Stronger together
True Learning Partnership is a family of schools brought together by shared values, a commitment to children and a belief that we are stronger when we work together. At the heart of our approach is collaboration. Every school has something to contribute and something to learn, and our schools share expertise, ideas and resources to improve provision for children and young people. Joining TLP is therefore not simply about accessing support from a central Trust; it is about becoming an active member of a professional community in which schools support, challenge and learn from one another.
Your school, within our family
Every school is different, with its own history, traditions, community and strengths, and we believe these should be celebrated and protected. Becoming part of TLP does not mean giving up that identity. Our approach combines appropriate school-level autonomy with collective responsibility: we trust leaders to lead their schools while providing the support, challenge and collaboration that enable them to do so successfully.
Every school contributes
We do not see school improvement as something that flows in one direction. Expertise exists at every level and in every school, and schools joining TLP bring knowledge, experience and perspectives that make the whole Trust stronger. Successful schools have opportunities to influence and contribute beyond their own communities, while schools facing challenges can draw upon a family of colleagues who will work alongside them with honesty, compassion and ambition. In every case, the relationship is reciprocal: we expect schools to benefit from the Trust and to contribute to it.
Developing people
Our commitment to collaboration extends to the development of our people. We invest significantly in professional development and create opportunities for colleagues to learn with and from one another through professional networks, leadership development, accredited qualifications, apprenticeships and postgraduate study. We encourage colleagues to develop and share expertise within and beyond the Trust because we believe that great organisations grow their own people.
The strength of a wider organisation
Our schools benefit from the capacity and resilience of an established organisation, supported by specialist central teams across Education, Finance, Human Resources, IT, Operations and Governance. This provides access to expertise, strengthens systems and reduces unnecessary duplication, enabling school leaders to focus their time and resources where they matter most. Our central teams exist to support our schools, not to distance decision-making from them, and our relationships are built on professional trust, clarity and shared responsibility.
Finding the right fit
Growth is not an end in itself. We want to build a strong and sustainable family of schools that share our values and believe in the power of collaboration. That means getting to know one another properly. We encourage prospective schools to meet our leaders, visit our schools and speak openly with our headteachers and governors. Equally, we want to understand each school’s community, ambitions and strengths, and what it could contribute to the wider Partnership.
The question should never simply be ‘What can the Trust do for our school?’ We think there is a better question: ‘What could we achieve together that we could not achieve alone?’
If you are considering the future of your school and would like to explore what becoming part of True Learning Partnership might mean for your community, we would be delighted to have an initial, informal conversation. Please contact info@truelearning.org.uk, asking to speak with our CEO, Professor Geoff Baker. Initial conversations are exploratory and without obligation.
