2

Learning through adventure has a proven track record in developing those personalqualities – independence, problem solving ability, discipline, team working andconfidence – which are in demand in the modern workplace and underpin successfulsocial development. Learning through adventure provides a reliable means fordeveloping a distinctive school ethos, supportive of personal development, theachieving of high standards and encouraging student and parental choice.

Adventure Learning Academy Trust (ALAT) builds on the strengths of learning through

adventure in a new ‘whole-school design’ applied across our schools. Our schools are

fully comprehensive and inclusive, with a strong focus on personalisation. These are

places where young people will thrive irrespective of their background, socio-economic

status, or learning needs. All elements of the school’s design is infused with learning

through adventure and the wilderness environment: from the curriculum design and

approach to teaching and learning, to the leadership, organisational design, partnerships

and wider resources that the school can draw on. Being part of a Multi-Academy Trust

(MAT) offers the freedoms and flexibilities in building design, curriculum and timetable

models and staffing to help deliver the ‘Adventure Learning’ school.

Our aim is to be an Academy Trust that sets the standards that others will want to follow. To

bring together immense expertise from the education field and the professionalism and

influences of commercial partners with a shared vision to raise educational attainment

nationally. Through proven practices, ALAT will transform the learning of students, raise

standards and provide the highest quality learning environments, enabling students and

teaching staff to thrive and be the best.

ALAT has developed a personal journey approach for learning that enables each student to

reach the highest level of personal achievement through the acquisition of a range of learning

skills and customised curriculum. Schools joining the Trust’s network will be supported

and encouraged to take advantage of academy freedoms to innovate for better

student outcomes. They will be part of a new, growing educational community,

working together, sharing knowledge, resources and best practice, and actively

supporting each other to be outstanding education providers.

ALAT shares this ethos with its sister multi-academy trust, Bright Tribe, which

provides ALAT schools with additional networking and collaborative working

opportunities with schools in the North West of England and in Suffolk.

3

54

ALAT’s guiding principles are focused around ‘learn, grow, prosper’:

Learn. We will...

Our educational aims and objectives

Provide the best education for every child.

Recognising the individual needs of each learner and

supporting them to reach their own potential; praising and

challenging; building confidence, self-worth and life skills;

enabling them to achieve the highest standards.

Ensure the highest quality teaching and learning.

Providing best practice individual learning, appropriate to each

child’s ability and ambition through outstanding teaching and

curriculum. This includes the best available teaching and

learning strategies, professional learning support and the use

of innovative technology.

Work with the family, the parent or carer.

To help us identify and understand their child’s needs, find the

right learning pathway and to work with them to support their

child’s progress and achievement.

Grow. We will...Grow all learners’ futures.

Proactively developing community, academic and employer

partnerships and different learning pathways; ensuring all

children, whatever their ability, have the appropriate

qualifications, behaviours and life skills to take them

successfully beyond school.

Develop the best teaching staff.

Working together to retain and attract the best qualified

or skilled staff; managing their performance; offering

excellent coaching and mentoring, training and continuous

professional development.

Provide the best learning environment and supporting technology.

Developing inspirational buildings and facilities that are

appropriate, well-managed, safe and secure; implementing

the on-going use of innovative new technologies and ICT to

support the delivery of a world-class education.

Prosper. We will...Lead the way in education.

Developing best practice and policy; working with leading

national and international organisations and higher education

institutions, to develop learning strategies that continue to

innovate educational delivery for the benefit of every child.

Realise the opportunities.

An ethos of continuous improvement; always seeking better

and more precise ways of working and learning; striving at all

times to be the best in all we do. Sharing knowledge to help

others improve; supporting all our academies to reach our own

exacting ‘outstanding’ standard.

Be connected to the community.

Developing academies that are ‘leading lights’ in their own

communities and nationally; supporting community and

economic development and producing responsible and

engaged citizens who are actively contributing to society.

76

Our key actions

ALATLearn Grow Prosper

PersonalisedLearning

CurriculumFrameworks

Leadership

Accountability

High QualityTeaching

Partnerships

1 Through partnership, build an inclusive and principled

educational community –

...This is the ALAT Community.

2 Place personalised learning, curiosity and adventure,

together with enriching experiences, at the heart of the

curriculum and the learner’s entitlement and voice in and

outside the classroom –

...The ALAT Learner Entitlement.

3 Develop a comprehensive and accessible model of

school reform that is action oriented, widely understood

and leads to excellence –

...The ALAT Manifesto.

4 Gain access to the highest quality external support

and consultancy through our partnerships with high

performing schools and our sister trust, Bright Tribe–

...The ALAT Partner School.

5 Invest in school leadership and management at all levels

as the critical component of school improvement in terms

of both recruitment and on-going staff development –

...The ALAT Leadership Development Programme.

6 Recruit and retain the brightest and best as new teachers

and high quality professional staff –

...The ‘ALAT First’ recruitment model.

7 Generate an explicit ALAT teaching model for all schools, that

is not prescriptive, but with the theories of action and models

of learning that comprise the most outstanding of lessons–

...The ALAT Outstanding Lesson.

8 Nurture teacher quality through career-long professional

learning that focuses on classroom practice and the

development of pedagogic leadership that is linked both

to performance management and pupil learning –

...The ALAT Professional Learning Framework.

9 Let self-evaluation measures of pupil progress and

assessment of learning drive all our professional

behaviours and strategies –

...The ALAT Intelligent Accountability Strategy.

10 Embrace all our schools, children, staff and parents as a

community of learners with the highest of expectations and

the sharing of great practice –

...The ALAT Network.

To achieve our vision, we will: We will deliver on these ten key

actions throughout the ALAT

improvement journey by the

adoption of a whole-school design,

as outlined on the following pages

and illustrated here.

The whole-school design

98

Leadership

ALAT schools are driven by a moral

purpose ensuring that all learners reach

their potential both academically and

socially within a humanising school

ethos. Such leadership has a total and

persistent focus on high quality

teaching and learning, a rigorous,

coherent and enquiry-led curriculum

coupled with developmental

performance management. Leadership

is shared within and across schools

through the use of school improvement

teams.

Personalised learning

ALAT schools personalise the learning

experiences of all students. This

includes the creation of personalised

learning pathways, the active use of

personal tutoring and the acquisition of

a range of learning skills. There is a

commitment to assessment for learning

and the provision of personalised

support which embrace the voice of the

learner. These strategies are designed

to ensure that ALAT pupils have high

quality learning experiences, make

excellent progress and are motivated to

achieve the highest standards.

Curriculum frameworks

ALAT schools have an unrelenting focus

on literacy and numeracy within a wide-

ranging curriculum entitlement. This

includes the active use of learning

platforms and new technologies, the

creation of personalised curriculum

pathways and the facilitation of cross-

curricular learning expeditions. These

frameworks are designed to ensure

curriculum progression, cohesion and

rigour which enable learners to acquire

the appropriate skills and qualifications

that lead to employment, further

education and higher education

opportunities.

Partnerships

ALAT schools promote partnerships

which increase capacity and improve

outcomes for learners, schools and

families through strong parental

involvement, active community and

employer connectivity, and excellent

student progression 3–19 and beyond.

In designing and developing

partnerships to support this progress

there is a strong emphasis on

understanding community needs and

the effective facilitation of collaborative

working at all levels.

High quality teaching

In ALAT schools, high quality teaching

is ensured by a common framework for

teaching and learning being adopted

across all schools, with professional

development being influenced by

‘instructional rounds’ that result in a

deeper understanding of the link

between teaching and learning. This

is driven by evidence-based strategies

for improved learning and teaching

as well as the development of best

practice through collaborative working

across ALAT.

Accountability

Accountability for the highest of

standards is part of the ALAT DNA. In

this regard, there is an expectation that

ALAT schools will share a commitment to

meeting the most demanding of external

accountability measures. Of equal

importance is the need to rigorously

address internal accountability measures

through the adoption of effective

practices in assessment and data

management. In ALAT schools, this

includes developing robust systems

and processes to embed effective

practices in school self-evaluation and

tracking students’ progress on a regular

six-weekly basis.

At the heart of the ALAT model of schooling are the values, entitlements

and guarantees that are described below. It is these principles and

standards that give ALAT schools their distinctive ethos and that are

reflected in the key components of the whole-school design. These six

elements are the essential features of an outstanding school and each is

underpinned by a set of proven practices that are consistently adopted

across the ALAT academy chain. They are:

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As a graduate of an ALAT school, I am:

I am an extraordinary person!

• literate and numerate with good technology skills

• a problem-solver, collaborator, leader and resilient

• respectful of, and a positive contributor to, my community and peers

• a confident, enquiring individual with adventure, outdoor and multi-cultural learning experiences

• leaving a legacy for my fellow pupils and my community

The ALAT whole-school design aims to deliver the following outcomes for all children by

providing a vibrant and enriching educational experience:

• Support all children at primary stage, regardless of initial entry levels, to achieve at least national expectations.

• Ensure all primary schools exceed floor targets and are secure above national standard.

• Support all secondary students to achieve above national average qualifications in at least five GCSEs, the

English Baccalaureate and/or equivalent industry recognised, vocational qualifications.

• Provide a breadth of curriculum pathways 14–19, including A Levels, AS Levels and vocational offers.

• Support all of our academies to achieve an Ofsted rating of ‘outstanding’ within a rigorous improvement plan.

Our goals ALAT’s school ‘Improvement Pathway’

To realise our vision, ALAT employs a phased approach to school improvement. Whether the starting point

is ‘satisfactory’ or otherwise, the intention is that all ALAT schools undertake a school improvement journey

that leads to excellence, as shown below.

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Schools getting on to the improvement pathway

Schools that are ‘getting on to the improvement pathway’ lack the capacity to

improve. They need a high level of external support and direction in order to get the

basics in place and to establish the pre-conditions for success. This is achieved

through the appointment of a:

• Residency Adviser with turnaround and capacity building skills who works

intensively with the leadership and school improvement teams for a period of two

terms for two or three days a week.

• School Adviser – following the initial period of intensive intervention the school

adviser is then able to work directly with the school improvement team.

• Curriculum Adviser – in literacy, numeracy, behaviour and data management:

these are usually the deficit areas in such schools.

• ALAT Principal – who provides immediate support for those schools without

leadership capacity until a substantive Principal can be appointed.

Our aim is to produce a confident and competent leadership and school

improvement team able to make significant and rapid improvement. The on-going

analysis of pupil data for these schools will show evidence of progress in all year

groups and across the distribution. The school will then be in a position to join the

ALAT improvement pathway.

Schools on the journey to ‘good’

Schools that are ‘on the journey to good’ need to refine their developmental priorities

and focus upon specific teaching and learning issues and build capacity within the

school to support this work. This will be achieved through:

• School Advisers – work with the school leadership and improvement teams in

accelerating progress through more precision in teaching and monitoring. They

also broker specific support from an ALAT Support School (see below) in terms of

appropriate curriculum and pedagogic coaching, assist in enhancing

performance management and continue to provide support for Ofsted.

• Curriculum Adviser – may need to be involved on a more limited basis, but

there may also be the need for continuing literacy support.

• ALAT Support Schools – are identified from among ALAT’s and Bright Tribe’s

‘outstanding’ schools for curriculum and teaching support and mentoring.

This approach aims to produce a confident and competent leadership and school

improvement team that is able to deliver precise teaching at a ‘good’ standard

and above on a reliable basis. Quantitative school, class and pupil data will show

good progress.

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Schools getting to ‘outstanding’

‘Getting to outstanding’ schools need specific strategies in this phase of their journey

that ensure the school remains a ‘moving’ school, continues to enhance pupil

performance and engages in networking with ALAT schools and others. This is about

sustainability, succession planning and moving to system teaching and system

leadership so developing staff at all levels. This is achieved through:

• School Adviser – working with the school leadership and improvement teams in

deepening the enquiry focus throughout the school, increasing confidence in use

of data and supporting forms of professional development to ensure that all

teachers are working towards being ’outstanding’.

• ALAT Network Adviser – would facilitate half-termly twilight sessions to share

the best of practice in teaching, learning and monitoring across the ALAT family.

Such an approach will result in schools that are well on the way to being

‘outstanding’, with large numbers of staff on Masters programmes and that are

working towards Adventure Learning School accreditation. Pupil tracking data will

show more than expected progress.

Outstanding schools that sustain excellence

‘Outstanding’ schools and schools that sustain excellence become ALAT Support

Schools. Their signal characteristic is the way in which they search for excellence

internally and support other schools in their own journeys of improvement externally.

This is achieved through:

• School Adviser – working with these schools’ leadership and improvement

teams, guiding them in the development of their skills in the ALAT Coaching

Model, leading instructional rounds and supporting the

implementation of the school improvement strategy.

This will result in schools that are sustaining and deepening

their outstanding status and providing support across the

ALAT family. Pupil tracking data will show sustained and

excellent progress.

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ALAT’s educational offer provides all necessary

materials, training and guidance to ensure rapid and

sustained improvement. It provides intensive support

for schools requiring urgent and rigorous action but

also offers significant opportunities for high

performing schools and senior leadership teams to

play a wider role in school improvement and have

greater influence on the development of education

policy and practice. Key education entitlements

include the following:

Our educational offer

These services are provided directly by ALAT’s School

Improvement Team, professional education advisers and

through ALAT and Bright Tribe Support Schools.

1 Reviews, planning and evaluation

• Annual school review including pre-Ofsted and

based on self-evaluation

• School improvement planning, incorporating

performance data

2 Leadership development

• Leadership development framework including

system leadership

• Principals’ regional conferences and networking events

3 Personalised learning

• Personalised learning pathways and individual

support programmes

• Development of learning skills and outlooks

4 Curriculum development

• Curriculum development support for middle leaders

and specialist hubs

• Curriculum progression including the Adventure

Learning curriculum and specialist curriculum

development based on local and sub-regional

employer demand

5 Teaching and learning

• First year residency support and regular school

consultancy

• Instructional rounds linked to 'The ALAT Outstanding

Lesson'

6 School improvement

• The ALAT whole-school design

• Differentiated support to ensure that all schools

progress rapidly to excellence

7 Parent and community engagement

• Parent/carer web-based portal

• Support for the provision of additional adult and

community learning

8 Performance management

and career development

• Performance review,

professional learning and coaching

• Masters programme

9 Access to ICT

• Access to innovative technology to support enhanced

personalised learning

• Progress tracking

10 Networking activity

• Schools’ network regional collaborative meetings

and conferences

• Collaborative school projects and access to a

database of schools’ network expertise

1918

In addition to significant educational expertise, ALAT’s management team

has proven professional and commercial expertise gained in education,

industry, government and finance. Being part of the ALAT community

means that schools are entitled to, and have access to, a range of school

management and administrative support services. These functions and

services are provided either directly by ALAT or through a rigorously

procured and performance measured supply chain.

These services are managed centrally to enable our academies to

focus on delivering the very best education for their students

and their communities. This also ensures consistent quality

of service provision, provides operational efficiencies and

cost savings, and ensures best value.

Management support

Core services entitlement

• Governance – support and challenge for governing bodies, including

governor recruitment and training support, governor networks and forums and

governor portal.

• Finance – business practice support and advice, accounting/financial and MIS

systems, insurances procurement, funding application support and access to

value for money procured framework suppliers.

• Human Resources (HR) management and legal advice – including advice

and support, HR support line, DBS check provider procurement, access to HR

resources and legal support.

• ICT – infrastructure audits and improvements: support with MIS configuration and

use; secure and fully MIS integrated web-based portal providing a collaborative

teaching and learning environment, access to a suite of flexible integrated reporting

tools and a suite of apps to support personalised learning; ICT training modules.

• The learning environment – statutory compliance audit, buildings and facilities

performance audit, estate improvement plan, savings and efficiency advice,

reactive maintenance helpdesk, insurance bureau, utility procurement.

• Marketing and public relations (PR) – branding and communications, school

re-launch and opening support, local marketing and PR planning and support, pupil

recruitment support, website design and development, community engagement,

crisis management, on-going graphic design and website support.

Enhanced services

In addition to these core entitlements,

ALAT also provides a range of

enhanced services that are available to

schools. We will be happy to provide

further information about any of these

additional services.

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Professor David HopkinsDirector of Education

David is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of

Education, University of London, and holds visiting

professorships at six national and international

universities. David has served three Secretaries of

State as Chief Adviser on School Standards and Director of the

Standards and Effectiveness Unit. He was also Professor and

Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Nottingham

and was a member of the team that secured the location of the

National College for School Leadership there.

David was previously an Outward Bound instructor,

schoolteacher, university lecturer and tutor. David believes

strongly in both personalised learning and ‘whole-school’

designs for school improvement. He is committed to making

ALAT academies and students the best they possibly can be

and to placing the ALAT movement at the heart of changes to

UK education practice and policy.

David has published close to 50 books on educational issues

and has just completed his school improvement trilogy:

• School Improvement for Real (2000);

• Every School a Great School (2007); and

• Exploding the Myths of School Reform (2013).

The ALAT team – key roles

Kathy KirkhamDirector of Schools/Regional Director

Kathy has extensive experience in establishing

new, and developing existing, education

provisions including academies and maintained

schools. Kathy was Head of Free Schools,

University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and Studio Schools for

the Education Funding Agency where she provided support for

all aspects of their operations during the set-up phase to

opening and beyond.

Kathy is a Chartered Building Surveyor with 25 years’

experience working in local authorities and central government

and, prior to working with the Education Funding Agency, she

worked for Partnerships for Schools. With a track record of

delivering complex projects in challenging environments,

including innovative private finance solutions, she was

responsible for the successful delivery of the first two waves

(79 schools) of the £1bn Free Schools Programme.

Kathy also continues to work with the Baker Dearing Trust in

the establishment of UTCs.

Paul CarterRegional Director

Paul is an experienced senior leader from the

education and public sector. In his early career

he was Principal of a general further education

college in Cheshire and has held a number of

senior positions within local government including Director of

Education and Director of Enterprise and Partnerships.

Previous to this, Paul was responsible for leading the

apprentice and adult trade training function for the RAF.

Prior to joining ALAT, Paul spent the last two years as CEO and

Executive Principal of a multi-academy trust in Manchester; the

trust included a number of secondary academies, a studio

school and an alternative provision academy.

Paul sits on a number of national groups including the CBI

Education and Workforce Strategy Board. He has spent time

as an interim head teacher during his time with Lancashire

County Council.

Gary KellyRegional Director

Gary is a qualified teacher who, prior to leading

on the skills agenda in the North East of Greater

Manchester, led the Department for Education’s

14–19 Greater Manchester Challenge. He also

worked in leadership positions in two inner-city high schools,

latterly helping to lead a high school in the north of Greater

Manchester from special measures to good in 18 months with

significantly improved achievement and attendance and a

reduction in exclusions.

Gary has also worked for Rochdale Council with the remit of

rapidly increasing the skills levels of the borough and reducing

NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training).

Gary has significant experience of working with underachieving

schools, with a clear focus on rapid improvement.

Gary continues in his role as an accredited lead Ofsted

inspector of schools, and has spent the last 12 months

working on various projects including school improvement

work, specifically supporting leadership and management and

the quality of teaching with primary, secondary and post-16

institutions. Gary recently assisted Greater Manchester’s New

Economy as interim Head of Partnerships, with a specific

focus on the Employer Ownership of Skills (EOS) initiative.

Joe Smith Chief Operating Officer

Joe is a finance specialistand has held numerousFinancial and GroupFinancial Directorships for major, multi-national

corporations, including FTSE 100companies, throughout his career. He alsohas extensive experience in developinghighly successful corporate ventures andsourcing and reviewing investmentopportunities. Joe is Vice Chairman ofManchester Building Society.

2322

Sonja ButterworthSenior Education Adviser (Primary)

Sonja has worked in schoolimprovement for the last sixyears and has beeninstrumental in turningschools around and raising

standards in all areas, particularly Year 6.

Over the years she has held a variety ofroles, including: SENCO, Advisory Teacher,Deputy Headteacher, and Senior VicePrincipal – running a split site academy inSheffield’s Shiregreen area of the city.

Working with the local authority, Sonja haspreviously been seconded to schools inspecial measures that have been at risk ofclosure, working with headteachers, seniorleaders and class teachers to raisestandards in their schools.

Sonja’s expertise and experience in Year 6led to her developing and delivering qualitytraining on all aspects of the SATs year. Shehas also worked as part of a collaborativegroup of teachers that created an E-supportnetwork to raise standards in Year 6.

Sonja has NPQH and SLE status, focusingon collaborative practice and operationalsystems within leadership andmanagement.

Craig IvisonEducation Adviser Post-16

Craig’s role at ALAT is todevelop and deliver a post-16 strategy for schools. Heworks to maximiseopportunities for our

students and ensure they have thenecessary advice and guidance to selectthe most suitable further and highereducational routes and training oremployment options.

Craig has previously worked for CumbriaCounty Council as a Post-16 Adviser,leading education providers in developinginnovative provision to meet the needs ofyoung people and employers in the area.

Prior to this, Craig worked for the Learningand Skills Council as a Senior PolicyManager, leading on the developmentof national policies and strategies toestablish apprenticeships as amainstream education andtraining option, and asPartnership Manager leadingpartnerships to secureimprovements in post-16education. Craig has alsoworked for Cumbria Trainingand Enterprise Council.

Tony ElsonIndependent Chair

Until recentlyTony was theIndependent Chair of Community 1st, agovernment sponsored

public/private partnership developing andmaintaining community based primaryhealth, social care, leisure and communitypremises in Oldham, Sheffield, Stockportand Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

His experience includes work in a variety oflocal government roles from 1969 until 2004and subsequently he has supported variousnational and local government strategyreviews as a government adviser with afocus on public health and social care. Hewas appointed in 2011 by the Secretary ofState responsible for children, families andeducation services to lead a formalintervention into failing child protection andeducation services in Doncaster.

After completing his degree at BirminghamUniversity, Tony trained as a social workerand specialised in child protection. Later he became the first Head of Inspectoratefor Birmingham Social Services.

Tony worked for Kirklees Council from 1988 to 2004. Initially he was appointed asDirector of Social Services, and then in anExecutive Director role which at differenttimes also gave him responsibility forEducation, Housing and Benefit Services. In1998 he was appointed Chief Executive ofthe Council.

Chris HillSenior Education Adviser (Secondary)

Prior to joining ALAT, Chriswas Assistant Director ofLearning and Attainment atOldham Council, supportingthe improvement in Children’s

Services where education was inadequateand subject to intervention from theDepartment for Education. It subsequentlymoved to outstanding within three years.

Previously a successful headteacher inOldham, Chris was also a headteacher inGloucester, moving a school out of specialmeasures in four terms. Prior to that, shewas a School Improvement Adviser for theCity of Bristol, during which time she carriedout interim headships of challengingschools, one in special measures and onecausing considerable concern.

Chris carries out a number of oversightfunctions for ALAT and is also currently

involved in the establishment ofa new University Technical

College in Oldham,

The GM UTC,including the designof the curriculum.

Gail KempEducation Adviser

Gail has over 20 years’experience working inschools, many of which have been in a schoolimprovement capacity. She

has been a key player in turning schoolsaround and raising standards in all areas,particularly Year 6.

Gail has worked as an advisory teacher,deputy head teacher and more recentlyvice principal for teaching and learning in a large inner city academy in Sheffield withover 1,000 pupils. Gail has supported manyschools through Ofsted inspections and isa specialist leader in education, supportingschools on their improvement journey.

Gail’s areas of expertise include developingand leading teaching and learning and CPDacross the academy, planning anddelivering school improvement training forhead teachers, developing and deliveringan e-support network for Year 6 teachers toraise standards across the city of Sheffield.

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Sir Dexter Hutt, FRSA

Sir Dexter Hutt was

Headteacher at

Ninestiles School in

Birmingham for 16 years

and then Chief Executive of Ninestiles

Plus, the school improvement arm of Ninestiles.

Sir Dexter has worked with the Government and local

authorities toimprove failing schools, using proven leadership

and school improvement techniques from his time at

Ninestiles, notably the Sigmoid Curve, which relates to the

concept of change and introducing it at the right time.

Sir Dexter has held a number of roles in his contribution to

school improvement, including Executive Leader of the

Hastings Federation, a member of the Department for

Education’s Headteachers Reference Group, working with the

Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, Commissioner for the

Commission for Racial Equality, a Trustee of Villiers Park, and a

board member of the Specialist Schools Trust and the Young

Peoples Learning Agency.

A well-respected leader in education, Sir Dexter has delivered

keynote speeches on leadership and school improvement at a

number of national and international conferences, and he was

knighted for services to education in 2004.

Dr. Liz Sidwell, CBE

Liz is an educational strategist and consultant

and was the former Schools Commissioner for

England (2011–2013) where her task was to

raise standards, tackle under performance

and champion the growth of academies, academy sponsors

and free schools. She has 30 years’ experience as an

educationalist in both the private and state independent

sectors including the Chief Executive of a unique hard

federation of three all-through academies in South East

London which she founded.

Liz is a governor of two schools and a Liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. Her stated aim is

“…to ensure every young person attends a ‘good’ school

where they can fulfil their potential and have a valued pathway

into Higher or Further Education.”

Rt. Hon. Lord Baker of Dorking C.H.

Kenneth Baker was a Conservative Member of

Parliament from 1968 to 1997. He held a

number of senior positions in the Conservative

Government, including that of Britain's first

Minister for Information Technology, when he introduced

computers into schools and privatised British Telecom (BT).

He was also Minister for Local Government; Secretary of

State for the Environment; and Secretary of State for Education

and Science, where he was responsible for introducing the

National Curriculum, tests and league tables, Grant Maintained

Schools, City Technology Colleges, and Student Loans.

As co-founder of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust,

Kenneth Baker is leading the introduction of University

Technical Colleges (UTCs) in the UK. UTCs are academies

for 14–18-year-olds that focus on providing technical

education that meets the needs of modern employers and

offer technical courses and work-related learning, combined

with academic studies. They open up the pathways to

apprenticeships and universities.

ALAT’s education advisory panel is made up of a

range of uniquely experienced educationalists and

learning specialists. They provide thought

leadership, educational strategy,

school improvement expertise,

skills development and ‘in field’

practical advice and guidance.

The advisory panel provides

the Trust with an appropriate

degree of flexibility to tackle

specific challenges and needs.

Our approach is to identify

inspirational headteachers from

academies that join ALAT and create

mentoring and consultancy opportunities

for these individuals through this forum to assist in

knowledge sharing and individual continuing

professional development. Identification and

recruitment of these individuals will progress at a

supportive pace with the introduction of new schools

to the ALAT network.

Education Advisory Panel

2726

To find out more about each ALAT

academy please visit our website:

www.alat.org.uk/our-academies

If you are a Headteacher or Governor

looking to convert to academy status,

or you are establishing a free school

and would like to discover more about

ALAT; or if you would simply like to

know more about becoming part of an

academy chain, then we would be very

happy to come and talk to you.

Please contact us to arrange a suitable

time either by phone: 01872 858 161

or via email: enquiries@alat.org.uk

If you would like to know more

The Trust’s founding partners

AdventureLearning Schoolsning SchoolsLear

eAdventurTMTM

ning Schools

Adventure Learning Schools

Adventure Learning Schools was formed in 2009 by

Professor David Hopkins, formerly Chief Adviser on

School Standards to the Secretary of State. Its aim is

to create a network of schools where learning is not

just enjoyable, but leads to genuine accomplishments,

an appreciation of oneself, others and society.

Learning occurs not just within classrooms but also

in the external environment, both wilderness and

urban, and is consistently infused by a spirit of

adventure and enquiry.

www.adventurelearningschools.org

Helping Hands Trust

Established since 2008, Helping Hands Trust

supports both individuals, particularly young people,

and causes in the UK and abroad. It assists those

suffering or in need because of financial hardship,

sickness, disability or distress, to advance their

education and personal achievements. Through its

sponsorship of ALAT, Helping Hands is seeking to

increase and widen its impact on advancing

education and life opportunities for young people.

www.helpinghandstrust.org.uk

Oli Knight

Oli was previously Vice Principal at Ark Academy

in London, part of one of the UK’s leading

academy chains, ARK Schools Group. He joined

the academy a year before it opened and, with

the Principal and senior team, led the school to its

‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection in November 2010.

The approach to teaching and learning that Oli implemented at

Ark has subsequently been adopted as a best practice model

in other ARK network schools and beyond. Ark Academy,

although still a young school, is increasingly seen as a centre

of excellence for teaching and teacher training.

Before Ark Academy, Oli was Assistant Headteacher at

St. Angela’s Ursuline School in Newham (also judged

‘outstanding’ by Ofsted). As a History specialist, Oli also holds

Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) status which he gained whilst

working as a Head of Department in a school in special

measures in Tower Hamlets.

Oli is a graduate of the Future Leaders Head Teacher training

programme delivered by the National College; a facilitator for

Teaching Leaders and author of several of their training

materials; and a regular speaker at educational conferences,

including the Specialist Schools and Academy Trust and Teach

First annual conference. Teach First recognised Oli as a ‘world

leader in developing transformational classrooms.’

Nigel McQuoid

Nigel’s career as a secondary English and Drama

teacher began in 1982 and he has gone on to

lead a number of highly successful institutions

within both education and youth work. In 1986,

he became the first CEO of Dublin YMCA before taking up a

senior teacher role within the newly-established Emmanuel

CTC in Gateshead. By 1999, he was Principal at Emmanuel

and went on to found three further schools in the North East

under the City Academies Programme.

He served as Director of Schools for all four of those schools

between 2005 and 2009, leading them through a succession

of outstanding OfSTED Inspections.

As well as serving on the DfE’s first Academies Advisory

Committee in 2003, Nigel went on to mentor a number of new

Academy Principals across the North of England and advise

several Academy and Free School sponsors on curriculum and

assessment, school improvement, leadership and strategic

development. After two years operating as an independent

consultant, he returned to headship at Waterhead Academy in

Oldham, bringing the school together from its two predecessor

sites in 2012.

P4737 10/14

CMA House 2nd Floor Newham Road Truro TR1 2SU

T 01872 858161 E enquiries@alat.org.uk www.alat.org.uk