London South East Academies Trust

Who we are

We are committed to raising attainment, encouraging aspiration and supporting social mobility for every single child and young person in our schools, throughout their educational journey. Our family of schools currently includes mainstream, special and alternative provision academies, an outreach service and a music hub, located across Bromley, Bexley, Lambeth, East Sussex and Surrey. 

We are part of Elevare Civic Education Group, sponsored by a high-performing further and higher education college. This provides seamless transition for children and young people at every stage of education. We prepare all our young people for the next step in their lives and for career success.

Our culture and values

Our holistic approach enables every child to flourish and achieve their full potential, regardless of social background or ability, with direct access to degrees and higher technical education, as well as high-quality apprenticeships and vocational training. 

As anchor institutions, our schools and college sit at the heart of their communities. We focus on supporting social mobility through our pioneering social enterprise strategy, encouraging fundraising, volunteering and partnership working. This is delivering real impact locally and making an immeasurable difference to people’s lives.

We recognise, welcome and nurture the individuality of each of our schools because we know they best understand the needs of their local communities and learners. We are continuing to build on this success across the region and beyond by expanding our network.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We are committed to the promotion of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).We want to ensure that staff and students understand their roles in embedding it in their day-to-day work and studies. The College Single Equality Scheme (2017–21) acknowledged the important role the College plays as an employer in the boroughs in which it operates. It also expresses the aspiration for the staff profile to reflect that of local communities to “drive the college to be the best it can be as well as to provide positive role models for all students and members of the wider community”. But the Group’s approach has gone further than these policies, responding to local and global movements, such as the Group’s grant fund to promote diversity and inclusion.

All our EDI champion roles have been filled, engaging staff and students in a wide range of activities We have also made good progress embedding EDI principles within our policies, processes and project plans, as well communicating our actions.

• We have narrowed several achievement gaps – including those of care leavers, looked after children and white British boys in the College

• Completion of EDI training has remained good and further training on menopause awareness and inclusive recruitment has been implemented.

• We have implemented further positive action recruitment and talent management strategies – resulting in increased black/Asian/mixed heritage staff in middle management positions overall by 22%.

Externally we are working with the AoC and other providers to share and adopt further good EDI practice. We are also an affiliate member of the Black Leadership Further Education Group, inducting senior leaders and staff into the group’s 10-point plan.

We are working with Investors in Ethnicity and are in the top 25 employers having achieved a Level 4 in its Maturity Matrix. We are also represented on the Equality Partnership Group (Chaired by Bromley Council), which brings together the key employers in the community to discuss and exchange ideas