22nd November 2024The Latest News
Enlighten Learning Trust and Learning Partners Church Academy Trust exploring merger
22nd November 2024
With the shared goal of enhancing educational opportunities for local children, staff, and communities Enlighten Learning Trust (ELT) and Learning Partners Church Academy Trust (LPCAT) have agreed to explore the potential of merging. Over the next six months trustees will assess how bringing the Trusts together could create a dynamic, strong and supportive environment with a distinctive Christian character for the church schools they serve. If concluded successfully, it is hoped that the two Trusts could merge in the coming year.
Both Trusts are approaching this from positions of strength: ELT is a strong and secure trust with 5 schools in both primary and secondary phases and further schools resolved to join the trust in the near future. LPCAT is in an exciting phase of development, working with Learning Partners Academy Trust’s (LPAT) family of schools and already on a path of indigenous growth. Since announcing the formal partnership with Learning Partners, LPCAT has attracted interest from other church schools looking to join and benefit from LPAT’s reputation and strong track record of school improvement. Both trusts work closely with the Diocese to support all schools to flourish and provide a strong model of improvement; we believe this will be enhanced by the combined capacity of ELT, LPCAT and LPAT schools and the shared expertise they contain.
Our collective ambition is that the potential of a merger will allow both Trusts to enhance their schools’ educational provision in its broadest sense as well as providing a home for other church schools in the Diocese. This will be achieved through staff professional development, greater opportunities for collaboration for pupils, supporting local stakeholders and ensuring that each school continues to improve its academic offer while preserving its individual identity and ethos. We will work with our staff and communities to seek their views throughout this process.
Mike Boddington, CEO of Enlighten Learning Trust, said, “Both trusts are committed to maintaining their Christian distinctiveness, providing a vibrant learning environment and continuing to be key members of the diocesan family of schools. We believe that through this potential collaboration, we could build on our shared values while benefitting from the strength of a larger trust framework.”
Jack Mayhew, CEO of Learning Partners Church Academy Trust, said, “This exploratory phase will be undertaken with a focus on whether such a merger would benefit the children in our care. Our primary goal is to ensure that any future decision would be in the best interests of the students, staff, and communities who rely on us for high quality education.”
While we recognise the strengths that exist in our Trusts this exploration is a positive step forward as we look forward to working together to determine how a merger would be in the best interests of our pupils, staff and communities for the long term.
Helen Coulson Julia Lamaison
Chair, Enlighten Learning Trust Chair, Learning Partners Church Academy Trust
With the shared goal of enhancing educational opportunities for local children, staff, and communities Enlighten Learning Trust (ELT) and Learning Partners Church Academy Trust (LPCAT) have agreed to explore the potential of merging. Over the next six months trustees will assess how bringing the Trusts together could create a dynamic, strong and supportive environment with a distinctive Christian character for the church schools they serve. If concluded successfully, it is hoped that the two Trusts could merge in the coming year.
Both Trusts are approaching this from positions of strength: ELT is a strong and secure trust with 5 schools in both primary and secondary phases and further schools resolved to join the trust in the near future. LPCAT is in an exciting phase of development, working with Learning Partners Academy Trust’s (LPAT) family of schools and already on a path of indigenous growth. Since announcing the formal partnership with Learning Partners, LPCAT has attracted interest from other church schools looking to join and benefit from LPAT’s reputation and strong track record of school improvement. Both trusts work closely with the Diocese to support all schools to flourish and provide a strong model of improvement; we believe this will be enhanced by the combined capacity of ELT, LPCAT and LPAT schools and the shared expertise they contain.
Our collective ambition is that the potential of a merger will allow both Trusts to enhance their schools’ educational provision in its broadest sense as well as providing a home for other church schools in the Diocese. This will be achieved through staff professional development, greater opportunities for collaboration for pupils, supporting local stakeholders and ensuring that each school continues to improve its academic offer while preserving its individual identity and ethos. We will work with our staff and communities to seek their views throughout this process.
Mike Boddington, CEO of Enlighten Learning Trust, said, “Both trusts are committed to maintaining their Christian distinctiveness, providing a vibrant learning environment and continuing to be key members of the diocesan family of schools. We believe that through this potential collaboration, we could build on our shared values while benefitting from the strength of a larger trust framework.”
Jack Mayhew, CEO of Learning Partners Church Academy Trust, said, “This exploratory phase will be undertaken with a focus on whether such a merger would benefit the children in our care. Our primary goal is to ensure that any future decision would be in the best interests of the students, staff, and communities who rely on us for high quality education.”
While we recognise the strengths that exist in our Trusts this exploration is a positive step forward as we look forward to working together to determine how a merger would be in the best interests of our pupils, staff and communities for the long term.
Helen Coulson Julia Lamaison
Chair, Enlighten Learning Trust Chair, Learning Partners Church Academy Trust
