Multi Academy Trust
We are fully committed to growth, collaboration and innovation to secure an outstanding future for our school community and for every student in our care.
We value the opportunity to share our expertise and look to continually learn and further develop our practice by working alongside others. We actively seek opportunities to work in partnership and collaboration with other specialist provision for the mutual benefit of our students, their families and our staff teams.
Our overriding objective is to improve the outcomes and life chances for every student at Carwarden and where we can help those of SEND pupils in other local school settings.
We are currently a ‘stand-alone’ Multi Academy Trust (the Iris Academy Trust) but our long-term aim has always been to be an influential partner within a larger MAT and we have been looking at opportunities for this by either growing our Trust or joining another existing MAT, ideally with a strong commitment to special schools.We believe that being or becoming part of a larger and successful MAT would deliver economies of scale, give us greater financial sustainability for the future and minimize the potential risks of being an isolated school on our own.
Changes in government policy ruled out the possibility of growing our own Trust, so we began to look in detail at other options during 2024. That process identified LSEAT (London South East Academy Trust) as potentially meeting all the criteria we set for a partnership and thus helping to ensure Carwarden's continued development and secure its long-term sustainability.
Following careful consideration and in consultation with parents and staff, Trustees signed an associateship agreement with LSEAT in January 2025. This is a no-cost, no obligation arrangement during which Carwarden leaders, trustees and staff will engage with their LSEAT counterparts in a detailed programme of work and visits to assess the mutual benefits, costs and any risks of full membership.
We currently expect to complete this period of due diligence during Spring 2026 and trustees will then make a formal decision on how to proceed in the best long-term interests of Carwarden.
LSEAT's Powerpoint presentation to staff and parents can be viewed here: