tendering, and oversight—are led by the estates and facilities manager, who works collaboratively with school leaders at every stage. Premises compliance, development, and long-term strategic planning are coordinated centrally to ensure consistency and regulatory compliance.

The trust’s support offer includes contract and supplier management, maintenance planning, the commissioning of condition and suitability surveys, and preparation for capital grant funding opportunities. Schools receive clear guidance on Good Estates Management for Schools (GEMS), Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) claims, community lettings, and all premises-related matters, including access to experienced project management support. The trust also supports schools in meeting statutory Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) requirements through regular inspections, action planning, and compliance checks.

The estates and facilities manager leads the trust’s site managers’ network, which provides a valuable forum for professional development, sharing of best practices, and collaborative problem-solving. The use of the trust’s compliance system enables schools to log, monitor and resolve maintenance and compliance issues efficiently. The systems also support audit readiness and strengthen record-keeping across the estate.

Ongoing engagement with school-based site staff and external contractors, combined with cyclical estate reviews and structured key performance monitoring, ensures that all estate activity aligns with legal obligations, health and safety standards, operational efficiency and long-term sustainability goals.

Led by the operations manager, the central team provides oversight and support to school business functions. This includes policy guidance, standard operating procedures, training, and compliance tracking. Support is tailored to enhance efficiency and capacity within school offices, promoting a consistent approach across the trust. Administrative processes are supported through training and induction programmes, helping school staff manage increasing operational demands confidently.

Procurement and contract management are centrally supported by the operations manager, who ensures that all activities are compliant with relevant regulations, including the requirements set out in the Academies Trust Handbook. The operations manager plays a key role in securing value for money by overseeing robust procurement processes, maintaining oversight of contracts, and ensuring transparency and accountability throughout.

This includes regular contract monitoring and performance reporting against agreed key performance indicators (KPIs), enabling proactive management of supplier relationships. The operations manager also engages directly with school leaders and contractors to review performance, resolve issues and drive continuous improvement, ensuring that services provided meet the needs of the trust and its schools effectively and efficiently.

Data protection is fully embedded within trust operations under the leadership of the operations manager, who also serves as the trust’s designated data protection officer (DPO). The central team provides comprehensive support to ensure compliance with UK GDPR and associated data protection regulations across all schools.

This includes the development and maintenance of trust-wide data protection policies, staff training and guidance, as well as regular audits and advisory support. The team also supports schools with responding to subject access requests (SARs) and ensures records of processing activities (ROPAs) are in place and maintained for all software and data systems in use.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs), risk management tools, and a suite of templates and resources are available to schools, ensuring that personal data is managed responsibly, securely, and consistently. This structured approach to data protection safeguards pupils, staff and the trust as a whole.

Led by the trust’s marketing manager, marketing supports schools in building strong connections with their communities and enhancing their local reputation, while also helping to attract new pupils. It delivers strategic marketing, branding and communications support - including content creation, website management, press releases, photography and recruitment campaigns. Additionally, marketing provides training, gathers data and develops marketing strategies aligned with trust-wide goals.

Schools have access to a comprehensive marketing toolkit and a suite of standard operating procedures (SOPs), offering templates, guidance, and practical resources to support consistent, high-quality communications. This structured and proactive approach ensures schools can confidently promote their unique identity while contributing to the trust’s wider visibility and reputation.

Governance across the trust is supported by a structured, evolving framework overseen by the CEO. A clearly defined scheme of delegation underpins roles and accountability at every level. The governance team provides clerking, compliance monitoring (Companies House, Edubase), and statutory policy management. Central support includes trustee succession planning, annual skills audits and training. Governance is strengthened through detailed annual planning, headteacher-reporting templates and support for schools requiring additional oversight. All schools benefit from a consistent approach that ensures compliance and effectiveness while allowing for local context and input.

Our cutting-edge governance structure was designed in direct response to the changing governance needs of a multi-academy trust. The new structure clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the different governance tiers in order to avoid duplication, strengthen communication, and maximise the skills, knowledge and expertise of everyone within the governance team.

Strong governance is highly valued in our trust and we offer advocates, trustees and members the following support to ensure impactful governance across the trust to continue to improve outcomes for our staff, pupils and families:

• Central governance lead to support all schools
• Annual in-person governance event for all members of the governance team
• Trustee/member strategy days
• Advocate and trustee training
• Advocate and trustee induction
• Trust-wide policies
• Termly advocate/link trustee meetings
• Termly advocate meetings with headteacher