Introduction
The People Strategy is one of our core commitments that aligns with our Trust's HR practices. It also plays a central role in fostering a healthy and inclusive culture, truly reflecting and upholding UST's vision and values.
By utilising these tools within our HR department's work, our organisation becomes a place where individuals are valued, cared for, and empowered to flourish. We always demonstrate appreciation and CARE for all those associated with the Trust. If our People strategies are our values, they do more than hold culture intact; they aid in the shaping of our culture.
Our number-one priority is our determination to empathise, celebrate, and respect everyone who comes within our Trust's orbit. That's our people, our students, and our broader community.
True to our commitment, our People Strategy has its foundations on a number of guiding principles:
- Collaborate – We value everyone’s opinions, learning from one another to create an innovative and high-functioning working environment.
- Advocate – We celebrate success, championing each other and recognising their achievements.
- Respect – We embed psychological safety, creating a workplace where all staff believe in the importance of challenge in a secure environment.
- Endeavour – We work hard, knowing that in doing so, regardless of our role, we can provide the transformational education that our students deserve.
These principles help keep our approach to people management respectful and inclusive, so our staff can reach their full potential within our workplace.
Focus Areas
Recent research indicates that the top five people-oriented challenges facing the national education workforce are
- Shortage of teachers
- Retention of top educators
- Lack of training and career development
- Barriers in communication, and
- Endless paperwork.
The People Strategy provides a direct, to-the-point course for addressing the key challenges currently facing the education sector.
In making employee wellbeing, professional development excellence, workload reduction, and overall job satisfaction our highest priority, we seek to tackle sector-wide challenges directly. Through our commitment to upholding our values, we’ll lower staff disengagement and eliminate the very instances which rob individuals of their full potential.
This strategy was created with careful consideration of how a unified and consistent approach will address these challenges directly. We want our Trust to be a wonderful place to work, but also to be known more generally as an employer of choice and valued by existing colleagues and prospective job applicants alike.
Over the next five years, our techniques will be refined and strengthened to integrate any innovative practices into our existing framework. These ongoing development alterations will be directed by our commitment to continued improvement as well as seven key priorities:
- Organisational Culture
- Policy and Practice
- Systems, Processes and Structures
- Working Practices
- Talent Management
- Reward and Recognition
- Innovation and Inspiration
Mission Statement
As set out in the UST Vision, guided by and collaborating with our Partners:
The Trust is a family of inclusive schools where collaborative partnerships deliver a transformational education which, in turn, empowers our pupils and the communities they come from to realise their full potential. A culture of high expectations nurtures a drive to achieve excellence and to take ownership of future academic and vocational learning paths to equip our pupils as global citizens and inspire their communities.
The People Strategy weaves this vision into our approach and has been developed to empower our people by fostering a culture of innovation, psychological safety and inclusion, where every individual feels valued, passionate and driven to excel in their role.
We remain committed to developing, retaining and attracting talented individuals, enhancing employee wellbeing, and creating a workplace where everyone can thrive.
The Strategy
