Big Move 5: WAT Reach

To deliver on our moral purpose of unlocking students’ academic and personal potential, and to make a difference to the lives of more students, the trust is expanding its reach and the number of students and schools in the WAT family in a sustainable way.

Free Schools

Progress of our new free school - Windsor Olympus Academy in Winson Green - has continued at pace. A headteacher designate has been appointed from within the WAT family and construction work is well underway and running on schedule, ahead of the planned opening in September 2023. This year, a site was also agreed for the trust’s second free school, Swift Academy, which is due to open in Walsall in 2025.

Support for Schools

In line with our commitment to provide support to Local Authority maintained schools and single academy trusts, over the last 12 months we have provided school improvement support to Learning Village Trust in Stoke-on-Trent, comprising two schools, Greenways Primary Academy and Milton Primary Academy, as well as Brook Primary School in Stourbridge. The outcomes of these partnerships has enabled the trust to establish a WAT School Partnership model to help inform future collaborations outside of the WAT family. Furthermore, the support provided to Learning Village Trust (LVT) proved hugely successful and was the catalyst for a transfer application being submitted by LVT to the DfE. As a result, Greenways Primary Academy and Milton Primary Academy are expected to join Windsor Academy Trust in 2023.

Through a process of strategic mapping and engagement, active discussions also took place and are still ongoing with numerous schools across Dudley, Staffordshire, Sandwell, Birmingham and Worcestershire.

System Contribution

Amongst many contributions to the wider education system during 2022, Windsor Academy Trust’s CEO, Dawn Haywood, has been engaged by DfE ministers and officials in relation to the Schools White Paper and to help inform the Regulatory and Commissioning Review. Furthermore, Ms Haywood sits on Priority Education Investment Areas Local Partnership Boards (PEIA LPBs) for both Walsall and Sandwell, to support the DfE with improving education in these areas, and is a member of the ASCL Trust Leaders Advisory Group.