Our Strategic Plan

Our Trust is a partnership of mainstream and special settings, unified by a shared commitment to fostering a learning experience built on the principles of responsibility, authority, and accountability. We pride ourselves on being intentionally inclusive, ensuring that every member of our family of schools is valued for who they are and for the unique contributions they bring. Together, we strive to achieve the very best outcomes, celebrating the diversity and strengths of each individual within our community.

Our goal is to collaborate closely with our local authority to deliver a fully inclusive offer for all learners. We are dedicated to sharing our expertise with other settings, enhancing the quality of education across the board. Additionally, we are committed to providing much-needed access to specialist places for learners with specific needs, ensuring that every student receives the tailored support they deserve. Through these partnerships, we aim to create a learning environment where all students can thrive.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Trust Strategic Plan.

This document sets out our key priorities for the next three academic years. It is written to support our philosophy that all schools and settings working with Four Rivers must promote a culture that is intentionally inclusive.

It is a working document, added to regularly. This is a summary of our plans written for our website.

Our work as a family of schools is to ensure that outcomes for all are the best they can be and that we can promote the notion that there is a place for inclusion in all our settings and that learning should be bespoke to reflect the needs of all of our learners.

We recognise and celebrate the uniqueness of our learners, our teams and our schools.

We are connected by the mission to take responsibility, maintain authority and undertake accountability in our purpose, beliefs and behaviours.

Jacqui Ames CEO

Carolyn Garner Chair of the Board of Trustees

Our Academies

Dial Park Primary School Dial Park Primary is a vibrant, values centred school serving 315 primary aged pupils, 110 part-time equivalent nursery children, and 18 two-year-old’s. Every child participates in Forest School for half a day each week, where they develop practical skills like fire building and den making, alongside personal skills such as resilience and teamwork. We are committed to sustainability, with a new air source heat pump and solar energy for hot water. Our curriculum is enriched by specialist teachers in dance, gymnastics, music, and computing. We are delighted to welcome our first cohort at our Resourced Provision – Cygnets Class, who will begin our journey offering wider support for younger learners who will receive a more bespoke learning offer in the mainstream setting in a class of up to 8 pupils. Headteacher Mr. James Clark

Lisburne Special School

Lisburne School is an outstanding primary school for children with Special Educational Needs, we are proud to be part of the Four Rivers Family of Schools. We are passionate about creating a uniquely inclusive environment which promotes our ethos and core values to help our pupils become courageous, creative and unique learners;’ growing as individuals- learning together’. We celebrate the diversity and strengths of our pupils, working closely with families to support our children to become valued members of the wider community.

Headteacher Mrs. Sam Benson

Oakgrove School

Oakgrove School is a specialist setting for learners identified with SEMH needs. It currently has 45 learners on roll. The Trust is supporting the school’s expansion and offer additional places in the future in partnership with the LA (Stockport).

Headteacher Mr. Rob Metcalfe

Norbury Hall Primary School

Norbury Hall Primary School is a two form entry mainstream school that has 420 learners on site from Reception to Year 6. It also hosts a nursery provision for a further forty learners split into two offers of fifteen hours.

Headteacher Miss Becky Wood

High Lane Primary School

High Lane is a small but beautifully formed one form entry primary schools situated on the border of Stockport and High Peak. The school centres everything on offer around a set of values; belonging, relationships, curiosity, resilience, respect and lifelong learning. Each are important elements of the High Lane offer. Our school motto is ‘Creating the future today’. The school has a mission is to ignite and awaken the curiosity of our pupils and staff, through engaging experiences which inspire excellence and innovation and produce creative problem solvers and thinkers.

Our vision

Growth of the trust – The period covered by this strategic plan includes known growth. The following expansion plans and academies will join the trust:

Trust Growth	Academy Schools Joining	Additional SEND Provision
Year 2 September 2025	High Lane Primary joined September 2025. Trust grows to 5 primaries.	Dial Park Primary ERP at The Quay opens September 2025 Cohort 1 Reception identified with SLCN speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Cohort 2 Year 2/3 summer 2026 Cohort 3 Year 3/4 September 2026 Oakgrove additional 8 places on site. Oakgrove School additional class added to increase to 45 places Satellite/ assessment places and training from summer 2026 (The Quay) Lisburne School additional places from September 2025 Satellite/ assessment places and training from summer 2026 (The Quay) Immersive conference opportunities launched Lisburne and Oakgrove February 2026 Leadership Conferences linked to school improvement and inclusion December 2025 and March 2026 Immersive conference Dial Park/ The Quay summer 2026 5 partner schools working to develop inclusive practice and school improvement partnership work.
Year 3 September 2026	School B and C prepare to join from September 2026. Engage as partner schools – working in partnership with the schools to develop practice and protocols and deliver better outcomes for all.	ERP at The Quay fully open. Cohort 3 Year 3/4 September 2026 24 ERP places. 16 additional satellite places / assessment places in place.. Oakgrove School places to increase to 48 places.. Lisburne School additional places from September 2026. Immersive conferences continue October, February, June. Leadership Conferences linked to school improvement and inclusion December 2026 and April 2027. Partners schools to continue.
Year 4 September 2027	School B and C join Sept 2027 – July 2028 Trust grows to 7 schools.	Immersive conferences continue October, February, June Leadership Conferences linked to school improvement and inclusion December 2026 and April 2027 Partners schools to continue. Scoping plans to find additional buildings for further growth of SEND places.

In addition to this known growth, the trust is focussing growth efforts in the following areas:

Outreach and school improvement support for schools beyond the Trust
Partnership work with the LA re The Family Hub and SEND support services
Developing holiday provision for working parents across the Trust in all academies
High quality CPD and conference opportunities beyond the Trust
Action Research in partnership with published academics and experts in the field of inclusion to enhance provision further

Governance

Four Rivers Family of School is governed by a board of trustees who are accountable to the members and have overall responsibility for all the work of the trust. Governance across the trust is structured as follows.

Key Priorities

The following strategic priorities have been identified and agreed by the trust’s members, trustees, executive leaders and staff. These priorities will allow us to achieve our vision and aims for growth

Priority 1

To maintain standards and raise achievement for all learners within the Trust

In line with the new framework and toolkit for inspection, all schools within the Trust are committed to delivering a learning offer that is at least the required standard in all areas, with aspiration to have strong and in some cases, exceptional judgements recorded against the standards. A key component of our Trust’s vision is to ensure that every school provides a learning offer that meets the diverse needs of our students and stimulates their growth through quality-first teaching, adaptive practices, and, where necessary, enhanced, bespoke plans in accordance with EHCPs and dedicated support plans to meet the uniqueness of our learners.

We firmly believe that achievement is best measured by progress. To this end, it is essential that every learner within our care has an individualised progress tracker and is involved in regular progress discussions. Our approach includes providing the necessary scaffolding, support, and challenge to help each student achieve their very best. We are dedicated to ensuring that every child’s educational journey is carefully monitored and tailored to foster their success.

Priority 2

To offer a professional development policy and plan that is high quality and impacts directly on the quality of education across the Trust

High-quality professional development is crucial to ensuring that all teaching and learning within our Trust meet the highest standards. Teaching must be closely aligned with curriculum plans, and specific training should be connected to key changes or directions from the government as well as the Trust’s overarching vision. For training to have a meaningful and positive impact, it must be timely, supportive, purposeful, and relevant. By investing in our educators’ growth, we ensure that our staff is equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver exceptional education, driving positive outcomes for all our learners.

It is expected that all schools within the Trust will;

Actively participate in training Workstreams
ensuring colleagues are offered opportunity to cascade their learning within the academy and the teaching and learning workforce
Actively promote the Trust vision for a universal toolkit for learning
Senior Leaders will contribute and participate in SLT Coaching Development sessions and lead in the promotion of coaching methodologies of the Trust
Deliver a relevant and personalised curriculum offer that aligns with the culture and context of the school community
Nominate key staff as leaders who work within networks to develop practice, keep updated with current and new curriculum drivers and remain outward facing Actively deliver the learning priorities for improvement as identified through school improvement partner Learning Focus Days
Protect training opportunities by committing to regular staff training opportunities within the school and prioritising professional development across allocated INSET days.

Priority 3

To extend the offer of SEND places to learners in Stockport

Expanding SEND provision is a central element of the Trust’s vision. Our partnership with the local authority is grounded in a shared commitment to ensure that Stockport learners are educated within their own community. In light of the national shortage of available SEND places, this need is particularly urgent. Through this joint enterprise, we are dedicated to creating high-quality provision and offering places under the Trust specifically for learners already known to Stockport. This collaboration will help ensure that more Stockport learners receive the education and support they need close to home, within a trusted and familiar environment.

Priority 4

To build a central team that enables the Trust to work self sufficiently

For the Trust to operate efficiently, it is crucial to establish and expand an internal central team. This team will be essential in providing comprehensive support across educational, financial, administrative, and contractual matters. By building this internal capacity, the Trust can ensure better outcomes for all as well as promote efficiencies that will minimise procurement costs and support the cost savings necessary for sustainable growth. A well-resourced central team will ensure that all schools within the Trust can focus on delivering high-quality education while benefiting from streamlined operations and strategic financial management. This approach will be key to the Trust’s long-term success and ability to serve its community effectively.

We see this developing team model growing over the next three years.

Year	Central Team Development - Educational	Central Team Development – Administrative& Financial
Year 1 September 2024 – August 2025	CEO appointed Specialist SEMH Teacher delegated across the Trust to ensure support for schools and learners across the Trust Directors for Learning / SEND in position to support with CPD and advise around matters within schools First Aid Trainer Team Teach Trainers External School Improvement Partner	Interim CFO / COO appointed Initially 0.4 FT equivalent roles combined. Increased to 0.8 combined by April 2025 and then reviewed for better efficiencies from June CFO 1FTE COO 0.2FTE
Year 2 September 2025 – August 2026	As above Inclusion Lead appointed to support in the development of the ERP and to coordinate inclusion across the Trust Specialist SEMH Support Assistant delegated across all Trust schools to support teaching teams and specifically model practice, advise and support teaching assistant teams Lead Teacher ERP instrumental in the design and function of the curriculum and learning offer for learners within the SEND provision and mainstream dichotomy Central SALT support Speechwise Safer Handling Trainers	COO 0.2 FTE from September to November 30th CFO Full time and permanent from April 2026 Proposed internal development plan from summer 2026 Existing Team – shared Trust responsibilities for admin/ finance and HR support CFO 2 x SBM (With additional responsibility for Central Systems) Full Time. One linked to HR/ Pensions. One linked to Budget and Finance – Responsible to CFO / Headteachers at all schools. 3 x SBM work at school level across five schools – Responsible for day to day financial management of their own schools – line managers SBM with Central Systems / Headteachers of all schools. 8 x Admin Assistants – manage office communications and front of house administrative systems. Responsible to SBMs across the five schools/ Headteachers in all schools.
Year 3 September 2026 – August 2027	As above plus: Teaching Team to support DP ERP Central EP support – paid days as a Four Rivers Partner Additional Teacher / TA to be deployed where the Trust determine to reduce ‘overstretched’ leadership responsibilities
Year 4 September 2027 – August 2028	As above Additional Specialist Teacher and mentor assistant support Inclusion Lead supported by Senior SENDCo (For mainstream schools)

Priority 5

To extend the Trust to a model of aged 2 to 18 upholding the principles of inclusion in every setting

The Trust’s vision is to provide an inclusive learning experience for all learners aged 2 to 18. This vision is deeply rooted in our philosophy of responsibility, authority, and accountability. We believe that offering a comprehensive educational journey—from preschool through post-GCSE—will create a more coherent and supportive experience for every learner within the Trust. Our vision is to establish a through key stage offer, ensuring that both specialist settings and mainstream schools benefit from a consistent and aligned approach to meeting learner needs. This holistic model will allow us to support each student’s unique journey, providing continuity and quality throughout their entire learning career.