New Year, New Partnership

By Sam Kail-Dyke – Wessex Learning Trust

The Wessex Learning Trust was proud to start 2021 with an exciting new partnership as Nailsea Secondary School officially joined the Trust on January 1st.

The school is the 14th to join the leading Cheddar based Multi-Academy Trust, and the second secondary school in their portfolio, bringing over 1000 new students and more than 140 staff into the Wessex family. This partnership will ensure that an exceptional education can continue to be guaranteed for every child in the Trust’s care, as well as enabling teaching and learning expertise to be shared across sites and the financial benefits of economies of scale to be felt. A number of collaborations have already begun with teachers sharing best practice across departments including in Science and English.

Gavin Ball, Chief Executive of the Wessex Learning Trust said:

“We welcome Nailsea School to our Multi Academy Trust family, we encourage our schools to be at the centre of their community and raise aspirations and achievement. Nailsea School’s ethos of ‘Aspire Believe Succeed’ and its focus on the wellbeing and happiness of each child, sits brilliantly well with our own values.”

Gavin Ball – Chief Executive

Dionne Elliott, Head of Nailsea School said:

“It is an exciting time for Nailsea School, with this partnership allowing us to enjoy our own identity, whilst being a part of a bigger organisation. The Wessex Learning Trust will bring lots of advantages to the school, with staff benefitting from professional development opportunities, sharing positive experiences and joining in new initiatives. We are looking forward to working with our new colleagues in what will be an interesting year.”

Dionne Elliot – Headteacher

Jo Hopkinson, Chair of the Governors, Nailsea School said:

“After three years of discussion and interviews with a number of trusts, we feel very positive about the Wessex Learning Trust and strongly believe that this is the trust most aligned to the ethos of Nailsea School. Partnerships are already being made between governors, senior staff and middle leaders and we are confident that this is a very positive move for the whole of the Nailsea School community.”

Jo Hopkinson – Chair of Governors

The Wessex Learning Trust truly believes that this partnership will offer incredible opportunities for all involved, and help us to continue to provide and outstanding, 21st century education to all young people, from 2-19. By working together, we believe we can harness the talents of all our staff, share good practice between all our academies, and share resources that enable us to concentrate on delivering excellence in education.

We very much look forward to seeing what 2021, and this exciting new partnership will bring.