CEO Welcome

Dear visitor. Many thanks for taking the time to look at our website. I hope
you will get a flavour from these pages of the work of The Beckmead Trust
with our children, families and staff. We welcome visitors so please feel free
to contact the central team in Croydon to arrange a visit to any of our
schools to see first-hand the wonderful work of our staff and the fantastic
achievements of our pupils.

As a growing trust we have been working hard to ensure a clarity of
direction is held by all our schools that contributes to and enhances the
vision of the trust. This vision places improving the life chances of our
children at the forefront of everything we do and as a trust we feel a moral
purpose to undertake this work to the best of our ability. We aim to provide
a united partnership of excellent academies that are primarily linked by
the non-negotiable values of trust, honesty, integrity, respect and empathy
enhanced by outstanding local leadership and governance.
Our schools in Richmond and Essex that are in the pre-opening phase are
all progressing. The Greenwell Academy in Harlow will open in contingency
accommodation in September 2023 whilst the Sir Geoff Hurst Academy in
Chelmsford is aimed to open in 2024. The new provisions in Essex will be
followed closely by The London River Academy in Richmond which is
scheduled to open in 2025. Beckmead will also bid for new schools in the
next round of the Free School programme which will be announced in 2024.
In the meantime, several schools have approached our trust with
proposals for joining us – exciting times.
We were delighted to welcome Flagship School Hastings into the trust on
March 1 st . After some months of support the formal transfer of the school
has enabled the appointment of a permanent leadership team who have
consolidated the significant improvements in safeguarding that have been
made at Flagship.

In the last few weeks the trust has received several inspections from Ofsted
all of which have had very positive outcomes for the schools involved. This
external validation of our work reflects the dedication and expertise of our
staff, the exceptional achievements of our children and the heart-warming
support we receive from the families we support.
Many of our pupils talk to me about how worried they are about the impact
of climate change and what they as individuals and we as an organisation
can do to mitigate the impact of a hotter world. Beckmead is committed to
supporting green initiatives and playing its part in teaching and learning
new habits and behaviours that will support the regeneration of our world.
The changes I have seen in the climate and seasons since I was a boy are
staggering. I’m beginning to wonder if within my working lifetime we will
see adjustments to the times of the school day to provide a cooler learning
environment for our children.
In the meantime our organisation will continue to support positive
initiatives when possible, be outward looking and concerned with issues
beyond our schools. To this end I am proud to have now led eight trips to
the Polish / Ukrainian border taking food, medicines and power packs to be
distributed to civilians caught in the war zone. Many of our schools, children
and families have supported this initiative and engaged in learning about
what is happening at the other end of our Continent. Thanks to all for your
continued support; we will be making our ninth trip to the border in August.
Wishing everyone the best for the forthcoming summer break

Thank you for your time in reading this.

Jonty

Dr Jonty Clark OBE

CEO The Beckmead Trust.