The Co-op Academies Trust is responsible for a number of academies in West Yorkshire, Manchester, Staffordshire and Merseyside with the Co-op acting as the sponsor.
Co-op Academies Trust was set up by the Co-op Group, following its initial sponsorship of two schools in 2010. By early 2020 it had grown to 25 schools with plans for further expansion. The trust exists to add social value. It does this through:
working effectively in socially and economically challenging areas having an unflinching focus on academy improvement
demonstrating a full commitment to co-operative values and the Ways of Being Co-op
improving leadership and management through support and challenge from experts in their field
focusing on broad educational provision and outcomes but emphasising the central importance of reading, writing and numeracy proficiency, raising aspirations and having an optimistic outlook on life
expecting academies to contribute strongly to their communities and society in general
creating young ambassadors for co-operative values who can increasingly change society, including their community, for the better
We achieve our mission through co-operation based on high ambition and rooted pragmatism. Our ambitious goals require energetic, open and productive partnerships with those that influence the lives of our children and young people.
We are committed to ending educational inequality through deployment of the values and principles of the worldwide co-operative movement.
We are a growing Trust benefiting from the support of a powerful co-operative business, the membership who own it and the wider co-operative movement. We know we can have the greatest impact when we co-operate in the interests of all children and young people, staff and the wider community.
We place the needs of children and young people in our care at the heart of our work. We ensure that learning is effectively structured, properly planned, challenging, matched to individual’s needs, relevant, active and enjoyable. All available resources are focused on school improvement and we ensure that these are highly effective and responsive to the needs of the academies.
