Dear Parents/ Carers,
I am delighted to share with you all that following a period of thorough discussion with our Trustees, Sutherland Primary Academy is joining the successful, inclusive North Staffordshire multi academy trust, The Societas Trust on an Associate Agreement as an Associate Member from September 2026.
The purpose of the agreement is for the school and trust to collaborate together at all levels for the mutual benefit of the communities we each serve, with a view to Sutherland becoming a full member of the Trust following a period of successful collaboration (usually 12 months), a full consultation with stakeholders and DfE approval.
Societas has been a friend of Sutherland for many years now, and we collaborate closely with them on many levels, and for many services already. We have lots of shared goals and visions – but the fundamental value of Integrity is something both school and Trust hold closely, to guide us and help us to make the right decisions for all of our stakeholders, especially children and staff.
Our children will thrive as they learn, connect and achieve widely across the Trust with other children on a range of initiatives. They will also benefit from the added investment in great teaching and learning and enrichment opportunities.
Our wonderful staff will also have the opportunity to collaborate more widely and learn together with a wide circle of colleagues from across the Trust through joint CPD and other opportunities being part of a wider family of schools will offer.
We will also benefit from the support the Trust’s leadership and central team can provide us with, and from the many services and resources the Trust can offer us as an associate member.
We will, however, retain our Sutherland identity, and our own vision and values for our school. Our children are learning to explore and live our new values, which were chosen to represent Sutherland by all of our stakeholders.
I welcome this time of positive and exciting change for Sutherland and look forward to consulting with you all in the future as stakeholders. I want to assure you of my, the strategic team, and the Trustees deepest commitment to making Sutherland and everyone in our school and wider community the very best that we can be.
Kindest regards,
Mrs. Nicky Clements,
Head Teacher