The CEO of a new multi-academy trust in Ipswich has spoken about his vision to bring the best out of two high performing primary schools.
Daniel Jones, CEO of Children’s Endeavour Trust, said founder members Broke Hall Community Primary School and Springfield Junior School were “excited” about their future prospects after officially joining forces on New Year’s Day.
While many schools are encouraged to become academies due to poor performance, Mr Jones said Broke Hall and Springfield chose to take the leap as it was felt staff and pupils alike would benefit from their mutual success.
Broke Hall and Springfield – which are rated ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ respectively – formed the new multi-academy trust (MAT) on January 1.
“The reason that the two schools have got together is because both schools share a similar ethos for what we want to do as a trust,” Mr Jones explained.
“We want to try and build on the professional sense of staff and both schools for the benefit of the children.
“Sometimes schools become academies because they are under pressure to do so. [Our] schools have taken a proactive decision. Both are strong schools.”
Looking to the future, Mr Jones said staff would be working together across the two schools “more formally”, with the deputy heads at both Broke Hall and Springfield already engaged in shared projects.
He added: “What we’ll be looking to do is have some events going on that children from both schools attend.”
Mr Jones said the funding situation will also be different, with both schools able to make more effective spending decisions.
He said: “We will receive our budget directly from the Department for Education rather than from Suffolk County Council, enabling us to use our resources more efficiently and effectively.”
Mr Jones added: “It is our intention to sustain and build on the many strengths of the two schools.
“Both schools have a track record of working developmentally with other local schools and are graded by Ofsted as ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’.
“We are excited about the Children’s Endeavour Trust and look forward to achieving our aims with future partners.”
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