Six Shropshire schools form new multi-academy trust

The six schools - rated good and outstanding by Ofsted - say they want to build on the current successful collaboration and shared practice they already have.

They say together they can achieve more for their pupils by coming together in this way.

The schools involved in the Empower Trust are Greenacres Primary School, The Wilfred Owen School and Woodfield Infant School in Shrewsbury, St Peter's CE Primary and Nursery School in Wem, Market Drayton Infant and Nursery School and Market Drayton Junior School.

The aim of the multi-academy trust will be to establish a sustainable and outstanding local education system that places the welfare and education of the children at its very heart.

Its interim chief executive is Ian Nurser, head of St Peter's. He said Empower Trust was based on shared principles and a belief that together they could achieve more for their children.

"Empower Trust celebrates the fact that every school is different. Each academy will continue to have a unique ethos and character that responds to the needs of its local community. Local Governing Bodies

will continue to focus on their own local priorities in order to meet the needs of their own children.

"We aim to ensure every parent will want to select our academies as their local school of choice by doing everything possible to support all children to become successful learners and to develop into young people of whom the family, academy and community can be proud.

"Our mission is to ensure that we give every child the very best education possible – socially, morally and academically. We aim to ensure that each of the academies is recognised as outstanding, by ensuring that everyone has access to a high quality education."

Mr Nurser said the trust believed that education needed to be exciting and motivational and that this can best be delivered through collaboration between schools, and the professional-led development of innovative teaching and learning methods.

"Academies within Empower Trust will demonstrate the courage to innovate and empower every member of the school community to play their part in developing exciting and imaginative child-centred learning experiences.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our schools to forge their own future with the education and wellbeing of the children at the heart of our vision. Empower Trust will support schools to share the most effective teaching and learning practice to further improve standards and deliver exciting learning experiences for every child across the Trust."