New Staff Induction

Welcome to Initio Learning Trust

This induction site, which covers our shared policies, processes, and mandatory general training for all staff.

Your local setting will provide a separate site-specific and role-specific induction.

"Welcome to Inito Learning Trust. We are proud to be a forward-looking trust that provides supportive, creative and innovative learning opportunities, nurturing everyone as an individual. We look forward to working with you in our schools or as a member of our central team."

Liz West, Chief Executive Officer.

Meet the team

Led by CEO Liz West, the Trust's Executive team implements the strategy of the Board of Trustees and provides shared leadership and support to the Trust schools.

Trust strategy

The Trust's strategic plan runs from September 2023 until July 2026. The full document is available below.

Initio Strategic Plan 23-26 Final.pdf

Probationary period

New Trust staff are subject to a probationary period; for Teachers this is 6 months, for Support Staff this is 26 weeks.

(Please note: Newly Qualified Teachers are supported separately under the Early Career Framework)

Your probationary period includes regular meetings with your line manager to evaluate your progress. These meetings are key to ensuring clarity and support in your new role. If your review meetings (minimum of 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 6 months) are not scheduled, please contact your line manager to book them. Use these links to access probationary guidance and to download forms: Teachers, Support Staff

Your probationary support runs parallel with your induction into the Trust and your local work area. If you are ever unclear on job expectations, speak first with your line manager. If concerns remain, contact your HR/Office Manager

Trust policies

All schools follow our Trust-wide policies. As a new starter, you need to understand our expectations regarding conduct, safeguarding, absence reporting and responsible ICT use.

We also recommend reviewing health & safety and pay & expenses policies.

Access the full policy suite below (or via the Intranet); the list on the right highlights key documents.

Trust Policies

Safeguarding & Child Protection
Code of Conduct
ICT Responsible Use
Sickness Absence
Health & Safety
Probation
Pay & Expenses
Appraisal
Equality & Diversity
Whistleblowing

Induction training

During your first month, you are expected to complete Mandatory Compliance Training (safeguarding, cyber security, data protection, and H&S) on the National College platform (link below).

New starters complete:

Initio all staff user group mandatory training learning plan

PLUS the following training, accessed by clicking the 'internal CPD' link:

Safeguarding Training: Complete online training by the end of your first week (if you have not received in person training from your local Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL); this includes Prevent Training and Preventing Sexual Harassment.
Cyber Security - Please complete within your first two weeks of employment.

Login details will be sent to you, so that you can access your personalised learning plan. If you haven't received them soon after starting, please contact your HR/Office Manager.

National College

HR and payroll

For school staff the School Office Manager is your first point of contact for general HR queries (such as benefits, training access, contract and payroll issues) and for central team colleagues, the Trust central People team is your first point of contact while you settle in.

Payroll:

Trust staff are paid on the last working day of each month.
P45: Please provide Parts 2 and 3 to your HR/Office Manager immediately upon receipt to avoid an emergency tax code.
Payslips are sent electronically by Dorset Council.
Notify your HR/Office Manager immediately if you don't receive your payslip.

New Joiner Forms

You've already been sent several required forms (via your onboarding portal or your offer letter link); please double-check that your HR/Office Manager has all necessary information for payroll and records.

Self-reporting changes to personal information

You are expected to provide accurate personal details (name, address, job history, qualifications etc.) on your application. Providing false information may result in your employment being terminated.

You must inform your HR/Office Manager immediately of any changes to your personal circumstances, including:

Address or telephone number
Personal email address
Emergency contact details
Bank/ building society information
Criminal convictions or cautions

Overtime, Travel and Expenses

Use the Dorset Council TTE portal (link here) to enter the following claims. We recommend registering and saving your password during induction.

Overtime: Must be agreed upon with your line manager in advance.
Travel Claims: Requires providing your car details.
Cash Expenses: If Trust purchasing policy cannot be followed, submit a scan of the receipt to your HR/Office Manager for audit.

Sickness Absence

If you are unwell, follow the notification procedure for your local school/setting (confirm this during induction). Upon return, complete a Sickness Absence Form (SAF); your line manager will conduct a return-to-work interview.

You can obtain Sickness Absence Form from the Google Template library - scroll down to the HR section.

For absences over 7 calendar days:

Supply a medical certificate (sick note) covering Day 8 onwards.
Send the certificate to your line manager and HR/Office Manager.
Notify them of your expected return date.

Refer to the Trust Sickness Absence Policy (link above) for full guidance.

Driving at Work?

If you regularly use your own car for work:

You must have business use cover on your personal insurance policy (the Trust's policy only covers occasional use).
You must complete the Annual Driving Risk Assessment (for any work driving beyond commuting). Speak to your line manager to arrange this.

Employee benefits and wellbeing

The Trust is committed to supporting employee wellbeing and provides:

A free Health Cash Plan for all employees.
Access to the Cycle to Work scheme (a tax-efficient way to pay for a bike via monthly salary deduction).

Visit the Wellbeing Intranet (link provided) for full details on these and other available support.

Healthcare Cashplan

The Trust pays for staff enrolment in the Healthcare Cashplan, with benefits provided by our partner, UK Healthcare.

The Healthcare Cashplan is a Benefit in Kind (BIK) for tax purposes. This results in a small tax code adjustment, listed as 'private medical insurance' on your annual P11D (reflecting the cost the Trust pays for your benefit). For standard rate taxpayers, this increased tax amounts to about £1.20 a month.

NOTE: This benefit is only available to Trust Employees. Casual or supply staff are not eligible.

If you are new to the Trust, you need to actively OPT IN to our cashplan using the link below.

Cashplan OPT IN Form

Employee engagement

We recognise that our staff is our greatest asset and want to hear from you.

While you can send suggestions and feedback ad hoc to hr@initiolearning.org, our most important feedback mechanism is our annual staff engagement survey.

Our annual staff engagement survey, conducted for the last five years helps us to identify specific action areas. It ensures the Trust listens, collaborates on feedback, and incorporates findings into our strategy.

Survey results and action plans are on the Trust's Wellbeing Intranet (link here). Examples of changes made directly from past feedback are shown to the right.

You asked, we did: No Marking Policy

Staff feedback confirmed the benefits:

"Since the move was made to a 'no marking' policy, marking has drastically reduced, and assessment time is now spent very differently"

"Much more manageable with the no marking policy - most assessment now happens in lessons"

Continued enhancements to Employee Wellbeing include:

Introduction of the Cycle to Work Scheme.
Provision of free flu jabs.
Implementation of a Trust-wide Menopause Strategy, including a policy, ambassadors, and Menopause Cafés.
Various Ad Hoc wellbeing initiatives.

Launch of the Trust-wide Intranet

Easy access to information and systems; currently receiving over 22k monthly views.

Unsung heroes

The Trust runs an annual Unsung Heroes awards programme—a staff-to-staff initiative.

Colleagues can nominate anyone they feel goes above and beyond their day-to-day duties for a fantastic prize draw. Staff may make unlimited nominations, and an individual's chances of winning increase with the number of nominations they receive.

Prizes, generously donated by local businesses, include meals, days out at local attractions, wellbeing goodie boxes, and even high-value items like a Level 2 powerboating course in 2023 (worth over £200!)

Nominations run from November to December. This is a great way to thank colleagues; every nominee is personally notified and receives a brief, anonymous summary of the positive comments made about them.

Page updated

Report abuse