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The Russell Education Trust (RET) is a multi-academy trust in the United Kingdom. [1] It provides educational support services in the creation and operation of academies established as part of the free schools programme. [2] It is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, with exempt charity status, regulated by the Department for Education. [3] Its board members include educationalists and representatives from its schools' local governing bodies. [4]
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, as well as to individual local authorities and schools. [5] [6] [7] Education London ceased trading in 2017, but continues as community interest company EL (RET) to sponsor RET. [8]
Both organisations were based in the same office building in Leatherhead, Surrey, until 2024 when they moved to Teddington. [9] [5]
The Russell Education Trust has worked in partnership with parents, communities, and diocesan authorities to establish the following free schools: [10]
RET established its first two free schools using the Single Academy Trust model that was in place at the time. [16] It formed two sub-trusts, the Bristol Free School Trust and the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust, [17] [18] [19] [20] which each signed free school funding agreements with the Secretary of State. [16] Like RET itself, RET's sub-trusts are exempt charities, regulated by the Department for Education. [3]
For its later schools RET used the Multi-Academy Trust model. [1] [21] [22]
The Trust delegates a range of its governance responsibilities to each of its schools' local governing bodies via a formal Scheme of Delegation. [23]