Latest jobs
| Title | Location | Salary | Type |
|---|
Opportunities with
Forward Education Trust
View detailsWelcome from Forward Education Trust’s Chief Executive Officer
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Forward Education Trust (FET) and thank you for your interest in working with us.
FET is an established and developing MAT of 7 special schools. We are working through an exciting period of change and as Chief Executive Officer, I lead a talented and committed staff group, as we strive to provide a safe and supportive environment for us to care for and educate our children.
Our new Education Director Dr Debbie Bailey joined us in January 2023. In Debbie we have someone with wide experience and sector knowledge helping to harness the talents of our staff, as well as engage with external partners, to support the stability and future growth of our Trust and schools.
Our aim is to create a cohesive team of Trust Central staff and school staff, working together, fiercely loyal to each other. We are committed to developing local school identity and ethos, adopting strategies for school improvement that build on and enhance local reputation, raise standards and respond to the needs and aspirations of those we serve. We care about our staff, their learning, development and well-being and we are responding to feedback from our first Trust-wide employee survey on a wide range of matters relating to communication, workload, personal & professional development and wider support to our staff.
Our values remain unchanged, but we want to articulate them better and give unequivocal evidence that people can see them in the decisions we make and the things that we do. Mutual respect must pervade all our relationships and together our staff will learn, practice and collaborate – a sense of team will identify how we nurture our talent, for the benefit of our young people. At all times, FET will be a safe place for our children, because our staff will know that this is their top priority.
Anyone joining the Trust must share these values and live them in their daily lives. We want to empower people to make decisions and to be creative. We are recruiting talented, experienced, ambitious and forward-thinking people who want to work as part of a team that is committed to our ethos of moving forward together, striving for and achieving opportunities to improve outcomes and provide stability and success for all. These are not just words, this is what we do. You will be supported to ensure that the well-being and education of our students is at the centre of everything we do. We will also value you and your development and well-being and we want our people to grow with us.
I would welcome the chance to tell you more about any of our fantastic leadership opportunities and hope that you might be motivated to be part of the exciting future plans we have for Forward Education Trust
Best regards,
Simon Dilkes
CEO, Forward Education Trust
About Forward Education Trust
Forward Education Trust was established in March 2017 when the federation of Brays School (then on two sites at Sheldon and Tile Cross) and The Bridge School (Sutton Coldfield) academised. When the Trust was formed Hallmoor School (an all through provision) joined as a sponsored school.
The Trust has expanded and changed recently. On 1st September 2021, Brays School was de-amalgamated when the Sheldon site retained the Brays name and a new school called Leycroft Academy was established on the Tile Cross site.
In addition, the former Skilts School was relocated by Birmingham City Council to a new site and called Lea Hall Academy, which is a sponsor-led academy that joined FET on 1st September 2021. High Point Academy (Secondary) was developed as a free school by the DfE and opened as an academy on 1st September 2021.
Finally, to bring us to where we are now, a new school in Solihull to be called The Heights Academy is being developed in conjunction with Solihull Council and will open in September 2023.
So, FET is now a Trust of 7 special schools across all age ranges, covering the widest spectrum of Special Educational Needs students. With close to 800 students and over 400 staff, FET is a strong force in special education in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull. We have plans for future growth within our catchment areas and will remain a specialist SEND Trust.
Under the stewardship of Simon Dilkes, FET will concentrate on its established core values, with the major focus on the well-being and education of our students and, second only to that, to the recruitment, retention, development and well-being of staff. FET will be different in the future through small changes that will have a significant impact for students and staff. The schools will develop individual personalities, recognising their own particular characteristics and celebrating the many good things that happen day-to-day. School leaders will increasingly be able to make the right choices for their students, with support from the FET Central Team, the Board of Trustees and Local Academy Councils. Through this, FET aims to be a place that staff want to come to and stay at. The Trust’s ambitions remain undiminished – to ensure the children in its schools receive the best possible education, care and life chances.
Vision, Ethos and Values
Vision
To ensure the children in our schools receive the best possible education, care and life chances by being the West Midlands bespoke provider of choice for children with high levels of special educational needs.
Ethos
Moving forward together, striving for and achieving opportunities to improve outcomes and provide stability and success for all.
Values
Our Schools
