Jayne has worked in education for 29 years and in 2005 moved from mainstream to alternative provision. She was appointed headteacher at Ethos College in 2012 before taking up the role of CEO of Ethos Academy Trust in 2018. 

The need for agility in this ever-changing world 

I don’t mind telling you that 2023 was a particularly challenging year, especially in relation to funding streams for some of our settings. However, these challenges have brought about new opportunities and have actually been the catalyst for a positive shift in Trust’s direction and focus. 

For many years some of our academies were commissioned to deliver a broad range of Alternative Provision strands (Day 6, medical, turnaround, longer stay KS4 placements). However, due to financial constraints outside of our trust, new commissioning arrangements meant that the remit of some of our academies needed to change. This was an important reminder for us that no matter how strong our relationships with our commissioning local authorities are, sometimes there are things beyond our control that influence external decisions, meaning that as a Trust we must never be complacent. 

To avoid compromising the high quality of provision in any way, we needed to be creative and act quickly. At first, all we could see was the challenge, but as we didn’t have the luxury of time, we knew we had to come up with a solution to remain viable – and we did. Within a matter of weeks, we put the strategy and operations in place to enable us to change the core purpose of our three longest-running AP academies (within the EAT family). All three now deliver outstanding long-stay provision for pupils with EHCPs – and it’s been a strong move for us. We’ve now moved away from earlier intervention to a model that best supports long-stay children with educational care plans. These developments are allowing us to strengthen our specialist offer in SEMH and wider SEND than our previous multi-faceted remits allowed. Streamlining the focus of provision in some of our academies has also enabled us to support neighbouring Local Authorities who are seeking high-quality, long-term placements for their pupils, allowing them to remain educated close to home, a very welcome development for both children and their families. 

In addition to this reset, we also welcomed two new schools into the EAT family, both with different strengths and needs. Both schools have helped to enhance the breadth of provision within the Trust and enabled us to offer long-term opportunities for:  

• the development and sharing of outstanding practice. 

• the creation of new and inspiring career development pathways and professional development opportunities. 

• strengthened specialist networks in safeguarding; attendance; SEND; Curriculum; Teaching and Learning; Maths; English. 

As time progressed, we have developed and launched our new strategic priorities in collaboration with all key stakeholders, thinking deeply about how we can further improve outcomes for our children/young people and their families. 

Reflections:  

• We have recognised the importance of nurturing relationships with all our stakeholders. The formal and informal support we received during our challenging year when we had to operate at speed was a testament to the power and value of strong partnerships. 

• Agility is key. We are a relatively small, growing trust and yet we were still able to regroup and reset when we were faced with a significant challenge without compromising on our quality of provision or overall vision. We’ve learned very quickly that we can mobilise different ways of working. 

• Complacency can be dangerous. With a precarious landscape of funding cuts, political unrest and policy changes, it’s imperative to consider ‘worst case’ scenarios as part of your planning. Anything can happen – and it probably will at some point. 

• Communication is key – we were able to pull together and promote ourselves with confidence. We gathered various resources and produced high-quality materials to help us tap into new audiences and build relationships with key stakeholders quickly and effectively. Since then, we’ve held a whole-Trust Festival of Learning 2024 day to celebrate, collaborate and encourage our sense of ‘Belonging’ and passion for improvement. 

• We have earned our reputation as a quality provider in our sector and our communities. We know we make a difference, and our impact reports, quality marks and testimonials give us the rubber stamp confidence to put ourselves ‘out there’. 

• We can and must embrace change. It’s liberating and inevitable.