Year 1 Classroom Teacher

Bernwode Schools Trust

Bernwode Schools Trust (formerly Bicester Learning Academy) was formed on 1st July 2014 and is a multi-academy trust currently comprising of The Cooper School and Glory Farm Primary School. The academy is run by a board of Trustees, with a separate Academy Committee (LGB) for each individual school. Both schools operate as a separate entity, retaining their own identity, uniform and ways of working. The academy is independent of the Local Authority (LA) and is funded directly by government. It has greater freedom to make decisions that reflect its particular circumstances and ethos.

The ambitions for the schools remain high: that we should provide to all our pupils a first-class and improving education that enables them, in all aspects of their lives, to make the progress and achieve the standard that reflect their ability. This reflects in our ethos as schools which service its community.

Our two schools already benefit from a strong partnership and we will use this opportunity to increase impetus in striving to gain even higher standards of pupil achievement and additional funding, previously retained by the Local Authority, will allow our academy the freedom to develop new and improved technologies.

We work with local schools, primary and secondary as our aim is to work together for the greater good of the young people in Bicester and its surrounding villages, both present and future.

Glory Farm Primary School

Headteacher - Mrs Jane MacLachlan

Glory Farm is an extraordinary school, where adults and children work together in a warm, exciting and stimulating environment.  Pupils aged between three and eleven from our richly mixed catchment area are taught in mixed ability classes, working under the care and guidance of their own class teacher.  We are proud of our learning environment, the equipment and facilities we offer, and the way in which the children use, enjoy and respect them.

We believe that every child can achieve personal excellence- our task is to ensure that they all do.  Our teaching acknowledges that every child is an individual by including whole class work, small group, individual and independent study.  We aim to provide children with an education which equips them to take a full, active and confident part in society, while developing personal and social skills through learning and enjoying a broad range of subjects.

We were inspected by Ofsted in March 2023 and received a fantastic report!

Our school was praised because:

• We have a “shared vision”, working as a “cohesive unit to ensure good outcomes for all groups of pupils”.
• “Pupils make good progress from their varied starting points”.
• “The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Staff value and benefit from effective training and support from leaders across the multi-academy trust”.
• “Teachers have good subject knowledge, and plan imaginative and engaging activities that make use of the school’s environment”.
• “Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils’ behaviour around the school is good and their attitudes to learning are positive”.
• “Pupils greatly enjoy school, feel safe and say that behaviour is good”.
• “Strong leadership of the early years ensures that   there is a continual drive for improvement. [Pupils] have clear routines and are motivated to engage in learning   from the beginning of their education”.

All in all this is a great place to work in!