ESA set to join Danes Academy Trust

This week we formally began consultation for the transfer of ESA to join the Danes Educational Trust (DET). This has been a long time coming and considerable work has been done to get to this position. We are already good professional friends with our colleagues at the DET and we are excited about this welcome milestone in our school development. We are all expecting the formal transfer to very smooth as we have been progressing towards this for a while and became associate members earlier this year…. it’s finally time to make this official!

The Story So Far

In 2016 (when we were still Elstree UTC), the trust board decided to seek a new educational partner for the school to work with. As a small and more specialist academy, there was much to be gained by working with a larger and more connected family of schools. Elstree UTC embarked on an independent process due diligence to identify a multi academy trust whose vision and ethos aligned with our own unique creative specialism and community culture. Following a process of research and selection, EUTC unanimously selected the Danes Educational Trust from a field of 5 potential multi academy trusts, and since 2017 we have developed our work together. The Danes Educational Trust has always been excited by, and supportive of our unique dynamic and vision as a specialist provider of creative, technical, applied and cultural education.

CLICK HERE for the full report.

Over the last 3 years DET and EUTC have worked together with the Department for Education to agree further funding for our school (including for new landscaping and sports pitch, new specialist teaching spaces and refurbishment to our science facilities - due for completion later this year) and to negotiate the terms and conditions of our transfer into the DET. Whilst this process has been complex (and at times even a little arduous), we have been busy in the meantime. We have launched our new and more accurate branding as the Elstree Screen Arts Academy and engaged in an ambitious development plan which has seen our results improve for the last 4 consecutive years. In 2019, OFSTED judged the school to be ‘good’ in every category. We have also increased our partnerships during this time including with SKY, NBC Universal Production Services and BBC StudioWorks. The Danes Educational Trust have been a supportive partner during this time, working with our English, maths and science departments as well as with our finance and facilities teams.

What is the Danes Educational Trust?

Danes Educational Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust established in June 2016. The Trust currently comprises five schools: St Clement Danes School, Croxley Danes School, Chancellor’s School, Onslow St Audrey’s School and De Havilland Primary School.

The Chief Executive Officer is Dr Josephine Valentine OBE and the Trust office is based at St Clement Danes School in Chorleywood. Danes Educational Trust has a highly effective Central Services Team which supports schools with business, finance and payroll, governance, premises, health and safety, HR and recruitment, IT, communication and marketing.

More information about the Trust can be found via their website HERE.

When will ESA join DET?

ESA are currently in a phase of stakeholder consultation with a view to joining the trust in April or May 2021. The Governing Board of ESA will take into account any comments from the consultation with stakeholders before taking the final decision to transfer.

The next chapter…

There are no plans to change ESA. We are doing great and our current development plan is vibrant and exciting. Our staff are staying, our provision is staying, our admissions arrangements are staying, this transfer into the Danes Educational Trust is not about changing direction but rather bolstering our capacity and embedding our current strengths. There are a lot of grand plans for ESA and there will be more news soon regarding our current year 14 offer which is set to grow with the support of our industry partners. We are also seeing our technical curriculum develop with the arrival of TLevels in 2023. ESA is set to cement its role as a national leader for technical education in the crafts, trades and disciplines that underpin the TV, film, theatre and culture industries.

We at ESA are very proud of our specialism, vision and ethos, and our unique community culture.  The Danes Educational Trust have made it clear that they value our distinct identity as the creative school for the culture industry.  We will remain an innovative UTC (University Technical College) with an emphasis on industry partnerships, and a technical, applied and creative curriculum.  ESA will also have its own school board and its own industry partnerships board who will work with the DET to maintain and improve Elstree Screen Arts Academy.  For students, it is unlikely that they will see much, if any, change in their day to day school lives.  We will stay professional, creative and full of character.