The Stour Federation was born in 2011 when Acorns Primary School and Shipston-on-Stour Primary School federated.  We became a multi-academy trust in 2014 and the group is currently formed of four primary schools (joined by Brailes C of E Primary School in August 2021 and Kineton C of E Primary School in July 2022) serving communities in rural South Warwickshire. Our aim is to transform the lives of children and we believe the best way to achieve this is through relationships and collaboration. We celebrate the uniqueness of our schools but believe together, we are stronger.  The geographical location of our academies is central to the success of our collaboration.

We have a shared vision and set of values that underpin all that we do, with a central focus on creative, innovative and engaging teaching that develops a love and thirst for learning.

The Stour Federation is committed to working collaboratively within and beyond our Trust. Our school improvement work within and beyond the Trust is of a very high standard, with a proven track record of impact. It can be personalised to individuals, teams and schools. We are committed to developing a professional learning community that fosters trust and is supportive of all.

We recognise that schools and individuals will want to engage at different levels. With this in mind, we offer a range of solutions to suit your school's particular needs.

Working in partnership, as part of The Stour Federation, has a number of key benefits:

• Sharing of systems, structures and policies that have a proven track record of success.
• Strong supportive team approach, with professionals in similar roles across academies sharing best practice, developing new approaches and promoting innovation.
• Excellent career professional development opportunities through various career pathways, supporting the recruitment and retention of staff, talent management and professional learning.
• Sharing of teachers, expertise, research and best practice.
• Access to high quality, shared services.
• Innovative staffing arrangements, e.g. staff with specific skills working across more than one academy.
• Training days in common, facilitating high quality CPD tailored to the future needs of staff.
• Economies of scale to procure value for money services and resources for all its academies.
• Shared pupil events providing children with wider opportunities including sporting competitions, residential adventure weeks, educational visits, Curriculum Cup and Geography/Spelling Bees, holiday activity camps.
• A focus on work-life balance.

We are looking to grow when it is right for our Trust, our schools, our children, our staff and when it is a good fit with a potential joining school.  We do not want to "take over" any school that is not open to partnership working.

Joining a multi academy trust can seem a big step. Daunting even. It needn't be. Our role is to make the process simple, clear and transparent. No two conversions are the same, but likely timeframes are chiefly governed by legal procedures surrounding property, employment (TUPE) and the commercial transfer of pre-existing contracts. Add in Due Diligence and stakeholder communications and the process normally takes between 6 to 9 months.

The Stour Federation Multi Academy Trust is not exclusive to Church of England schools and we would welcome working with any local school who shared our vision and values.  Our Articles of Association include community schools as well as C of E schools.

Should we find a suitable basis to move forward, the pace of development is then entirely down to you, be it through school visits, presentations to governors, staff and parents, or wider consultation with the school community. We agree the road map, set the milestones, timelines and deliverables, and then the best bit - start building an exciting new partnership together.

We want to work with professionals who are passionate about children and schools. Our staff and children place no limits on learning, and our schools are inspiring places to learn! If you want to find out more, please come and visit us or visit our individual school websites. We would love to hear from you.

To tell us a bit about your school and discover how we could work together, please contact Christian Hilton at hilton.c@welearn365.com