The Russell Education Trust (RET) is a Multi-Academy Trust. It provides educational support services in the creation and operation of

academies An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

established as part of the free schools programme. It is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

, with

exempt charity An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furt ...

status, regulated by the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

. Its board members include experienced educationalists and representatives from RET schools' local governing bodies. RET was established in 2010 by directors of the school improvement company Education London which, between 2003 and 2017, provided educational support services to Government, notably as a service provider to the

London Challenge The London Challenge was a school improvement programme launched by the UK's Labour Government in 2003. The policy document "Transforming London Secondary Schools" set out the aims of the programme, which was designed to create a "step change" in ...

, as well as to individual Local Authorities and schools. Education London ceased trading in 2017 due to the retirement of its Operations Director, but continues as community interest company EL (RET) to sponsor RET. Both organisations were based in the same office building in

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

, Surrey, until 2024 when they moved to Teddington. The Russell Education Trust has worked in partnership with parents, communities, and diocesan authorities to establish the following free schools: * Bristol Free School, established 2011 * Becket Keys Church of England School, established 2012 * King's School, Hove, established 2013 * St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School, established 2013 * Turing House School, established 2015

Governance Model

RET established its first two free schools using the Single Academy Trust model that was in place at the time. It formed two sub-trusts, the Bristol Free School Trust and the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust, which each signed free school funding agreements with the Secretary of State. Like RET itself, RET's sub-trusts are exempt charities, regulated by the

. For its later schools RET used the Multi-Academy Trust model. The Trust delegates a range of its governance responsibilities to each of its schools' local governing bodies via a formal Scheme of Delegation.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.russelleducationtrust.org.uk/ Companies based in Surrey Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom Founders of English schools and colleges