The Pennine Alliance Learning Trust (PALT)
We are a small Academy Trust in West Yorkshire currently made up of 5 schools, Burnley Road Academy, The Calder Learning Trust, Midgley Primary School, Old Town Primary School and Wainstalls School. With a shared vision to continue to raise local aspiration within our communities, our MAT provides an outstanding all-through academic and personal development pathway for West Calderdale’s children and young people.
It is our shared ambition to encourage our young people to aim high, to support them in developing their knowledge, skills and opportunities and to provide a range of pathways to fulfil their potential and realise their ambitions. Our strong trust provides an outstanding curriculum and personal development offer for our children and in doing will secure successful school communities for many years to come. We foster strong governance at a local level to provide a rigorous foundation for effective strategic Trust leadership. We value local governors’ connections with the communities they serve and their knowledge of where their schools’ strengths and areas for development are.
PALT is state-funded and the Trust is directly accountable to the Department for Education (DfE). The Trust has a highly skilled and experienced Board of Trustees that oversees and monitors the performance and success of the Trust.
Our long-term goal:
To be the leading cross-phase MAT in Calderdale, synonymous with outstanding provision across all settings.
Our shared purpose:
To provide excellence in education and a commitment to serve our communities.
Our shared mission:
Combining our collective strength and valuing our unique differences, to provide excellence in education through collaboration, support and challenge. To develop staff efficacy and agency by investing in opportunities for professional growth and development, enabling success for all.
Our shared vision:
To raise aspiration within our communities by providing an outstanding all-through academic and personal development pathway for West Calderdale’s children and young people from 4 to 16 and beyond…from Reception through to their launch into further education or training.
Our shared values:
To ensure that all schools within our Trust share, promote and instil our core values of Opportunity, Integrity and Equity.
Anthony Guise
Chief Executive Officer/Executive Headteacher
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a MAT?
A MAT is a Multi Academy Trust. It is a legal entity that governs a group of schools through a single set of directors. It is set up group of schools, usually a local collaboration, that share a common ethos and vision.
Is there a set model for how MATs operate?
There are rules regarding how a MAT is funded, but the way in which it operates, its governance structure and the vision and ethos are defined by the founding schools and academies that set up the MAT.
How does the admission process work for academies?
Academies are required to comply with the Admissions and Admission Appeals Code of Conduct as if they were maintained by the local authority. They also must participate in the Local Authority co-ordination of admissions process and the Fair Access Protocols. Any changes to current admissions protocols must be consulted on with parents.
Will my child’s school change its name?
No, each school joining the new MAT will keep its name and identity. It will just be part of a wider organisation. For example Wainstalls School (part of the Pennine Alliance Learning Trust).
Will I have to buy a new uniform?
No. Each school will retain its own identity including its uniform.
Who will lead the school?
The schools will continue to have their own Headteacher and their own Local Governing Body but instead of being accountable to the local authority, they will be accountable to the new Multi Academy Trust and ultimately the Department for Education.
