The government recently restated its intention for schools to work in larger families of schools, often in MATs. The result of this has been for many school leaders and governors to begin to explore their options for any future changes they may want or need to consider. Subsequent information and advice from local authorities has also encouraged schools to do this.
Our directors have taken a pragmatic approach to trust growth since its formation in 2014 and we will welcome other schools joining the trust if there is a compelling rationale & moral imperative for doing so. What this means in practice is that TaSMAT is driven by the desire to provide support and add value where the circumstances are right for all parties involved, irrespective of the current Ofsted status of a school. What is most important to us is helping to improve the opportunities for children in the schools we are working with.
In recent years we have explored a number of opportunities to work with schools in this way, and since 2019 we have been working in formal partnership with St Mary’s School and College in Bexhill. This has been an excellent example of TaSMAT being able to provide support and capacity and to add value to all schools involved.
We do not limit our offer of support to special schools however, and over recent years we have provided a range of support to a number of local schools and we are always happy to discuss this with school leaders.
We are also happy to discuss our experience of the conversion process, of operating a small trust and to share what we have learnt so far, so if you are considering conversion, want to hear from a local trust or talk to a colleague about the possibility of working with TaSMAT, please do contact our Executive Headteacher / CEO.