Multi Academy Trust
We are strongly 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 have been a Single Academy Trust (the Iris Academy Trust) since 2014 but our long-term aim has always been to be an influential partner within a larger MAT, specifically one with a local presence and a strong commitment to special schools.We believe that being part of a larger and successful MAT with those attributes would deliver economies of scale, enable collaboration and joint working, give us greater financial sustainability for the future and minimize the potential risks of becoming isolated as the majority of schools join and work within MATs.
We looked at a number of MATs before identifying London South East Academies Trust (LSEAT) as our preferred partner due to their strong track record, experience with special schools and their unique commitment to developing a Surrey 'hub' of special schools.
After more than a year of due diligence, research and consultation, our Trustees resolved in January that it would be in the best long-term interest of our school, its students, families and staff to proceed to join LSEAT. That process is currently underway and we anticipate becoming an LSEAT academy on or soon after 1 October 2026.
LSEAT's Powerpoint presentation to staff and parents, Parent FAQs and our Rationale and Process can be viewed here: