Our aim is to make a positive difference to the quality of education in our area and we believe one of the best ways of achieving this is for staff to work in partnership across schools, sharing the most effective practice and learning from each other. Our schools share a common purpose of trying to make our staff and pupils feel valued and help them to achieve their personal best. SHARE schools continue to work closely with other schools too and we are keen to maintain positive working relationships with our partners in the local authority.

The schools have been working together for a number of months before receiving this formal confirmation and have already been able to enhance provision. For example, teachers in our secondary English, mathematics and science departments have been working together to produce outstanding lessons and new learning materials.

John McNally, Chief Executive of SHARE said, “I am delighted to welcome our new partners. We share a strong desire to provide the best schools we can for our local children and are all keen to retain our strong links to our parents and communities. The opportunities to work together, to share best practice amongst our staff and share resources where we can has already had a very positive effect on learning. We now want to build on this positive start, to provide the best experience we can for our children and I am looking forward to developing a vibrant partnership with values that are rooted in doing the best we can for our pupils.

“We will do everything we can to provide a caring environment, with a rich curriculum that gives pupils a full and rounded education. We will, of course, pursue the highest academic standards but recognise our schools should offer much more than this. We will aim to build confidence, provide a wide range of experiences and help equip pupils to be successful in the future. Above all, we want our pupils to feel safe, happy and confident.”

Andrew Kent, Chair of the Board of Directors for SHARE Multi-Academy Trust, also highlighted the potential of the larger organisation and the benefits it could bring to local young people:

“Directors are delighted to welcome our new partners to SHARE Multi-Academy Trust. We are an organisation that places the needs of our pupils at the forefront of everything we do and are determined to provide them with the best education we can. A larger group of schools brings so many potential benefits but the greatest opportunity lies in the chance to share best practice across our schools. We want parents to have absolute confidence that choosing a SHARE school for their children means they will receive the very best education available. I am keen to build strong partnerships with parents and governors in each of our schools, so we reap the benefits of working together but retain our strong links to local communities.”

Hayley Lomas, Chair of the Royds Hall Community School Local Governing Body said, “Joining the SHARE family will ensure that we can share a range of services and resources which will positively impact our school.  The welfare of our children, ensuring they are happy, confident young people, who achieve their personal best is our key focus.  We want to ensure all our children can successfully progress to their next steps.  We are very positive about the future.”

Marilyn McMahon, Chair of Thornhill Community Academy Local Governing Body said: “Working with our colleagues from SHARE over recent months during the process of joining the multi-academy trust has been a pleasure. They have a clear desire to ensure that every child benefits from an excellent school, with excellent teachers delivering excellent lessons which stretch and challenge students - and I am looking forward to working together in the future to continue TCA's positive journey, to benefiting from expertise in areas where we require support, but also from our considerable areas of strength being shared widely across the trust.”

Royds Hall Community School is an ‘all-through’ school in Paddock, Huddersfield, which caters for children from nursery to the age of 16.  Thornhill Community Academy is an 11 to 16 high school in Dewsbury.

Existing partners in the trust are Shelley College, Shelley; Cowlersley Primary School, Cowlersley; Heaton Avenue, Cleckheaton and Millbridge Junior, Infant & Nursery School, Liversedge.

For further information, please contact info@sharemat.org.