Vita Trust - Strategic Development Plan 2025–2030

Purpose of the Plan

 
This Strategic Development Plan sets out Vita Trust's five year vision for improvement, growth and sustainability. It aligns all trust activity from education, wellbeing, digital, sustainability, governance, workforce, finance to estates, into one coherent strategy.  


The Golden Thread ensures alignment from Trust vision to classroom practice. You can access the full Strategic Development Plan here.

By 2030, the Vita Trust aims to be a high performing, sustainable, digitally mature, values driven trust built on: 

- High quality teaching and learning 
- Inclusive culture and wellbeing 
- Future ready curriculum 
- Environmental leadership 
- Strong governance and leadership 
- Financial and organisational stability 
- Sustainable, capacity-led growth 

 Achieve. Belong. Thrive. 

The plan responds to:  

- Ofsted 2025 reforms 
- Increased safeguarding, curriculum and governance expectations 
- DfE digital and sustainability standards 
- National pressures: attendance, behaviour, SEND, workforce 
- Financial and estate pressures 
- Rising mental health needs 
- Need for MAT consistency and growth readiness 

1. Sustainable Growth & MAT Development

Build capacity to responsibly grow the MAT, strengthen central teams, develop due diligence and onboarding, and ensure new schools meet trust expectations within two years.  


2. Sustainability & Environmental Leadership 


Become an Eco-Schools trust with reduced carbon footprint, green estate investments, and sustainability embedded across curriculum, operations and culture. 


3. Wellbeing & Mental Health 


Deliver excellent behaviour culture, strong attendance, highquality pastoral and safeguarding systems, mental health provision, inclusion, and improved staff wellbeing.  


4. Digital Transformation & EdTech 


Achieve full DfE Digital Standards, unified systems, cyber resilience, digital pedagogy, automation to reduce workload, and assistive technology for inclusion.  


5. Future ready Curriculum, Careers & Skills 


Deliver ambitious, knowledge rich curriculum; strong reading/writing/maths/STEM; sequenced subject plans; high quality careers education; enrichment and post16 readiness.  

The Trust wide pedagogical spine: 

  1. Consistent Evidence Informed Teaching
  2. Core Outcomes Excellence (reading, writing, maths, STEM)
  3. Closing Gaps (SEND, PP, disadvantage)
  4. Coherent Assessment & Feedback
  5. Curriculum Pathways & Future Skills 

This underpins all CPD and school improvement. 

Introduction


Vita Multi-Academy Trust’s five-year strategy places teaching quality, curriculum strength and pupil outcomes at its core. These school-based goals translate the Trust’s vision into clear, evidence-informed priorities that align with the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework, the Opportunity for All Schools White Paper, and the EEF evidence base.

Together, they form a coherent “golden thread” from vision and strategy through to classroom practice and improved outcomes for every pupil.

 
1. Secure Consistently High-Quality, Evidence-Based Teaching

The Trust will ensure consistently strong teaching in every classroom by embedding evidence-based approaches, strengthening subject knowledge, and investing in professional development. High-quality teaching is recognised as the most significant in-school factor in improving pupil outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged learners.

2. Strong Outcomes in Core Subjects


Schools will drive sustained improvement in literacy, numeracy and STEM across all phases. This includes:

- Early reading and maths mastery in primary schools
- Strong progress and achievement in English, maths and EBacc subjects at secondary
- Targeted intervention to secure age-related expectations and accelerate progress


3. Closing Gaps for Disadvantaged and SEND Pupils


The Trust will reduce attainment gaps by combining high-quality teaching with targeted academic support and inclusive classroom practice. All pupils will access an ambitious curriculum, with additional support provided where barriers to learning exist.

4. Effective Assessment and Feedback


Assessment and feedback will be used purposefully to inform teaching and accelerate progress. Teachers will use formative assessment routinely, provide timely and impactful feedback, and leaders will use data intelligently to identify need and target support.

5. Innovative Curriculum Pathways and Future Readiness


Schools will offer a broad, ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils for further education, employment or training. This includes academic and vocational pathways, strong careers education, and curriculum design that develops transferable skills for the future.

Overall Impact


Through these strategic priorities, the Vita Trust will deliver consistently strong teaching, equitable outcomes, and positive destinations for all pupils, ensuring every learner is well prepared for the next stage of education and life.

The Golden Thread aligns: 


Vision → Strategy → 5C Teaching → School Improvement → Classroom Practice → Pupil Outcomes → Governance & Assurance 


Ensuring consistency, reduced workload, and strong accountability. 

Measures impact across: 


- Educational excellence (progress, attainment, teaching quality) 
- Behaviour, attendance, wellbeing, safeguarding 
- Leadership, workforce stability, finance 
- Digital compliance, cyber resilience 
- Sustainability & estates performance 
- Careers and destinations 


KPIs are monitored termly by Trustees and LGBs

A structured cycle of:  


- Annual Trust Reviews 
- Termly Standards Reviews 
- Safeguarding audits 
- Data cycles and KPI monitoring 
- Curriculum deep dives 
- Finance, estates and compliance checks  


Assurance follows a six stage annual cycle to ensure early risk detection, intervention, and strategic alignment. 

Three-tier governance system: 


Members – guardians of constitution 
Trustees – strategic oversight and accountability 
Committees – Standards, Finance & Resources, Audit & Risk 
LGBs – local monitoring of safeguarding, curriculum, behaviour 
ELT & SLT – operational delivery and school improvement 


Aligned through a clear Scheme of Delegation, you can learn more about our governance structure and meet our Members and Trustees here. 

SMART targets defined for each strategic goal, e.g.: 


- Due diligence framework by 2026 
- Eco Schools Bronze → Silver → Green Flag by 2030 
- Reduce persistent absence by 2026 
- Full digital migration by 2026 
- Trust curriculum maps by 2026 
- Gatsby Benchmark compliance by 2027 
- Onboarding new schools by 2028  


…and many more. 


2025–26 — Foundations 
Baselines, framework publication, alignment, digital and sustainability audits. 


2026–27 — Embedding & Building Capacity 
Training, system migration, embedding behaviour, attendance and mental health systems. 


2027–28 — Deepening Impact 
Strengthen curriculum, deepen teaching quality, expand careers, STEM and digital maturity. 


2028–29 — Innovation & Excellence 
AI assisted learning pilots, enhanced wellbeing model, advanced digital and sustainability projects. 


2029–30 — Sustainability & Future Readiness 
Green Flag status, high digital maturity, strong destinations, strong governance, and readiness for next strategic cycle. 

- Strong, improving pupil outcomes High attendance & excellent behaviour culture 
- High quality teaching aligned to the 5C Framework 
- A broad, future ready curriculum 
- Digitally mature, cybersecure trust 
- Environmentally responsible and energy efficient estate 
- Clear, effective governance and strong financial health 
- Strong wellbeing and mental health support 
- Sustainable Trust growth and leadership capacity 

Every child Achieves, Belongs and Thrives