Alan White, Chair of the Local Academy Committee, St James Church of England Primary Academy, Longden, Staffordshire – ‘We receive superb support from seasoned professionals. Each school is different but we all feel we’re in the same family with St Chad’s, a Trust where best practice can be showcased and shared. The Trust know from first-hand experience what schools, children ,teachers and parents need and will pull out all the stops to help a struggling school.We have felt very loved and feel that converting to an academy with this Trust is the best decision we have made. The support for local governance and for the Principal and staff has been everything they promised, and more. There’s nothing better than having experienced school Head Teachers and an ex Ofsted inspector pointing the way to excellence. The ‘back room’ is superb too – finance, HR and whatever else we need.’

Brian Churn, Chair of the Local Academy Committee, Havergal CE Primary Academy –  Havergal Primary Academy went into special measures in 2013.We had no choice in becoming an Academy and St Chads was chosen to sponsor us.I was very apprehensive at the time but over the transition period we were made to feel very welcome and were involved in every step of the ‘Academisation’.Since then we have gone from special measures to  good rating with  outstanding features in such a short period of time.The guidance and trust we have received from St Chads has been second to none.  Every one clearly knows what we are trying to achieve here at Havergal.The sustenance for the Principal and Staff is unique and as Chair I can say that the support for the Governance has been excellent with a mixture of current Head Teachers and ex Ofsted Inspectors who have assisted us in this journey. The good practice that we share amongst the trust and its Academies is second to none as we are all one big family helping each other out. The Trust also provide bi monthly training for the Chairs of each LAC where we all meet, share good practice and training needs are assessed and met. Since then we have gone from special measures to  good rating with  outstanding features in such a short period of time.The guidance and trust we have received from St Chads has been second to none.Every one clearly knows what we are trying to achieve here at Havergal.The sustenance for the Principal and Staff is unique and as Chair I can say that the support for the Governance has been excellent with a mixture of current Head Teachers and ex Ofsted Inspectors who have assisted us in this journey.The good practice that we share amongst the trust and its Academies is second to none as we are all one big family helping each other out. The Trust also provide bi monthly training for the Chairs of each LAC where we all meet, share good practice and training needs are assessed and met.