Birchwood Community High School

The One Community Trust is a group of eight schools in Warrington, consisting of one secondary school and seven primary schools. Together, we educate students across a range of phases, from early years to Year 11. Our secondary school has nearly 1,000 students, and our largest primary school has over 700 pupils.

Within the Trust, we have six specialist provisions that cater to a variety of special educational needs. Our schools are committed to inclusion and providing all students with the support and opportunities they need to succeed.

We operate under a model of ‘collaborative autonomy,’ enabling our schools to work towards shared objectives while maintaining their individual identity. This approach allows us to share best practices across the Trust while respecting the unique context and priorities of each school.

Our Vision

• All primary schools to be at or above the national average for expected attainment and progress in Reading, Writing and Mathematics and Key Stage 2 value added scores in the top 50% of primary schools nationally.
• All secondary schools to have positive Progress 8 scores
• The gap between Pupil Premium and Non-Pupil Premium children (on the above two measures) to be below the national average.
• All schools ensure that children feel safe, secure and their needs are addressed. We want every pupil to be guaranteed the very best opportunities through a culture of continued inclusion and robust safeguarding procedures.
• All schools to ensure that each member of staff is motivated, respected, supported and developed, resulting in quality first inclusive teaching in each and every classroom within the trust.
• To further develop our curriculum in each school so that we strive for the richest and most interesting learning opportunities that promote effective teaching and learning. This will then lead to excellent outcomes and increased levels of confidence and self-esteem.
• To appreciate our unique settings and ensure our practice reflects local needs. Our communities range from central areas of relatively high levels of deprivation, to rural areas with little socio-economic barriers. Our children join us from a variety of local settings or directly from home and leave our primary schools to attend 12 different high school settings. Each school has to work with their local circumstances and ensure daily practice supports those communities. Parents are crucial to the development of their own children and we will aim to work more collaboratively with them to ensure success for all children.
• We need to grow as a trust so that we are able to not only improve teaching and learning but build a strong financial base and build reserves to ensure longevity. We are an ‘Educational Trust’ but without financial stability we cannot focus on our core educational values.
• All schools judged good or better by Ofsted.

Strategic Ambition

• The Trust has a clear vision which has been used to identify strategic priorities contributing to a 5 year plan.
• There is strong collaboration and support across the Trust.
• There are positive views of the schools and the Trust by pupils, parents and staff.
• All schools to be graded as at least Good by Ofsted and each school to be valued within its own community.
• To strengthen and develop links and collaborative partnerships which benefit our pupils, staff and communities across and beyond the MAT.