WT Introduction (Hidden Page)
The Wensum Trust is a not-for-profit education Trust with 11 non-selective, free to attend, schools arranged into three geographical hubs across Norfolk. It provides a complete education journey from early years to sixteen plus, creating seamless transitions and delivering an ongoing commitment to providing rich, diverse experiences which enable every child to develop, flourish and reach their full potential.
The Wensum Trust currently has 11 schools situated across Norfolk, ranging from nursery through to sixth form, enabling the Trust to support children and their parents and carers at every stage of the education journey.
Since it was first founded, in 2011, The Wensum Trust has demonstrated a successful track record in bringing about rapid and sustained improvements for the schools that have joined the Trust. Built on the foundations of high-quality teaching, learning and assessment, it features two Ofsted 'outstanding' rated schools, seven 'good' rated schools and has been chosen by the Department for Education (DfE) to lead one of only 34 English Hubs nationwide. The Wensum English Hub, led from Heather Avenue Infant School, supports all primary schools across Norfolk with excellent phonics and early language teaching.
The schools within the Wensum Trust are arranged into three geographical hubs:
- The City Hub - serving Norwich and the wider area
- The Rural Hub - serving Acle and surrounding villages
- The Coastal Hub - serving Burnham Market, Wells-next-the-Sea and the North Norfolk coast.
Collectively, all schools that are part of The Wensum Trust share the ethos that education is far broader and deeper than just the national curriculum and examination programmes of study. The Trust has high aspirations for all children, regardless of their background. In recent years, our Trust has begun undertaking a major shift away from a behaviourist model to a relational approach, where positive relationships are key and behaviour is seen as a form of communication. All three hubs work in partnership to use their shared knowledge, facilities and community settings to provide inspiring and meaningful curriculums and pupil experiences. The desire is to give every child the opportunity to discover what they enjoy and where they excel, and to develop engaged and happy children by going beyond a fixed academic focus.
To increase the breadth of diverse experiences available, The Wensum Trust has also built partnerships within the local community. These strategic partnerships, which are often unique to The Wensum Trust academies, include:
Through a partnership approach across all three hubs, and with local communities working together, The Wensum Trust strives to achieve excellence in enriching education and in providing inspiring, exciting opportunities which develop high achieving, confident, healthy and fulfilled members of society.
Our Vision and Strategic Framework
For Children, Families and Communities
The Wensum Trust is a family of schools that believes in putting the children and families within our local communities at the centre of all we do. Our vision is to work together to help every child to develop into high achieving, confident, healthy, caring and resilient members of their family and community; creating a pathway to support their career aspirations, independence and contribution to society.
We value the need to develop positive relationships with every child and every family in order to achieve this vision. We aim to work together to understand and respond to individual circumstances, regardless of background or early life adversities, and to offer the appropriate care during challenges along the way.
Our Strategic Framework
Our new framework has been designed to guarantee that the needs of the whole child are met and that our schools offer every child the best possible support throughout their learning journey. At the core of our values is our own, unique definition of success:
"Children are in school, participating and enjoying their learning and feeling safe; with a sense of belonging and with aspirations towards a future path. Our children are resilient, articulate and, by the time they leave us, they are learners for life."
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Mental health and wellbeing is at the foundation of all that we do. Prioritising mental health and wellbeing lays the foundations for future relationships, better health, positive engagement and successful learning.
Click here for more information on our unique approach to mental health.
Learning & Achievement
We maintain high expectations of our children and we aim for every child to make excellent progress at every stage. A stronger foundation of mental health and wellbeing will enable more children who are less academically driven to engage with their learning and to achieve their potential in school and beyond.
Careers & Life Skills
By giving each child a clear career trajectory, supported by our strategic partners, we lift their aspirations, give them a sense of belonging and help them to become learners for life. They gain a better understanding of the purpose of education and develop into high achieving individuals who are able to better support and contribute to the mental health and wellbeing of their own children or other young people in the future.
Our Strategic Aims
Our aims are based on our core values and have been developed by our dedicated Board of Trustees.
Lead, Influence and Engage
We will continue to work with our local community and national education network on developing ways to lead and influence positive change. Together we will create even more inspiring experiences for all our children and staff.
Inspire, Motivate and Transform
We will continue to invest in staff development so our team is always inspired, appropriately skilled and motivated when working with our children, their families and our communities. Together we will transform lives by supporting every child’s individual needs, providing the right experiences to help them achieve their own personal best and be ready for life in an ever-changing world.
Innovate, Collaborate and Build
We will work closely with others in the world of education and within the communities we serve to build partnerships. Together we will develop innovative and creative learning opportunities which support the high aspirations we have for each and every child that is part of our family of schools.