Parallel Learning Trust schools to join strong new trusts
Four of Parallel Learning Trust’s schools are set to transfer to strong new trusts on 1st September 2026.
With Parallel Learning Trust (PLT) closing shortly, all its six schools need to join new academy trusts.
It has now been confirmed that the two London schools (Wandle Valley Academy, in Sutton, and Evolve Academy, in Lambeth), will join Alternative Learning Trust (ALT) on 1st September 2026, while PLT’s two schools in Southend (Victory Park Academy and Sutton House Academy) will transfer to Fortis Trust on the same day. Inspire Free School, in Medway, joined Rivermead Inclusive Trust earlier this year. The sixth PLT school, Ramsden Hall Academy, in Essex, will join its new trust later next school year.
The new trusts were all selected by PLT’s Board of Trustees after much careful consideration, and have been approved by the Department for Education.
Angela Barry OBE, the Chief Executive Officer of PLT, said:
“I am delighted that all the schools are joining such superb academy trusts. The Board’s decision was based above all on what is in the best interests of the pupils, their families and the staff of each school.
“I have every confidence that the schools will continue to improve and provide an even higher quality of education and care to children and young people.
“ALT is an excellent specialist education organisation which has a track record of providing a strong, sustainable and supportive home for its schools. Fortis Trust is an excellent specialist education organisation which places children and young people at the heart of all that it does.”
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Welcome to Parallel Learning Trust. We are a specialist Multi-Academy Trust established in 2014, with expertise in Special and Alternative Provision academies. We embrace our moral imperative to educate and develop young minds in preparation for their futures in the world of work with the aim of ensuring that all pupils that attend our provisions can enjoy and achieve their true potential, irrespective of their starting point thus enabling them to make a positive contribution to their community. We are a truly collaborative organisation and the culture that we promote is one that is driven by our core values. These values have been carefully developed and apply across all of our academies. Most importantly, our approach is driven by passion, commitment and a genuine desire to create and nurture long term relationships that have sustainable outcomes that enable independence.
Prior to retiring from my full time, permanent Trust CEO role in August 2017, I was the founding Executive Head Teacher/CEO of a Multi-Academy Trust in South East London and Kent. I have been part of the teaching profession for 38 years; twenty six of which have been as either a Head Teacher or as an executive leader in a wide variety of diverse schools. Between 2011 and 2017, I led a multi-academy trust of four primary schools with a free school in pre-opening. I remained committed to the idea that successful leaders should demonstrate system leadership by taking responsibility for more than one school to ensure that excellent practice is disseminated. Through executive leadership I built teams that work hard to deliver a community-offer across their community.
I lead a central team of dedicated professionals that support the academy leads in delivering first class education to all our learners. The aim of the central team is to allow the academy based staff to focus on the core work or supporting our pupils and as a Trust we have designed a range of ‘core systems’ to streamline and improve monitoring and reporting in key performance areas. Fundamental to this is how the organisation, at all levels, collaborates to make itself and the components within it even stronger.
At PLT, we believe that our people, pupils and staff alike, are our greatest asset. We invest heavily in their future by training them and ensuring they are given every opportunity to grow into the best they can be. We are not into gimmicks or the latest fad; we endorse approaches that have been researched fully and have sustained and proven impact in the classroom.
The whole of our team welcome you to our website and we hope you enjoy browsing but please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any additional information on info@plt.org.uk.
Angela Barry
Interim CEO
