CEO Welcome

Welcome to the Beckmead Trust website, thank you for taking an interest in our wonderful children, fabulous families, brilliant schools and amazing staff. The Beckmead Trust is now two years old and what a start we have had in partnership with the Department for Education and councils across London and the south-east.

We are currently re-organising our eight provisions in Croydon into three distinct and defined schools: Chaffinch Brook, Beckmead College and Beckmead Campus. We feel this will help clarity of planning, budgeting and admissions as well as being more understandable for our pupils and families.

The conversion of a failing school in Essex into our trust in May of this year has been very positive and with the support of the Local Authority we have made good progress in supporting the newly named Moundwood Academy into being a place where youngsters access bespoke and outstanding care and education.

Ropemakers Academy in Hailsham opened in September in contingency accommodation and are getting ready to move into their amazing new school early next year. The children and staff have settled really well and Ropemakers already has a unique feel of its own based on expert nurture and sky-high expectations for all.

The Roundwood School and Community Centre opens in Harlesden in January 2021. In partnership with Brent Council and the charity Unlocking Potential, Roundwood will provide schooling through an Alternative Provision and an integrated youth offer and community hub. This is an exciting, unique project and will test a model we hope will be replicable in some of our other provisions.

Design work in Essex for The Greenwell Academy and The Sir Geoff Hurst Academy is gathering pace as we look to build and open these schools in the 2022-2023 academic year. Both these schools will have some residential accommodation for a number of children who will board with us during the school week. We are working hard to bring residential expertise into the trust shortly – watch this space!

Preliminary design work is under way which will shortly lead to an application for planning permission for our new school – The London River Academy – in Richmond situated on the old Barnes Hospital site. When this opens it will provide 90 places for children and young people identified as having complex needs.

Most importantly, our growing trust is bound tightly together by our shared values of honesty, empathy, integrity and respect and the cornerstones of our nurturing practice – love, flourishing, social justice and community. Everyone who is associated with Beckmead, classroom colleagues, Members and Trustees, business support and trust staff directly associate everything they do with the best possible outcomes for our exceptional children. I have always maintained that it is a privilege to work with our pupils, families and communities and I am proud that this principle resonates throughout the Beckmead Trust.

Jonty.
Dr Jonty Clark OBE: CEO The Beckmead Trust