Report to Stakeholders 2025
Chief Executive's Introduction
Welcome to our report to stakeholders, which provides a summary of developments in RLT over the past 12 months. If you haven’t read our previous reports to stakeholders the links are available on the Key Information page as they provided some additional detail about the Trust and how we work, which is not repeated here. Please visit this page on our website: Annual Reports and Strategy Documents.
Paul James
About RLT
RLT is a Multi-Academy Trust that is committed to excellence and collaborative working within Oxfordshire and Swindon. Our aim is to support all our children and young people, whatever their backgrounds or additional needs, to lead successful lives.
RLT is a diverse range of provision, made up of:
- Ten secondary schools
- 20 primary schools
- An Alternative Provision
- A SCITT provider (school-centred initial teacher training)
- A Teaching School Hub
- More details can be found HERE about our schools.
Our schools
Secondary (in order of joining RLT)
- The Cherwell School
- Wheatley Park
- Chipping Norton
- Kingsdown
- The Marlborough CofE
- The Swan School
- The Oxford Academy
- Gosford Hill
- Cheney
- Gillotts School
Primary (in order of joining RLT)
- Cutteslowe
- Wolvercote
- Tower Hill
- New Marston
- Edith Moorhouse
- Garsington CofE
- Horspath CofE
- Madley Brook
- Witney Community
- Middle Barton
- Beckley CofE
- Rose Hill
- Sandhills
- Larkrise
- Seven Fields
- Charlbury
- Windrush
- Barton Park
- Bayards Hill
- Edward Feild
Alternate Provider
Meadowbrook College
SCITT and Teaching School Hub
- OTT SCITT
- Oxfordshire Teaching School Hub
How do we work?
You can view some short videos which explain how we work HERE.
Being part of RLT means that schools have access to a range of colleagues and collaborative opportunities to support their school improvement – we believe in the power of sharing best practice and in schools responding and adapting to the specific needs of their communities. We also provide a full range of operational services to schools such as finance, HR, estates, health and safety, and IT, as well as supporting major projects such as large scale procurement.
RLT in numbers: September 2024 - December 2025
- Schools and settings: 31 (10 secondary, 20 primary, 1 Alternative Provision)
- Pupils: 16,621 (4,493 primary, 12,034 secondary)
- SCITT: 1, currently training 215 teachers across seven hubs in three counties
- Teaching School Hub: Supporting over 590 Early Career Teachers and 511 teachers engaged in National Professional Leadership programmes across Oxfordshire
- Staff (Full time and Part time): 2361
- Funding spent on capital investment in school buildings: Over £3.9m
September 2024 - December 2025: A Review
The end of 2025 marks a significant milestone as the River Learning Trust reaches 10 years old. Formed towards the end of 2015 from a group of five schools, we are now a much larger community. We will share more about our journey over the coming year.
In line with our usual stakeholder reports this review provides an overview of our areas of focus during the past year. This has included the delivery of the Strategic Education Plan (curriculum, professional development, leadership and governance) and Inclusion Strategy, alongside the support services (HR, Finance, Operations) that we provide our schools.
At primary level: Our work has focused on improving outcomes and attendance which has had a very positive impact. We have developed strategies to better secure foundational knowledge at Key Stage 1 and we have supported a focus group of six schools serving our most disadvantaged communities to implement approaches that best meet the needs of their pupils. Our focus on Quality First Teaching has been linked closely with our Inclusion Strategy, ensuring that curriculum content and how that content is adapted for pupils with SEND is always considered. We have also developed further our English Strategy to extend the rigorous reading work from KS1 into KS2, aiming to improve higher-order reading skills.
At secondary level: Our Quality of Education priority had five themes where schools were able to focus on what best met their needs. These included improving learning for all, but particularly those with SEND, by ensuring security in the ‘universal strategies’ and reducing inconsistency in the delivery of curriculum, improving the promotion of student motivation, connection, belonging and engagement in the classroom and improving the quality, consistency and impact of the feedback teachers receive. We have also prioritised Culture and Behaviour, which has involved working with schools to create character curricula, translating abstract values like respect into teachable behaviours. Attendance remains a major priority and we have seen improvements in most schools, with many now showing attendance significantly stronger than national benchmarks for similar schools.
Across the Trust: We have been focussing on Connection and Belonging. At our best, schools are a wonderful source of connection and belonging for children, young people and adults. We provide a physically and psychologically safe environment in which pupils can flourish, through the relationships they form, the social skills and confidence they develop, the opportunities and experiences which are available to them, and through their academic learning. However, there are many challenges in society in relation to Connectedness and Belonging at this point in time. Our schools are working hard to embed cultures of connection and belonging and we are also supporting other Multi-Academy Trusts with this work.
Inclusion Strategy: Our work this year has been recognised nationally, with an RLT case study published as part of the Inclusion in Practice Initiative; with an enhanced specialist provision at one of our primary schools ("The Willows") reaching capacity, supporting nine pupils with complex needs who previously accessed very little education. This has expanded to 16 pupils in 2025-26 and we aim to open similar provisions in our schools to support a local and national SEND system in need of more provision. We also continue to quality assure our use of Alternative Provision by our schools so that we know that our most vulnerable pupils are accessing appropriate support.
Ensuring high standards of school performance
- At Trust level examination and test outcomes for pupils are above national standards at secondary level and in line with or above national at primary. Our outcomes at primary at Key Stage 2 improved for the third year in a row
- There remains variation in outcomes between our schools however, although this is reducing as schools with lower results improve
- The Trust had eight successful Ofsted inspections in 2024-25. Six of the inspections were ungraded and confirmed the schools continued to provide a good standard of education, with some wonderful highlights mentioned in reports. We had two graded inspections, with no overall judgement; one school move from five 'Requires Improvement' areas to three 'Requires Improvement' and two 'Good', and the other moved from five 'Good' judgement areas to one 'Good' and five 'Outstanding'
What we are proud of
- Our people and our culture; building healthy school cultures of Connectedness and Belonging. Whilst this work continues, we are proud of the impacts we are seeing both for pupils and staff (where staff turnover is below the national average) and that other Multi-Academy Trusts across the county are keen to learn about this area
- How our schools are innovating to meet the needs of more pupils with SEND. We are conscious of the challenges for schools, pupils and their parents and carers, but many pupils are being very well supported by our school staff and we continue to see this area as a priority - for our schools and to model what is possible in the wider system
- The collaborative work across the Trust - we have over 30 groups led by either school or Central Team colleagues to learn, share best practice and support improvement
- Our Governors and Trustees - who give of their time voluntarily to provide support and challenge to our schools and the Central Team; thank you
- The Designated Safeguarding Leads in our schools, and all who work with them - both teachers and support and pastoral staff, who keep children safe and create a strong culture of safeguarding that threads through every aspect of school life with a whole Trust commitment through regular training
- Stakeholder Survey results: More than 20,000 staff, pupils and parents/carers responded this year. Parents and carers showed positive responses, and more so than 2024 in a number of areas. This year we added some new questions that we can compare with national data. For the question “How often do you find what you do at school interesting?” Primary pupils were considerably more positive than the national comparison, and secondary slightly more positive. It was also pleasing to note how positively RLT staff and staff responses around wellbeing are when compared to national data
- The work we have begun with the The Sutton Trust to make our secondary school admissions process as accessible as possible especially for students from disadvantaged families. Our Bronze award for Fairer School Admissions is only the start of what we plan to do
- Our work on Sustainability: This is reported separately in our Sustainability Report 2025
- Our work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: This is reported separately in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Report 2025. To support diversity and retention, we launched a Racial Equity Network this year alongside a non-profit supply agency
- Our SCITT and Teaching school Hub continue to impact the wider education system in significant ways: OTT SCITT - Our 'Outstanding' teacher training provider has successfully expanded into Berkshire and Wiltshire. We recruited over 30 trainees to our apprenticeship route and saw a 50% growth in Associate Teachers against a national increase of only 9%. Teaching School Hub: We reached 360 schools and settings this year, with 97% of school leaders reporting a good or better experience. We supported over 600 Early Career Teachers (ECTs).
- We are proud to collaborate with local schools and partners to provide greater enrichment opportunities and career pathways for children and young people in our most disadvantaged communities - we have recently invested more in this area and aim for it to grow in the coming year
What we have learned
Twelve months on from last year, schools across the country still face significant pressures regarding financial constraints, the decline in external support services, recruitment challenges and a SEND system we all recognise does not work effectively for all. However, we are proud of how our schools are adapting, seeking to control what we can in the best interests of pupils and the communities we serve. By learning from best practices nationally, innovating ourselves and prioritising positive links with families, we are making strong progress in ensuring our schools remain supportive environments where everyone is heard and seen.
We have learned that whilst teaching remains the most important driver of change, that we have more opportunities as a Multi-Academy Trust to act as a community ‘Anchor Institution.’ It is our collective responsibility to look beyond the school gates and work in partnership with other local stakeholders to co-create community support that helps break down barriers, so that all children and young people are able to enjoy lives of choice and opportunity. We have been learning from elsewhere in the country about this work and are excited about what we might achieve.
What next?
Continuous improvement remains an important commitment. Alongside our schools having their own individual improvement plans we also have some priorities being developed across the Trust.
For 2025 - 2030, our Trust Strategy will focus on three high-level priorities: People First, Equity and Community supported by key Enablers. Over the next year these priorities are focussed on the following areas:
- People First: We will focus on improving recruitment, particularly in schools serving disadvantaged communities, and further developing healthy organisational cultures that support flexible working
- Equity: We aim to further improve the attendance and outcomes of pupils experiencing disadvantage and those with SEND by embedding intentionally inclusive teaching
- Community: We will continue to embed cultures of "Connectedness and Belonging" for staff and pupils (including a cross-Trust INSET focus in January 2026).
Enablers: We will develop our support service structures to reduce workload and improve efficiency, and ensure our digital strategy—including the developing use of AI—meets the evolving needs of our schools and settings.
Vision 2030
Contact Details
The River Learning Trust, which is an exempt charity and a company limited by guarantee, is registered in England and Wales with a registered company number 7966500.
The River Learning Trust
Central Team Office
c/o Rose Hill Primary School
The Oval
Oxford
OX4 4SF
office@riverlearningtrust.org
01865 558727
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