Welcome to
Beyond Schools Trust
We are an ambitious organisation of 10 schools, serving the educational needs of nearly 7,000 children and young people aged 3 to 19.
Our academies are based in a tight geographical area drawing students and employees from Kent and Medway in the South East of England.
We employ around 900 people in a range of roles designed to support children to be successful when they leave the Trust. We also rely on the time and commitment of over 100 volunteer Trustees and Governors, who share our ambitions for our schools and our students. These are expressed in our vision, our mission, and our values.
We have a strong belief in the value of lifelong learning and in our strategic plan, we set out to develop a Trust that fully prepares children so they have the skills, knowledge, values and character to be successful in the world beyond our doors. We also believe that our greatest asset as an organisation, is our people, and we are privileged to be involved with such courageous, committed and child-centred employees. Everything we do is aimed at providing our staff with the resources and leadership to achieve their best. We believe that a supported and motivated staff create the best environment and the best opportunities for students to achieve their full potential.
Welcome to Beyond.
Andrew Minchin - CEO
Our Vision
Our vision is simple:
To be the most respected family of schools - trusted to provide the highest quality of educational experiences in our communities.
We believe that by working together, rather than in isolation, we can accelerate school improvement and embed our vision in our academies. In working and collaborating towards our common strategic objectives, we can create more opportunities for lifelong success for our students.
The fundamental philosophy behind the Beyond Schools Trust’s vision and strategic plan is all about thinking beyond the present day; looking at what is right for our students and staff both now and in the longer term.
Put simply we strive to:
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Develop and retain the best employees that know how to provide the best educational experience
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Support, motivate and reward our employees to go above and beyond for our students
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Be responsive to our students’ and employees’ needs so they are prepared for a rapidly changing world.
Our Values
Everyone in our Trust has a part to play in bringing the ethos and culture of our values alive. We are committed to ensuring everyone knows why we should value each other and how we should value each other, so we can create a community where we all aspire to succeed. Our values are not the static states of play but things we are always striving to develop and uphold as part of our culture.
Our Mission
To provide opportunities for everybody to be the best they can be.
We want every one of our students, teachers, or Governors to be the best that can be. We will work tirelessly to support them to reach their potential.
Our Strategic
Priorities
This is a key moment in the Trust’s history, as we embark on the next stage of our journey and launch our new name and brand - Beyond Schools Trust. Below, we have set out our strategic plan and roadmap to improvement over the next 5 years, to continue the great work we have started.
We have consulted a wide range of stakeholders in the formulation of this plan, to ensure that it reflects everybody’s ambitions for the Trust. Our Strategic Priorities are as follows:
To provide outstanding learning experiences to prepare children’s readiness for the world beyond our doors
To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Trust by growth and strong financial health
To develop a talented, resilient and high performing workforce, who will collaborate, innovate and evaluate together
To develop strong and connected leadership at all levels that overarches the Trust
We have a strong belief in the value of lifelong learning and in this plan, we set out to develop a Trust that fully prepares children so they have the skills, knowledge, values and character to be successful in the world beyond our doors. We also believe that our greatest asset as an organization, is our people, and we are privileged to be involved with such courageous, committed and child-centred employees. Everything we do is aimed at providing our staff with the resources and leadership to achieve their best. We believe that a supported and motivated staff create the best environment and opportunities for students to achieve their full potential.
The History
of the Trust
Phase 1 | 2012-2023
The founding school of the Trust was the Fort Pitt Grammar School, an Ofsted rated Outstanding school (2022). The Multi Academy Trust was incorporated in 2012, when it was asked to support the Phoenix Junior School and The Robert Napier School, who both became sponsored academies. In 2015, the Trust merged with The Thomas Aveling School, an OFSTED rated Good Single Academy Trust. The resultant merger brought the Trust a wealth of experience in the area of initial teacher training, as well as a strong financial pedigree. Finally, in 2017 the Balfour Junior School, an Ofsted rated ‘Good’ school, joined the Trust.
The Trust continued to consolidate this group of schools over many years and in 2020 a strategic plan was put in place to ensure that the Trust's central services were offering strong Finance, HR, Payroll and Estates Development services. More recently this extended to a dedicated School Improvement service which forms a key part of our Trust support offer. As part of the strategic plans and emerging from Covid pandemic, came the new Trust name and brand. The brand allows the Trust to celebrate the best of all the schools within the Trust now and in the future. While Academy schools retain their own distinctive character and brand, they have a common ethos and mission which is in sync with the Trust Philosophy.
Phase 2 | 2023-2024
Following a year of supporting the Skills for Life Trust, we sought approval from the Department for Education to bring all five schools into the Beyond Schools Trust.
On the 1st April 2024, the following schools joined the Trust:
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Chantry Community Primary School
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Hilltop Primary School
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Warren Wood Primary School
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Greenacre School
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Walderslade School
Meet the
Executive Board
Our Executive Board is made of the Executive leads across the organisation – Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Head of People, Director of Secondary Education and Director of Primary Education. In addition each Headteacher are encouraged to lead an aspect of strategic importance across the Trust, as well as being the strategic and substantial leader of their own school.
Andrew Minchin
Chief Executive Officer
Kathy Steele
Head of People
Steve Rayner
Chief Finance Officer
Nicky Archer
Director of
Secondary Eduction
Gavin Evans
Director of
Primary Education
Meet the
Secondary Headteachers
Salena Hirons
Headteacher
Fort Pitt
Grammar School
Jenny Tomkins
Headteacher
The Robert Napier School
Paul Jackson
Headteacher
The Thomas Aveling School
Louise Campbell
Headteacher
Walderslade & Greenacre Schools Partnership
Meet the
Primary Headteachers
Zoe Mayston
Headteacher
Balfour Junior School
Kathryn Duncan
Headteacher
Chantry Community Primary School
Ewa Eddy
Headteacher
Hilltop Primary School
Mel Ireland-Hubbert
Headteacher
Phoenix Primary School
Lucinda Woodroof
Headteacher
Warren Wood
Primary School
