Welcome to Beckfoot Trust

The Beckfoot Trust is a multi-academy family of primary, secondary and special schools closely located in the Bradford district. It was formed in 2013 and now includes ten schools with over 8000 young people and over a 1000 staff. Our aim is to create a family of remarkable schools where no child is left behind, that sit at the heart of their communities, working together to ensure that all our young people and all of our staff enjoy, learn and succeed.

Shirley Watson

Our Four Critical Questions

Why do we exist?

To create remarkable schools where no child is left behind.

How do we behave?

We enjoy belonging to Beckfoot Trust. We are all here to learn. We are determined to succeed.

What do we do?

Craft purposeful, inclusive and motivational cultures with exceptional pedagogy at the heart

How will we succeed?

Invest in people. Implement strategy with rigour and clarity. Demand remarkably high standards

One Trust Where All Belong; 10 Core Features of Our Trust 

Our core purpose is ‘to create remarkable schools where no child is left behind’

We have clearly set out what we believe makes a school remarkable in our Trust Contract

We share the same values

·       We enjoy belonging to Team Beckfoot Trust and we are optimistic about our future. 

·       We learn together in our vibrant, creative and diverse family of schools

·       We are highly ambitious for our staff and students and believe that through hard work, all can succeed.

We understand the power of belonging

We know that a deep sense of belonging is an irreducible need for all people.  We genuinely celebrate all aspects of diversity and we believe that where staff and students feel an authentic sense of belonging they will flourish. The recruitment and retention of mission-aligned people is absolutely key to our continuing success.  Please read our Workload and Wellbeing Pledge to learn more about how we value our employees. 

Beckfoot Trust is founded on the deep-seated principles of equity and inclusion

We understand that people (staff and students) have different needs.  If we are to meet our mission, we must acknowledge and dismantle the structural barriers that some groups may experience.  We will know we are truly inclusive when our equitable processes mean that we there are no patterns of differential outcomes or progression for students and staff.

We achieve alignment through collective efficacy

We genuinely collaborate as equal partners across special, primary and secondary settings.  As leaders we are all signed up to the same principles set out in our Trust Contract. We fundamentally believe we are only as strong as our weakest.

We are clear about our principles of alignment

We believe that ‘some things work everywhere’ and we are evidence-informed. We value the economies of scale and benefits of scale that working together brings. Through developing clarity on alignment we are able to support each other on our continuous journey to remarkable. 

We respect and celebrate the diversity of all our schools

Although we are One Trust Where all Belong, each of our schools has a distinctive character and we value authenticity of culture.  Leadership and personal accountability are founded on ownership and self-determination therefore we do not strive for uniformity. The rich diversity of our Trust means that we can learn from one another and thereby accelerate innovation and improvement for the benefit of the communities we serve.

Leadership Matters

All our leaders are mission-aligned and values-driven and are proud to belong to our one Trust.  They are signed up to our principles of alignment however, we want our leaders to have the power to lead their own unique setting and to create compelling school cultures where all are motivated to achieve.  Beckfoot Trust leaders all demonstrate integrity, humility and professionalism.     

Context is understood yet is never used as an excuse

Many of our schools are located in areas where there is a high level of deprivation.  In some instances our schools joined the Trust with a legacy of sustained underperformance and community mistrust. Breaking that cycle of deprivation is what drives us forward.  We will never use context as an excuse, yet we understand that communities are different and we work positively with those we serve.  

A relentless focus on driving up attainment

The culture and opportunities afforded to the young people that are in our care are hugely important to us, we are celebratory and inclusive schools with a strong emphasis on personal development and team.  Ultimately we know that to truly transform lives and meet our mission, we must have relentlessly high expectations.  Our aim is for our schools to be in the top 10% of all schools nationally for achievement.  To find out more about our ambitions, see our Mission Document.

Beckfoot One Trust 5 Year Plann

  • Embed an operating model that accelerates everyone’s journey to remarkable.
  • Ensure alignment to our Trust principles, holding everyone to account with kindness and candour.
  • Become a nationally recognised ‘people first organisation’ where all belong.
  • Put the research-informed inclusive (Beckfoot Trust) classroom at the heart of all we do.
  • All underpinned by plans and KPIs.
  • Top 10% of MATs nationally (5 years).