ACADEMY TRANSFORMATION TRUST PARTNERS WITH D2L TO TRANSFORM THE LEARNING JOURNEY

D2L, a global learning technology company transforming the way the world learns, announced today that Academy Transformation Trust, an English multi-academy trust, has selected D2L Brightspace as its new Learning Management System (LMS). Brightspace will deliver personalised learning experiences for learners, improve support for staff and ensure every learner leaves their academies with everything they need to reach their full potential.

Founded in 2011, Academy Transformation Trust operates a cross-phase group of academies in the Midlands, the East of England and the Southeast. It has since grown to include 21 academies spanning primary, secondary, post-16 and Further Education, across 10 English local authority areas. It’s responsible for the education of more than 13,500 learners and the careers of more than 2,000 educators.

Prior to choosing its new LMS, Academy Transformation Trust identified specific challenges and requirements across its key stakeholder groups. For secondary pupils, these requirements focused on direct communication with teachers, peer-to-peer learning and the need for healthy competition to drive attainment, for example through gamification, rubrics and the ability to chart and track their own learning progress. There was also an important need to remove digital poverty and barriers to learning by implementing a platform that was accessible regardless of geography, demographics or social mobility.

For Academy Transformation Trust staff, challenges were based on course management and content. When it comes to assessing pupils and tracking their progress, it’s critical that educators can organise information in order to easily find suitable lesson materials. The ability to personalise different aspects of learning would also improve engagement and attainment levels. Lastly, educators identified the need to view and assess progress to manage the development of students.

Tony Diaram, LMS Project Manager at Academy Transformation Trust said:

“We are a future-looking organisation, always striving to improve the learner experience of our partners, teachers, pupils and the communities we serve.”

“We needed to find a new LMS that would satisfy the evolving and ambitious requirements of these stakeholders. We invited a selection of vendors to tender, and after a rigorous shortlisting process successful candidates were asked to demonstrate their product. We ultimately chose D2L, as it has a rich feature-set that will allow our teachers to plan, deliver and review course content all in one place. In doing so, they can design professional, flexible and accessible courses that deliver the engaging learning opportunities our students seek.”

During the implementation journey, partners and stakeholders were kept fully informed of the changes via the creation of two distinct working groups, one for primary and one for secondary education. These groups were formed to oversee aspects of the LMS implementation and address any questions or concerns from stakeholders. Brightspace will be rolled-out over a full academic year, with the LMS due to be operational across all the organisation’s academies by September 2022. 

“We believe that every child matters and our mission is to provide the absolute best education for all pupils and the highest level of support for our staff. D2L will be integral to facilitating our success in teaching and learning, improving pupil outcomes and providing practical guidance to our partners as required,” concluded Tony.

 Stewart Watts, Vice President EMEA, D2L said:

“The learning goals at Academy Transformation Trust are rooted in ambition, inclusivity, excellence and compassion, and these values resonate strongly with our entire team at D2L. That’s why we are excited about this new partnership and look forward to supporting Academy Transformation Trust as it continues on this journey of learning transformation.”