Bridge Schools Trust

Bridge Schools Trust opened in November 2013 following an approach from the Department for Education for Wadebridge Primary Academy to sponsor another large primary school in Cornwall. Since then the Trust has grown to include 14 primary schools and is managed from a centrally located office on the Lanhydrock estate just outside Bodmin by:

An independent Board of Trustees who oversee the strategic management of the trust.
An experienced Chief Executive, who is also a serving Ofsted Inspector.
A dedicated school improvement team of serving Ofsted Inspectors, outstanding classroom practitioners and specialist staff sourced through the Best Practice Network.
A centralised business team, specialising in Finance, HR & Admin, Sites, IT management and Health & Safety

Our Vision

Bridge is a family of schools committed to high performance. We embrace a universal culture of excellence in the learning communities we build.

Our Aims

To continue building a Multi Academy Trust that promotes strong values, an excellent education for all children, develops highly effective Academy Teams, is financially secure, and ensures effective governance.
To nurture, support and encourage aspirations by providing excellent learning opportunities, inspiring teaching environments, and a creative approach to curriculum subjects that secures engagement from all our learners resulting in high levels of academic progress and outcomes.

To develop outstanding leadership, teaching and support teams by valuing committed, reflective staff, and providing rigorous and challenging professional development for continual School Improvement.
To develop hubs as centres of learning excellence to disseminate best practice, firstly within and then beyond, the Multi Academy Trust.
To successfully engage and communicate with parents/carers in our local communities, supporting pupil progress, well-being and achievement.

Achievement through Teaching and Learning

Leadership is critical to success and is about securing the best outcomes for children.

Academy leaders can focus on academy improvement thanks to the work of our Business Management Team. The removal of routine management tasks releases academy leaders to concentrate on issues which impact on progress.

Senior Leaders can demonstrate success in our academies with improved opportunities for pupils, increased attainment and accelerated progress. Membership of a wider senior leadership team, led by an experienced Chief Executive, brings a wealth of expertise as well as enhanced personal development for senior leaders.

Links to our external academy improvement partners mean any areas of expertise which need additional support can be bought in quickly and are able to be deployed effectively across Bridge Schools. This boosts capacity wherever it is needed.

An experienced Board of Trustees allows academy governing bodies to seek support and guidance where necessary to ensure consistency of approach across all academies. All joining academies can expect a bespoke approach to supporting their situation following a thorough needs analysis. Mutual partnership and support engender a positive culture of success.

Bridge Schools has dedicated a lot of time and resources to achieve the sustainable position it currently enjoys. The journey has been difficult at times and has been a steep learning curve but we are now in a position to offer a strong and secure business partnership to any school. We all know there will be challenges for education to face in the coming years, but we believe by working together with our schools, we are in a much stronger position to succeed.

Our Achievements

Proven track record of school improvement and a commitment to helping all schools within the Trust to achieve outstanding.
Chief Executive who has previously moved a school from serious weaknesses to an Ofsted Outstanding in all areas.
An improvement in outcomes in all schools. For example at Looe an increase in attainment for Mathematics from 12% below national in 2012 to 23% above national in 2016.
Access to a network of independent external advisors in all areas of business management who can offer tailored advice to any school within the Trust.
Writing successful funding bids, including winning over £1,000,000 in additional funding between 2014 and 2016.
A programme of collaboration across the Trust with both staff and pupils joining together to share ideas, experiences and best practice.
Track record of working collaboratively with school partners outside of the Trust
Experienced HR support in dealing with complex staffing issues.

Co-ordination of a Trust wide IT initiative introducing iPads into all areas of the curriculum.
Project management of seven large capital projects over three years.
Expertise in project managing academy conversions. Utilising the economies of scale in procurement available to a Schools Trust.
Excellent financial management achieving a clean management letter in the first two years of audit.
Knowledge of running an academy including increased responsibilities of finances and business management.
Opening a training hub, offering a variety of training and CPD opportunities to schools in the South West.
Central creative team consisting of a nationally recognised dancer, musician and artist working collaboratively with all Bridge Schools.
Introduction of Visible Learning Programme across all schools