Case studies
We work hard to have a profound impact in the areas we serve. We know that there is always more to do, but we also recognise that the hard work of our staff, students and communities has enabled us to make a real, tangible difference in our communities.
Here we share the impact of a sample of our work through case studies.
Dixons Marchbank Academy overcame significant local challenges, transforming poor previous outcomes to above national outcomes. Dixons Marchbank was graded Ofsted Outstanding in 2023.
What we did
The first priority was to urgently rebuild damaged relationships with the local community. With deep focus, the school went from undersubscribed to oversubscribed and award-winning provision within the community: hosting a community hub, adult education, enrichment activities for families and much more.
The second priority was to build clear, consistent routines delivering high impact action on low level behavioural issues and set expectations for children and families now and for years ahead.
The third priority was to realign the curriculum principles, with support from across Dixons, including expertise from secondary colleagues on powerful knowledge
within subject areas.
The fourth priority was to reinvigorate our middle leadership talent, in leadership development and in deep understanding of the curriculum.
Impact
2024 saw a 17% increase in RWM outcomes, on a trajectory that is expected to continue. Current cohorts are seeing the benefit of coherent and consistent behaviour culture and curriculum approaches in KS1 building to KS2, with a particular focus on early reading. Children’s enthusiasm for learning and enjoyment of school is evidenced by attendance figures that are consistently above national and local averages.
Dixons Trinity Academy was the first secondary free school in England to receive an ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted (in 2014). Students achieve results well above the national average: in 2023, Dixons Trinity Academy achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.77. At the end of Year 11, Trinity students score 0.77 grades higher (of a total 9 grades) on their final GCSE exams than students with a similar starting point in Year 6. Nearly all students study a broad academic curriculum. In 2023, 96% students were entered for the Ebacc suite of academic subjects, compared to the national average of 39%.
Dixons Trinity Academy developed the initial mountain rescue model of inclusion which now supports many schools across our trust and has informed practice nationally. We achieved a positive P8 school for SEND students in 2024.
Dixons Trinity Academy was the launchpad for our Dixons Community model, which saw Dixons and Bradford Citizens win the TES Tim Brighouse Award for community engagement in 2024.
Dixons Trinity Academy is regularly visited by educators across the UK and internationally. In 2020 according to the Fair Secondary School Index, Dixons
Trinity Academy in Bradford was the best school in England. (SOURCE LINK: https://northernpowerhouseappg.org.uk/)
The school previously on the Dixons Unity Academy site used to be known as the worst school in Britain. The Armley community in Leeds was particularly challenged during covid and austerity, which lead to an urgent need to rebuild the contract between school and community to drive the best outcomes for children. Dixons Unity Academy achieved Good for the first time in the history of schools on the site in 2024. Dixons Unity Academy is one of the most improved schools in Leeds this year.
What we did
The first priority was to recentre the school at the heart of the community to rebuild relationships: now hosts a convening partnership, a community centre
and a food bank. The national award-winning hub has been open almost every week except for one since it opened.
The second priority was to reestablish culture for learning through a behaviour reset and the establishment of an internal alternative provision.
The third priority was to leverage support from the Centre for Growth to drive improvements in talent and curriculum understanding. Dixons Unity Academy leverages the Dixons curriculum
"Staff have high expectations for students' learning and behaviour. These expectations are being increasingly well realised. Students experience consistent routines and common approaches to teaching. This creates a strong focus on learning.” - Ofsted report, July 2024
Impact
Student outcomes are improving: In 2024, Dixons Unity Academy achieved a Progress 8 score of -0.54, up from -0.82 the previous year. Most students study a broad academic curriculum. In 2024, 68% students were entered for the EBacc suite of academic subjects, compared to the national average of 39%.
Our community hub hosted a community voice event with local MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in July 2024.
The Centre for Growth (CfG) was re-launched in 2022 as the home for Dixons’ innovation and talent development for both education and associate staff.
The CfG commits to three core strands: growing our people, growing our organisation, growing our sector. The CfG is the home of the EEF Bradford Research School delivering highest quality training across the region, working with 380 schools and 1000 teachers last year and with a national following including over 300,000 views for our blogs.
The CfG hosts delivers teaching training across primary and secondary with an average of 75% trainees joining Dixons as ECTs. We have been a leading partner provider of NPQs since the launch of the new qualification.
The CfG holds our sector leading thinkers on curriculum, SEND, attendance, community work, and equality, diversity and inclusion. It offers a comprehensive
programme of universal programmes, targeted and bespoke support for all our Dixons talent.
Dixons Broadgreen Academy became a Dixons school in December 2021. The school was struck by RAAC issues through the summer of 2023 and delivered improved outcomes year on year with significant portions of the school out of use. In finding solutions, the DfE commented "it has been a pleasure to work with such a forward-looking and professional academy trust.”
Our first priority was to set behavioural expectations: the previous school was dangerous and a clear, consistent behaviour and culture overhaul enabled tackling significant behaviour issues and low level behaviour issues with immediate impact.
Our second priority was to support talent development in this area of challenging recruitment, resulting in minimal turnover with maximum focus on classroom improvement. This included a senior and middle leadership development and supporting on-site deployment of CfG colleagues.
Our third priority was to leverage trust support to improve our SEND provision and place inclusion at the heart of school, the classroom and making sure children can learn.
Our fourth priority was to rebuild relationships with the community, including across the city with key stakeholders. We have done this locally and contributed to the anti-hate work across the city, leading the education sector by working with external agencies and writing the policy for secondary schools to tackle hate crime at a local and regional level.
Impact
Dixons Broadgreen Academy has seen a three year improving trajectory in student outcomes. In 2024, Dixons Broadgreen Academy achieved a Progress 8 score of -0.58, up from -0.89 the previous year. Most students study a broad academic curriculum. In 2024 81% of students were entered for the EBacc suite of academic subjects, compared to the national average of 39%.
Our community hub is preparing to open this academic year where we will offer a food bank, clothes bank and a wide range of drop-in services for our local residents and wider community.
Schools as anchor institutions
Bradford Citizens grew initially as a response to the pandemic. We realised as a trust we needed to be more civic-minded, to reach out and build a platform to give our students and communities a collective voice after the disproportionate impact of the virus. Dixons, along with four other school trusts in Bradford, sponsored its creation following our initial schools pandemic recovery summit in March 2021. Since then, Bradford Citizens has grown to encompass fifty schools actively involved, where staff work with Citizens UK organisers to train students to take the lead in building power for community action. Bradford Citizens has campaigned on mental health, cost of living and antiracism.
Through this work, Dixons students have convened meetings with local authority, police, and NHS leaders to advance their agenda, as well as meeting the West Yorkshire Mayor, MP candidates, and presenting at the Convention of the North. This has been a profound development experience for our students; but it has also led to greater mental health support in our schools, and concrete commitments from government on diversifying the curriculum and providing school-based counselling.
In 2024 Bradford Citizens won the Tim Brighouse Community Engagement award at the TES awards. Our civic model includes additional elements: Bradford Citizens serves as an exemplifying story.
In 2024, we launched a sector leading model for business services, placing partnership and relationships at the heart of delivery. Through this innovation we are saving over £1.1 million which will be reinvested in education. Our teams have been developed from existing Dixons talent. With the first 3 months of launch we have averaged 4.74/5 satisfaction score and have multiple phases of improvement scheduled towards 2026, including AI investment.