A key part of our Trust Dividend is that we are kind and driven, because these two qualities are not incompatible. We believe that happy, well-motivated and well-trained staff make the most effective teachers, leaders and support staff and, in turn, ensure excellence and opportunity for all. As our jobs are demanding, we strive to remove barriers and find ways to make life easier. From high-quality professional development to ensuring that there is an opportunity for a break and a cup of tea, caring for and investing in our staff is a high priority to ensure that they enjoy their time at work and thrive professionally.

We also recognise that working more flexibly can help our staff achieve a better work-life balance, as work is just one aspect of our lives and balancing our home lives can be difficult at times. To do this, we value our family-friendly policies and constantly review and evaluate our thinking to best accommodate our staff where it is possible to do so.

At Four Stones Gateway, our staff have extensive access to an excellent package of benefits, including access to Teachers’ Pensions or Local Government Pension Scheme, the Employee Assistance Programme, staff long service recognition, Cycle to Work Scheme, Lifestyle Discount schemes and a free annual flu jab.

We have several established practices that make our Trust an excellent place to work, including:

• A strong commitment to professional development and growth: we offer access to recognised, accredited training and leadership courses such as the National Professional Qualifications
• Opportunities for promotion: we focus on growing and developing our staff through succession planning and by providing opportunities for promotion from within our schools
• Designated buddies: we ensure that staff always have someone to work alongside in order to soundboard, discuss ideas and solutions, have their thinking challenged and to challenge the thinking of others
• Ringfenced mock-marking time: each December, we have a Trust-wide TED which gives teaching teams dedicated time to the marking and moderation of Year 11 mock examinations
• A work-life balance: we do not expect our staff to answer out of hours emails and we discourage the use of personal mobile phones to retrieve and respond to emails
• Admin support: we lighten the load of our middle leaders by providing admin support throughout the year so that they can focus their time and energy on strategy and the biggest levers to develop practice
• Ringfenced time: our school teaching leaders have a reduced teaching load to ensure that they are highly visible and have maximum impact in supporting staff and achieving excellence for our students
• A focus on wellbeing: in each of our schools, a member of the senior leadership team is in charge of wellbeing and workload to evaluate our practices and provide essential support to all staff
• Refreshments: on training days, parents’ evenings and other evening events, food is always provided