Believe Learning Institute
The Believe Learning Institute is at the heart of our operation providing the opportunity for all of our staff to improve their skills, pedagogy and confidence to support their teams as well as supporting other schools. We aim to move towards a self-improving system that takes account of the talent within our secondary and primary schools, teachers and support staff alike.
All schools within our MAT provide valuable assets that make a difference. The Believe Learning Institute brings this expertise together to enable children to receive the best possible education within the Trust and beyond. The training of the next generation of teachers and re-training of existing teachers is carried out by high-quality practitioners and that can only enhance opportunities for staff and children alike.
We are acutely aware that the system is constantly changing and we continually look to best practices across our partnerships in order to ‘level up’ to the best. This is what makes the Believe Learning Institute so exciting for The Dean Trust.
Welcome
The Dean Trust Believe Learning Institute symbolises the Trust’s dedication to improving the education and life chances of all children. We are passionately committed to contributing to a school-led self-improving system that attracts and develops the most able, talented and worthy candidates to work with young people.
As with our Trust motto, our journey of improvement starts with belief. The belief is that social mobility, equity and liberation can be achieved for all children. If you share our ambition and are seeking to work with a people-centred, solution-focused and effective partner, then please do not hesitate to contact us The Dean Trust’s mission is to work in areas of most disadvantage and long-standing success in supporting and improving schools, means that the Believe Learning Institute has an experienced, skilled and empathetic team of leaders to draw support from.
Nick Parry
Head of the Believe Learning Institute
Our Mission
We aim to design and deliver a programme that builds skills, KNOWLEDGE and behaviours which will provide the foundation for a SUCCESSFUL career in the teaching profession and not simply to evidence Teachers’ Standards at its endpoint.
We work collaboratively with a range of expert colleagues across our partner schools (leaders, mentors, facilitators and subject tutors) to guide, nurture and support our trainees through their journey to Qualified Teacher Status, and subsequent employment. Our work is shaped strategically through the challenge and support of our Strategic Board, and operationally scrutinised by our programme Board.
School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
Ashton on Mersey was accredited as a provider of School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) in February 2014. Since becoming a SCITT we have trained over 200 primary and secondary teachers. In our third year, we had our first ITE Ofsted Inspection in which the inspectors judged our provision as Good, a real strength which was highlighted in the report focuses on the leadership of the SCITT. ‘Strategic Leadership of the SCITT within the Dean Trust umbrella is effective in setting long-term priorities in line with the Multi Academy Trust’s overall vision’.
We aim to offer…
- Individual pastoral care for every trainee’s wellbeing
- A tailored approach to each trainee’s circumstances and progress
- A breadth of school-based experiences
- A commitment to reduce unnecessary workload
- A reflective approach that considers trainee and partner perspectives and opinion
Alongside the skills and knowledge that we aim to develop through our ITT Core Content-driven curriculum, and its application in teaching practices, we intend to build upon the following behaviours: Resilience | Reflection | Humility | Positivity | Ambition.
Led by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), the Maths Hubs Programme brings together mathematics education professionals in a collaborative national network of 40 hubs. Each is led by a Good school or college to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all pupils and students. The lead school for Turing NW Maths Hub is Ashton on Mersey School.
Maths Hubs fund nationally and locally designed projects and programmes, with a mission to provide sustainable and long-term professional development.
TURING NW MATHS HUB
Our Maths Hub name commemorates the legacy of Alan Turing, an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist.
As a Maths Hub, we aim to empower local leaders of maths education, teachers and professionals from every educational phase. Our work also has a wider impact however, inspiring and motivating learners of all ages, nurturing and developing the mathematicians of tomorrow.
The use of the Turing name for our Maths Hub is designed to encapsulate these aims. His work embodies the importance of mathematics and how it can shape and determine events on a national and global scale.
We are the designated Maths Hub for Bolton, High Peak, Salford, Tameside, Trafford and Warrington.
Schools from these areas can access our offers; further details of each education phase are given on this website. If you have any questions or suggestions or would like to know more, please contact us.
Programmes we offer
Outstanding Leaders Partnership
The Outstanding Leaders Partnership is a national network, working in collaboration to design, develop and deliver professional development for the education workforce. The partnership is managed by Best Practice Network, a national organisation that specialises in professional development training.
The Dean Trust is privileged and proud to be one of the Lead Schools in this partnership. Nick Parry, Head of the Believe Learning Institute, sits on the Strategic Board and also leads the training for facilitators on all leadership programmes at a national level.
Their qualifications are all designed by serving school leaders and subject matter experts to form a coherent learning pathway. The combination of online courses, face-to-face events and enrichment practice activities create a truly blended learning experience for school leaders across their whole careers.
In partnership with BPN, the Believe Learning Institute delivers the Early Career Framework training for both teachers and their mentors as a closed programme to The Dean Trust workforce.
The Believe Learning Institute is a delivery partner for several of the NPQ programmes, serving schools across the South Manchester/Cheshire area in addition to The Trust Workforce.
We offer:
NPQ Leading Teaching
NPQ Leading Behaviour and Culture
NPQ Leading Teacher Development
NPQ Senior Leadership
NPQ Headship