Why Choose Our Trust
Partnership and the Trust
Barton Court Academy Trust (BCAT) is a multi-academy Trust which was established in 2017.
We currently consist of 3 very successful, high performing, secondary schools in East Kent:
- Barton Court Grammar School
- The Charles Dickens School
- Barton Manor School
BCAT Mission Statement - “Opportunity, Excellence, Equity”
“BCAT provides aspirational educational opportunities in all its schools to improve the life chances of its children and young people; delivered through strong partnerships between staff, students, parents and the local community that share our core values of excellence and equity”.
BCAT VALUES
Achievement
Challenge
High Aspiration
Independent thinkers
Equality
Valued
Excellence
We place the child first in all that we do and to all that we aspire. We are uncompromising in our desire to sustain improvement, deliver on standards and provide an outstanding educational experience for all. We are a progressive, school focussed Trust that work collaboratively as a family of schools. We embrace educational thinking with a focus on cognitive education, research and development. All our schools either an accredited Thinking School or Advanced Thinking School. Great classrooms make great schools and great schools therefore make a great Trust. With significant investment in our people, BCAT professional development programmes continue to develop staff expertise, retain our most talented staff and provide capacity and growth within the Trust.
BCAT Trust
To work with, or in, our Trust is to embrace the challenges of an economically-diverse communities and understand the influence education has in addressing social immobility.
We are stronger when we work together, share ideas and collaborate and our small trust allows us to do that very effectively so all students have access to high quality outstanding educational provision. All staff have access to high quality training and the Trust offers a very supportive environment within which to work where teachers, leaders and support staff are challenged to develop and grow.
We are a small Trust on a very exciting journey, with a talented team of Trustees, Governors, Headteachers, Senior Leadership, teachers and support staff all determined to provide the highest quality of educational provision to all children across the Trust.
We believe schools are stronger when they work together and have a common purpose to provide the highest standards in teaching and pupil outcomes. We promote an individual identity for each of our schools so that they continue to respond to the needs of their pupils, their families and the wider community they serve.
We work together to “improve the life chances” of all our children and young people working together through strong partnerships between staff, students, parents and Trustees/Governors that share our core values of excellence and equity.
All our schools are accredited “Thinking Schools” and Barton Court Grammar School has been accredited as an “Advanced Thinking School” for over 9 years. http://www.bartoncourt.org/461/an-accredited-thinking-school. We believe that the best way to improve student’s life chances is to actively shape the minds, attitudes and habits of young people through a framework of cognitive education that enables them to become confident, life-long learners.
Research by The Sutton Trust has shown that when students understand how they think and learn they make greater progress and become more resilient and adaptable. Students are encouraged to become resourceful and resilient learners who take responsibility for their own learning. We have placed “thinking” at the heart of our teaching and learning, and have developed a common visual language of learning to enable our students to become independent, confident, life-long learners. This is called meta-cognition.
Students are encouraged to work together in teams and enjoy new friendships, take on roles of responsibility and develop a mature sense of values.
If you are interested in joining our Trust, or wish to find out more, then please do not hesitate to contact the clerk to Trustees, trustclerk@bartoncourt.org
