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Proactively collaborate with and support schools in your area

Adrian Rogers, CEO of Chiltern Learning Trust, shares the trust's approach to building trusting relationships with local schools – a model it learnt during lockdown, and one which it's now added to its due diligence process.

Last reviewed on 14 April 2022
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 44238
Contents
  1. How did this come about?
  2. Build arrangements on trust – avoid using formal service level agreements where possible
  3. Be open to sharing your resources and expertise 
  4. Set up collaborative networks in teaching and learning
  5. If offering paid services – give them a taster first

How did this come about?

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Chiltern Learning Trust (CLT) had already been in early discussions with 4 local schools who were interested in joining the trust. When lockdown was announced these 4 schools asked if they could be part of CLT's hub school planning. The trust agreed and in the process has learnt a valuable lesson – Adrian sums it up nicely:

"This has been a great model when thinking about the trust’s growth, providing a nice ‘half-way house’ for both the trust and the schools themselves. From our perspective, the usual due diligence can only go so far, so actually working with the leaders and teachers from these schools and building relationships has been invaluable – we will definitely be keeping this as a new element of the due diligence process going forward."

Build arrangements on trust – avoid using formal service level agreements where possible

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