In a landscape where Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are becoming ever more prevalent and complex, trust leaders are uniquely positioned to identify and share expertise, enabling local and system-wide improvement.
It is clear there is a real impetus in some trusts to develop strategies that support not only their own schools, but the wider local community – ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.
In this case study, we talk to Marie Sweetlove-Smyth, CEO, and Lorraine Lewin, Head of Outreach, at Fortis Trust about the outreach service they’ve developed from scratch, to support their local community. We find out more about their deep-rooted commitment to collaborative support, how they’ve built a comprehensive offer from the ground up to meet profound and growing local needs, and the advice they would give to other trust leaders considering a similar path
“It’s not purely supporting just SEN; it’s enhancing quality-first teaching and therefore impacting all children. We are raising the quality of education and teaching across the region… If we can get in early, we can make a difference.”
Can you tell us about Fortis Trust’s outreach service and the ethos that underpins it?
Fortis is a small trust based in Medway (Kent) currently comprising a specialist all-through academy and a post-16 institution supporting young people into employment. In near future, we will be opening a new free school in Whitstable to add to our group of schools.
Perhaps the most distinct element to our trust is our outreach service, which provides SEN support to young people, families, and schools across Medway and Kent. The service began over a decade ago as an offer of support from our specialist provision on an ad-hoc and case by case basis. However, we saw the immense need in the region and felt a moral imperative to do more. The service has been built on the belief that it is simply “the right thing to do”, aligning directly with our Trust’s core values of fostering collaborative partnerships and being an outward-facing organisation that makes a positive difference to the whole community. Our ethos is not just about intervention for a few but about upskilling the entire system. We aim to empower mainstream schools, provide inclusive training that benefits all pupils, and ensure more children can be successfully supported in their local school.