West Lakes Multi Academy Trust selected to provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders.
Under its “One Cumbria” vision, West Lakes Multi Academy Trust has been selected to become a teaching school hub.
Teachers across the country will benefit from vital developmental support and expert advice, allowing them to improve a broad range of vital teaching skills, under plans announced by the Department for Education yesterday.
The teaching workforce will get best-practice and expert advice on how best to engage with pupils, lesson planning, and classroom management, as the teaching school hubs programme is rolled out across the country.
“One Cumbria” is one of the 81 newly designated teaching school hubs in England.
The teaching school hub programme was announced in 2019 and was followed by a procurement to successfully appoint six test and learn hubs (appointed in January 2020).
The 81 new hubs will be rolled out in addition to those six existing test & learn hubs, meaning there will be nationwide coverage for the first time, and that every school in England will now have access to a local centre of excellence for teacher training.
81 hubs will be added in all corners of the country to provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders at all stages of their career and play a key role in helping to build up trainee teachers as they enter the workforce. This will further level up the quality of teaching, allowing every child to receive a world-class start in life no matter where they are born.
Each hub, all of which will be operational and helping schools from this September, will have its own defined geographical patch and will be expected to be accessible to all schools within that area. One Cumbria will serve schools across the entire county.
Jonathan Johnson – Chief Executive of West Lakes Multi Academy Trust
It is an honour to be designated as a Teaching School Hub and therefore worthy to serve our region. “One Cumbria” Hub will change lives through learning, aiming to give teachers and leaders the highest quality training and development at every stage of their career. We believe that Teaching School Hubs can create an ubiquitous culture of scholarship that enables teachers and leaders to excel and we are excited to work with the Department for Education, Teaching Schools Council and professional development providers across the Hub network, focusing our energy on our wonderful county.
Michelle Pearse – Chair of West Lakes Trust Board
This is the culmination of a significant amount of time and effort by very talented and committed professionals to get us to this position. Every school in Cumbria wrote in support of our bid; we are delighted and excited to be able to offer these programmes to all teachers in those schools, who will in turn change lives through learning and improve outcomes for all children in Cumbria. I’d like to thank our sponsor organisations, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, and University of Central Lancashire for their unstinting support to the Trust over many years showing their continued commitment to the education and skills sector in Cumbria and the UK. I must also thank Jonathan Johnson for leading the Trust to this point.
Vincent Ashworth – Chair of the One Cumbria Board
This is an excellent opportunity for schools across the county to come together and deliver world-class training for our teachers and trainee teachers. By drawing on the expertise of professionals and schools from across the county the West Lakes’ Teaching School Hub will be able to ensure that children get the best possible start and ultimately achieve their full potential.
