Aurora Academies Trust - Our Sponsor
Please click on the link below to go directly to the Aurora website:Aurora was founded in 2012 and we are currently a family of seven schools operating in both East and West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and Surrey. In September 2020 we opened our seventh school, Westvale Park Primary Academy in Horley, Surrey. We have over 400 employees currently working for us and we have almost 3,000 pupils in our academies and nurseries, a number that is continuing to rise.
Aurora Academies Trust is sponsored by Pansophic Learning who operate schools globally, mainly in the United States but also in Switzerland, the Middle East and in Africa. This means that Aurora’s academies are part of an international group of schools which has the added benefit of enabling us to share best practice with children and colleagues within Pansophic’s global network. For instance, we have had a number of brilliant class-to-class communications (via web links, video and emails) and there is an annual teacher exchange each Spring Term between Aurora teachers with teachers from Banning Lewis Ranch Academy in Colorado. These tangible links with Pansophic’s schools add another dimension to our very collaborative way of working and have been a powerful vehicle to help broaden the horizons of both Aurora’s children and staff alike.
At Aurora we do not dictate everything that our schools do. Instead we ask them to sign up to our philosophy, which is best articulated by our Aurora Pillars each of which support Student Achievement (in every sense). What Aurora provides is high class, bespoke support and challenge, which enables our academies to thrive. We encourage innovation and creativity and our school improvement ‘model’ has emerged from best practice within. Our academies work in a spirit of genuine collaboration and we meet regularly and communicate swiftly and effectively.
As a Trust, our strategy is not to become a very large organisation for the simple reason that we believe the Trust’s Executive leaders should ‘really know’ the staff and the children in our academies. We also believe that school improvement from a Trust works best where schools are located geographically close together. Aurora’s Headteachers and senior leaders meet regularly to discuss what is working best and to share those ‘golden nuggets’ that often lead to real improvements. Professional development of our staff is one of our Pillars and sits high on our Trust agenda – there are many examples of staff at all levels who have been able to make career moves within the Trust that they would have been unable to achieve in a stand-alone school or academy. We survey our staff each year and morale is high because people like working for us.
One of our strong points is our Early Years work, which is led by Sam Attwater, our Trust Director for Early Years and Nurseries, and which is predicated on the concept of the Foundation Village (in which nursery and reception-aged children are seamlessly integrated). Across the Trust, EYFS is at least Good and often Outstanding (two recent Ofsted judgements for EYFS have both been Outstanding). Safeguarding has always been rated as Effective by Ofsted and we have a Safeguarding Trust Lead, Heidi Attwood, who ensures that our academies remain compliant, that our staff receive up-to-date training, and who provides the Trust with the regular monitoring checks and balances necessary to safeguard our pupils.
Nurture groups have been established in all of our academies and the positive impact that these are having on pupils’ wellbeing, confidence and their ability to ‘get back on track’ is palpable.
Fiscally, Aurora is healthy and this year we have achieved our 8th consecutive clean audit report. Not only that, regular independent reports evidence that our processes are sound and that not only do we always demonstrate strong financial probity but also we have robust systems in place that lead to compliance, regularity and value for money. All of this work is overseen superbly by Aurora’s Finance Director, Alex Graham, who leads our strong team of academy Business and Finance Managers.
In terms of governance, there is an overarching Trust Board consisting of 9 Trustees, which is overseen by 3 Members. The Trust Board has established a robust Scheme of Delegation that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the various sub-committees and post-holders in the Trust. Aurora has two sub-committees, one to oversee Finance, Audit and HR and another that scrutinises Educational Standards. Each academy has local governance in the shape of a Local Academy Board (LAB) which has the brief of both supporting and holding its school leaders to account.
Please click here to visit the Aurora website – there are links to each of our academies so please feel free to peruse at your leisure – if you wish to find out more about us, then please feel free to contact us.
James Freeston
CEO Aurora Academies Trust
Aurora Academy Trust's Vision and Values
Aurora’s vision and values are best summed up in the Aurora Pillars that govern how our schools operate.
These Pillars are:
- Student Achievement
- Curriculum
- Teaching and Learning
- Professional Development
- Extended Opportunities
- Safe and Secure Environment
- Parental Involvement
- Community Support
Follow this link below to see how these are realised in our Trust schools.
Please follow this link for information Trust Finance and Statutory documents https://www.auroraacademies.org/finance-and-statutory-documents/
Aurora Academies Trust, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 08107711.
Registered office c/o Glenleigh Park Primary Academy, Gunter's Lane, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex TN39 4ED
office@auroraacademies .org
01424 213611