A multi-academy trust has set up a YouTube channel to help it expand into new areas of the country by providing training and support to staff there.

Until now, Dixons Academies Trust has been based in the neighbouring Yorkshire cities of Bradford and Leeds, but it now plans to double in size as its expands into the North West.

The academy chain hopes its new YouTube channel will help it to share its approach to school culture with staff working in schools that have only recently joined the chain and are unable to visit its longer-standing schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dixons’ executive director, Luke Sparkes, told Tes.

Profile: Dixons Academies’ boss, Luke Sparkes

Leadership: ‘We need more great school leaders in the North’

In depth: ‘Edutubers’ and blended learning

Dixons also hopes this new channel, OpenSource, which is free and accessible to all, will benefit other schools in the North.

Mr Sparkes said: “We have been thinking about this for some time. The idea to use YouTube actually predates the Covid pandemic.

“We wanted to ensure that colleagues across our trust have access to our thinking.

Academy chain shares its school culture on YouTube

“The reason we have done this through YouTube is that we thought that blogs and podcasts can tend to be quite theoretical and we wanted to create something that was accessible and practical for our staff.

“It has started with videos on some broad-brush high-level thinking but as we drill down into more granular detail, the idea is that we produce videos that provide practical examples to teachers that they can use in lessons.”

He said that, before Covid-19, Dixons had hosted visits from 15 per cent of secondary schools in the country because of its work on “crafting school culture”.

He added: “At Dixons, culture is everything. Culture is our strategy and it is what we are known for.

“Through this YouTube channel, we want to be able to codify how we craft school culture. 

“This is mainly to help our schools, particularly as we move into other regions - we are currently looking to open schools in Liverpool and Manchester, where it will be more difficult for staff to spend time in our existing schools - to see it for themselves.”

The majority of Dixons Academies Trust’s 12 schools are in Bradford but it has also moved into Leeds in recent years.

The trust originated from Dixons City Technology College, in Bradford, which was one of the first CTCs in the country when it opened in 1990 and converted to become an academy in 2005.

The trust now plans to double in size to take on 12 schools in Manchester and Liverpool. It is already lined up to take on two schools in Liverpool.

Although its main aim in launching the YouTube channel is to support its expansion, the chain is making its videos open to everyone.

It plans to upload two new videos from its schools to the site every week.

Around 30 staff from its schools have been involved so far.

Mr Sparkes said: “We want these videos to be useful to staff across our trust but also potentially beyond it.

“Ultimately our mission at Dixons is to transform the life chances of disadvantaged young people in the North of England and even if we continue to expand, we cannot do this alone through our schools.

“We want to be able to share what we do more widely, which is why we have called this channel OpenSource, which is free and accessible to everyone.”