Working Together to Strengthen Education Across Our Region

One of the greatest privileges of working in education is that we all share a common purpose: helping children and young people thrive.

Every day, I have the opportunity to visit schools across our Trust and beyond and I am continually inspired by the dedication, expertise and care shown by education professionals. While every school faces its own unique challenges, I am reminded time and again that some of our greatest successes come when we work together, share what we have learned and support one another.

That belief sits at the heart of everything we do at Humber Education Trust, and it is why I am so pleased to introduce our new Associate Membership programme; a flexible opportunity for schools to work closely with us and experience the benefits of being part of our Trust for up to a year.

Associate Membership Brochure: Click here

Why we developed Associate Membership

Associate Membership was created in response to conversations with school leaders across our region. We know that schools are facing increasing challenges, from recruitment and retention pressures to attendance, SEND demand, funding constraints and ever-growing accountability requirements. At the same time, we know that some of the most effective solutions come through collaboration, shared expertise and strong professional relationships.

As a Trust, we are fortunate to work alongside talented colleagues who bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and innovation to their roles every day. We wanted to create a way of sharing that expertise more widely, whilst also creating opportunities for us to learn from others. Associate Membership is our way of opening the door to greater collaboration, enabling schools to benefit from a wider professional network without changing their own identity, governance or independence.

Quite simply, we developed Associate Membership because we believe that education is stronger when schools work together.

What is Associate Membership?

Associate Membership has been designed to create opportunities for maintained schools and academies to connect with Humber Education Trust through collaborative working, shared learning and dedicated support, whilst remaining fully independent.

It is not about changing governance structures or future commitments. Instead, it is about building relationships, sharing expertise and creating opportunities to learn from one another.

As one of the country's highest-performing multi-academy trusts, we are fortunate to work alongside exceptional colleagues across our family of schools. Through Associate Membership, we want to open our networks, share our expertise, learn from others and create opportunities for more schools to benefit from the collaboration that brings so much value to our staff, pupils and communities.

What are the benefits?

Associate Members will have opportunities to:

• Access professional networks and Communities of Practice.
• Participate in leadership development and professional learning opportunities.
• Draw upon expertise in school improvement, SEND, inclusion and attendance.
• Connect with colleagues facing similar opportunities and challenges.
• Share effective practice and learn from and alongside others across the region.
• Become part of a wider community committed to improving outcomes for children and young people.

Perhaps most importantly, Associate Membership provides an opportunity to build meaningful professional relationships rooted in trust, shared learning and mutual support.

Looking ahead together

I firmly believe that education is at its best when schools work together. Every partnership, every conversation and every shared idea has the potential to make a difference, not only for our own schools but for the wider communities we serve.

Associate Membership reflects our commitment to supporting education beyond our own Trust and ensuring that more schools can benefit from collaboration, expertise and professional connection. In return, we know we will learn from the experiences, strengths and successes of others.

That spirit of generosity, partnership and continuous improvement is what makes our profession so special.

Find out more

If Associate Membership sounds like something that could benefit your school, I would be delighted to have an informal conversation with you about your priorities, aspirations and how we may be able to support one another.

• Download our Associate Membership brochure: Click here
• Arrange an informal conversation with me by emailing rwilkes@het.academy or calling 01482 755674

I look forward to meeting new colleagues, sharing ideas and exploring how we can work together to strengthen education across our region.

Rachel Wilkes OBE
Chief Executive Officer
Humber Education Trust