The Wensum Trust is a not-for-profit education Trust with 11 non-selective, free to attend, schools arranged into three geographical hubs across Norfolk:

• The City Hub – serving Norwich and the wider area
• The Rural Hub – serving Acle and surrounding villages
• The Coastal Hub – serving Burnham Market, Wells-next-the-Sea and the North Norfolk Coast

We provide a complete education journey from early years to sixteen plus, creating seamless transitions and delivering an ongoing commitment to providing rich, diverse experiences which enable every child to develop, flourish and reach their full potential.

Our Vision

For Children, Families and Communities

We are a family of schools that believes in putting the children and families within our local communities at the centre of all we do. 

Our vision is to work together to help every child to develop into high achieving, confident, healthy, caring and resilient members of their family and community; creating a pathway to support their career aspirations, independence and contribution to society.

We value the need to develop positive relationships with every child and every family in order to achieve this vision. We aim to work together to understand and respond to individual circumstances, regardless of background or early life adversities, and to offer the appropriate care during challenges along the way.

Our Relational Approach

At the Wensum Trust, we take a different approach to education. We want children to develop academically, whilst also learning how to relate to others — to be good friends; to become good employees, good parents and good citizens. 

Our schools are healthy, happy environments in which both children and staff can develop. In order to achieve this, we understand that developing strong, positive relationships through a relational approach is key.

Understanding that everyone responds to emotions and manages them in different ways is central to forming and sustaining quality relationships. The Wensum Trust are dedicated to providing children with a strong foundation that supports their mental health and wellbeing in order to enable them to achieve their potential. helping children understand and effectively manage the emotions they feel. For this reason, we ensure that all our staff are trained in Emotion Coaching.

Our Strategic Partnerships

The Wensum Trust’s unique partnership programme enables us to bring the world of opportunity to life for our young people and also gives our staff the opportunity to work with industry leaders across a range of sectors. Our partners include:

• Norwich Theatre
• Norwich Community Sports Foundation
• Zoological Society of East Anglia
• North Walsham Rugby Club
• Wells-next-the-Sea Sea Cadets
• Lovell Partnership

Why Work With Us?

Our Trust is built to allow our staff to focus on what they do best — teaching and supporting children. We value the contribution our staff make to our school communities and the dedication they show to our children and families. As a result, we are committed to supporting staff well-being, and are passionate about providing individuals with unique opportunities to develop their skills and to build on career progression. 

What do our staff say about us?

“I have never learnt more than I have learnt in the 3 years I have been at The Wensum Trust. It has been such a great learning experience and I can’t wait to build on those experiences further. There’s so many fantastic teachers across different subjects and going into other schools to observe them is amazing.” – Tod Heron, Art Teacher at Alderman Peel High School

“I feel fortunate to have be part of a Trust that’s got everything in place already and that’s made my journey [to become a teacher] much easier. I’ve got everyone on hand – I’m surrounded by experts and the level of training we have had has been really beneficial.  I think it would have been a completely different experience for me if I was at a different school and a different Trust.” – Hayley Clayton, Year 1 Teacher at Arden Grove Infant School