St Martin’s Multi Academy Trust

Educational Excellence at St Martin’s Trust 

The work of school improvement across St. Martin’s Multi-Academy Trust is driven by four core principles. Firstly, we strive to embed a shared understanding of what constitutes exemplary teaching. Secondly, we base our decision-making and teaching approaches on the best available evidence. This leads us to our third principle: fostering a culture of improvement, where self-reflection and a commitment to continuous growth are encouraged. And finally, we ensure that high-quality professional development opportunities are accessible to all our staff. 

Exemplary Teaching 

We aim to cultivate exemplary teaching through a deep understanding of pedagogy, rigorous curriculum planning, and a nurturing learning environment. Our aim is to equip teachers to inspire curiosity, foster engagement, and facilitate comprehensive learning experiences for all pupils. Our commitment to exemplary teaching is manifested through four main areas: 

1. Learning Environment: Schools create engaging, resource-rich classrooms where children feel safe, curious, and eager to learn, promoting independence and a positive learning climate. 

1. Planning and Subject Knowledge: Our teaching is grounded in deep curriculum understanding, ensuring lessons are thoughtfully sequenced, challenging, and supportive, enabling all pupils to thrive. 

1. Classroom Practice: Relationships and personalised learning are central to our teaching, with strategies informed by the latest research to encourage deep understanding and pupil ownership of learning. 

1. Assessment: Our approach to assessment is thorough, utilising insights to tailor teaching, with a focus on understanding each child’s progress and guiding them towards their full potential. 

Responsive and Tailoured Support

Understanding each school’s unique path, we offer support that adapts to their specific stages and needs. From stabilisation to sustained success, our approach is flexible, allowing us to provide relevant and responsive support that truly makes a difference in the educational journey of our schools.

Collaborative Pathways to School Improvement 

At St. Martin’s Multi-Academy Trust, we believe that true school improvement can only be achieved through effective and authentic collaboration. That’s why school leaders within our Trust are an integral part of the School Improvement Team. No school should feel isolated when they can share ideas, expertise, and experiences, backed by evidence-based strategies for improvement. 

Support from each other and from the School Improvement Lead means that school leaders, middle leaders, teachers and any other adults that work in the schools have opportunities to work together through routinely systematised structures, not facilitated by an organisation outside of the school. A range of networks to enable people to collaborate, share ideas and help one another in subject leadership; pastoral care; teaching and leadership exist across the Trust.