First year celebration for Devon academy trust

Every teacher from 14 primary schools across Devon got together to celebrate the successful first year of the biggest primary academy trust in the country.

The Primary Academies Trust educates 2,300 pupils across Devon with 120 teaching staff and 280 support staff.

The Trust encompasses the six schools in the First Federation – Blackpool, Chudleigh Knighton, Salcombe, Newton Ferrers, Aveton Gifford and Lady Seaward’s near Exeter – and the four schools in the Children First Federation – Wilcombe in Tiverton, Sidbury, Sampford Peverell and Hemyock – as well as South Brent and Orchard Vale in Barnstaple.

Walter Daw in Exeter and Bradninch will both join the Trust in January.

The schools were among the first in the country to take advantage of the changes introduced by the Education Secretary Michael Gove which allowed them to convert to academy status and become independent of local authority control.

The Executive Heads of the First Federation, Paul Jones, and the Children First Federation, Gary Chown, together with the heads of South Brent, Helen Nicholls, and Orchard Vale, Jan Baker, are executive directors of the Trust.

Mr Jones said: “We are the largest primary multi-academy trust in the country and we have grown in the first year.

“We are structured for growth but we won’t take on a school unless we can help improve the education of every child in that school.

“This is not about a Government agenda or an Ofsted agenda. If we are not making children’s lives better then we should not be here.”

Mr Jones said staff from each of the schools in the Trust would have the opportunity to work in other schools which would then benefit from their expertise.

He said a similar conference would be held for the Trust’s support staff and groups were being set up to cover areas such as Early Years, special needs and business management.

“They are all coming together to get this hard-wired network going and allow us to share the expertise we have among our staff,” he said.

“Since the Trust was formed we have had eight Ofsted inspections which have all reported an improvement of at least one grade in those schools.”