Our Vision, Purpose and Core Values

Learn, Love and Achieve, Together with Jesus

Our Purpose

Working together with our school communities, providing an excellent education and life-enhancing relationships with the Christian faith and Jesus Christ.

We do this through:

• Being a family of schools that is committed to well-being and supporting each other, so that all children, learners and staff across our Trust, flourish.
• Connecting with each other to share practice and provide an excellent education that is  built on distinctly Christian values.
• A commitment to inclusion, ensuring that all learners thrive through an education that teaches wisdom, instils hope, nurtures community and embeds dignity and respect.
• Strong bonds of collaboration, innovative approaches to education and a shared purpose amongst schools, families and communities.

Our Vision

As a Diocesan Trust, our Christian values are intrinsically linked to our commitment to provide an innovative, high quality education, so that children and learners make excellent progress and fulfil their academic potential, by ensuring that:

• We live out our Christian values to develop future citizens who can contribute positively to a caring, compassionate nation

• We share a Trust-wide commitment to providing an education that enables children and learners to flourish and achieve - academically spiritually, morally, socially, culturally, physically

• We celebrate diversity, address inequality, overcome disadvantage and raise aspirations so that learners can achieve their highest academic potential.

• Access to an inspirational curriculum and excellent teaching enables our children to acquire a deep body of knowledge and a zest for life-long learning

• Our schools  can thrive under outstanding local leadership, accountable to the Executive team and Board of Directors

• We identify talents and provide opportunities for staff to develop, pursue career developments and contribute significantly to wider improvements

• We maintain a strong emphasis on safeguarding and the mental health and well-being of all our pupils and staff

• Our schools are self-sustaining, inclusive learning communities of professionals who connect and collaborate to share best practice and innovative approaches rooted in informed evidence

Our Core Values

We value Difference:

We are respectful of 

• the Uniqueness of each individual school
• Differences within each school and community

We value Local:

• Providing aligned support and central services to empower local leaders to make local decisions that meet the needs of the local communities

"Trust leaders are determined to value each school's individuality.  As a result, they have worked closely with school leaders to co-produce a set of overarching curriculum principles, while also protecting the uniqueness of each school's context."

"Local governors value the autonomy that schools have, as this helps them to retain their identity."

Ofsted (MAT Summary Evaluation) 2023

We value Collaboration:

• We value the opportunities to collaborate and work as a team to improve outcomes across our Trust
• And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds….encouraging one another’ Hebrews 10:24-25.

"Intelligent collaboration is at the heart of the trust's philosophy.  Collaborative practice is an integral part of daily life for leaders at all levels in schools."

"Opportunities for staff in trust schools to collaborate are well thought out, purposeful and extensive.  Trust staff value opportunities to support the development of staff in other trust schools.  The impact on the quality of education for pupils is tangible in the primage age-phase and developing in the secondary age-phase.  The wealth of network meetings available, for example for subject leaders, SEND leaders and early years leaders, is having a positive impact on building staff's expertise.  Staff new to the trust, including early career teachers, are inducted well."

Ofsted (MAT Summary Evaluation) 2023

We value Inclusion:

• We welcome all and are committed to ensuring that each pupil receives an educational experience related to their own personal gifts or needs
• We celebrate diversity and the individual talents of our pupils and staff

"Executive leaders have supported school leaders extensively to ensure that school curriculums are increasingly knowledge-rich, well organised and ambitious for all pupils, including those pupils with SEND."

"...Fiercely passionate about the curriculum being accessible and equitable for all pupils."

Ofsted (MAT Summary Evaluation) 2023

What LDST means to our employees and children

Love:  Loving God, yourself and others

Discipleship: Following in the footsteps of Jesus

Success: Being the best you can be and encouraging others to be the best they can be

Trust: :  A family of schools, a family for life, supporting each other