Co-op Academies Trust

Captivating minds through co-operation

Through a great education we are changing the lives of young people. Built on the same principles as all cooperatives across the world, we work with academies to empower teachers and young people to work together for a better education and a better community.

We have been recognised by the Sutton Trust Charity and the Education Policy Institute as one of the top performing multi-academy trusts for disadvantaged students. What makes our Trust unique is that we are sponsored by the Co-op Group.

That close relationship means that we benefit from all of the business expertise that has seen the Co-op grow to one of the most respected, ethically driven and successful businesses in the country. Popular with students, parents and teachers, we began in 2010 with just two academies. One in Manchester and one in Stoke-on-Trent. Two years later, in 2012, we began to work with a cluster of academies in Leeds and by 2014 we had five academies in Leeds; made up of one secondary and four primary academies. Pragmatic in our approach to growth we worked closely and co-operatively to improve all of our academies. We now have 28 academies across Greater Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, The Wirral and West Yorkshire.

Our Values

Co-op Academies Trust is committed to the values shared by cooperatives everywhere:

Self-help – we support learners, parents, carers and staff to help themselves

Self-responsibility – we encourage learners, parents, carers and staff to take responsibility for, and answer to their actions

Democracy – we give our learners, parents, carers and staff a say in the way we run our schools

Equality – we believe that the voice of each individual should be heard

Equity – we run our schools in a way that is fair and unbiased

Solidarity – we share interests and common purposes with our learners, parents, carers and staff, and with other schools in the communities we serve

We strive to demonstrate the following ethical values in everything we do:

Openness – we believe in being open with colleagues in our schools and beyond, children and their families, sharing information and ideas to raise standards and life chances

Honesty – we act in a professional and respectful manner in our dealings with everyone

Social responsibility – we maximise our impact on the people in our communities while minimising our footprint on the world

Caring for others – we treat everyone as we wish to be treated ourselves, understanding that children only have one childhood

We use our simple ‘Ways of Being Co-op’ to demonstrate our values:

• Do what matters most

• Be yourself, always

• Show you care

• Succeed together

You can find out more about our Trust by visiting www.coopacademies.co.uk