Welcome to Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust. I have been in the privileged position of leading the Trust since September 2018, during which time we have successfully stabilised the Trust finances, centralised the HR, finance and IT services functions, and made good progress on our school improvement journey.

Whilst we are a small multi-academy trust, we pride ourselves on the achievements of all the members of our fellowship of schools, working together to secure the best possible outcomes for the children and young people in our care. In an address to an Italian association of Catholic teachers, educators and school administrators, Pope Francis called on teachers to reach out to and "love with greater intensity" the children on "the peripheries'" of their schools; those who do not like studying, who are labelled as "difficult", who have disabilities, come from other countries or face other problems and disadvantages. To me, we can respond best to the Pope's plea by working as a collective, rather than acting unilaterally; making key decisions together when setting budgets, determining content of the curriculum through discussion, deciding who to employ as a panel, reaching consensus on key priorities etc.

I know that some of you will be reading my welcome to help you decide whether to apply for a job in our Trust, and others of you will be reading the content on our website to consider whether to start the journey of academisation. If you are interested in joining us as either an individual or a school, it is likely to be the right decision if you genuinely believe that by working collaboratively, each school benefits from others' strengths and expertise within the Trust and practically from services provided and procured centrally. Please do join us if you like working with people and want to belong to a dynamic, faith-driven organisation, whose focus is to serve the children, young people and families within their communities.