Liverpool Diocese Schools Trust
St. Thomas' CE is now a proud member of the Liverpool Diocese Schools Trust (LDST). LDST is a Multi–academy Trust that welcomes young people of all faiths and none and is committed to providing each of them with a high quality education and environment where Christian values and principles permeate all that is done.’
Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust
St James House,
20 St James Road,
Liverpool,
L1 7BY
Telephone: 0151 705 2190
Email: ldst@liverpool.anglican.org
The website of the LDST is ldst.org.uk or you can follow LDST on twitter @LDSTEducation
Teaching children is an essential human task that has always been at the heart of faith communities and especially of the Church of England.
Our family of schools in the Diocese of Liverpool has a long history of excellence combined with nurture, developing in young people the resilience and character needed for life.
Christian values are the foundation of British Values. Within the explicit Christian culture of our schools pupils flourish. Across the centuries, church schools have adapted themselves to the legislative framework given by Government. The current change to academy status for schools is as significant as the 1870 and 1944 Education Acts.
Across England the number of schools forming and joining multi-academy trusts (MATs) has grown significantly since the 2010 Education Act. The DfE expects that most schools which convert to academy status will join a MAT. The vast majority of dioceses around the country have already established multi-academy trusts. To continue without a diocesan MAT would risk the Church losing schools to non-church Trusts as they are faced with forced academy conversions.
Embracing the opportunities that this new framework provides the Diocese of Liverpool seeks not only to maintain our schools, 92% of whom are Good or Outstanding, but to extend, enrich and improve our family of schools. We believe that as a diocesan led Multi Academy Trust (MAT) we can, for the system as a whole, create stronger bonds of collaboration and cooperation, sharing good practice, addressing areas of weakness and offering increased opportunities for professional development.
After a period of consultation in 2016 and early 2017, it was clear that our schools wanted the Board of Education to take a strategic leadership role in the academies programme. Further consultation looked both at the account in Genesis 18 of the visit to Abraham of three angels and also particularly at the icon of this event painted by Andrei Rublev to identify the core values of the Trust:
Collaboration
Valuing the local
Valuing Difference
Inclusion
We believe that we can create a Trust in which our schools will thrive under the leadership of headteachers, supported and challenged by local governing bodies and accountable to the board of trustees. We are confident that this can be achieved whilst at the same time ensuring that all of our family of schools benefit from high levels of collaboration.
Central services will ensure value for money and the ability to monitor from a distance. A strong school improvement function will give the capacity to evaluate schools and intervene where needed.
Jesus said ‘Let the children come to me.’ (Mt 19)
We believe that we are fulfilling this command when we enable children of all faiths and none to flourish in our schools. The Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust has an important role to play in improving the attainment of pupils across the Diocesan region.
Laurie Kwissa
Chief Executive Officer
Details of the structure and governance of the Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust can be found on the Trust website.
Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust
St James House,
20 St James Street,
Liverpool,
L1 7BY
Telephone: 0151 705 2190
Email: ldst@liverpool.anglican.org
https://www.ldst.org.uk/legal-documents-and-policies/
