Purpose, Vision and Values
The alignment of values across our mix of Church of England and community schools is a key part of what makes this Trust a strong organisation. Trustees remain committed to the importance of a mix of schools and to how we develop and support our students through the activities of the Trust centrally and through our working collaboratively within and across schools. Our vision and values shape all we do within our Trust:
Where everyone is valued and respected,
where we share commitment to education that is ambitious, setting the highest expectations
and where integrity is the foundation.
In delivering education that is ambitious in its widest sense, the Trust sets high expectations of all, regardless of starting points or situation. In all its schools, Yorkshire Causeway provides high-quality education based on common purpose, providing a rich and broad learning experience that enables students to flourish.
Whilst our schools work closely together and have much in common, we also value greatly their strong individual identities and the unique way in which they each serve their local community.
The current strategic priorities of the Trust are set out in the document 'Our Trust: learning for everyone' and can be summarised as follows:
Ambition for our staff - the adults who lead and support the ambition, education and development of our students are the main strength of our organisation and are fundamental to what our students can achieve.
Ambition for our students - we have high expectations for our students, supporting them to achieve both academically and as individuals through a rich and ambitious curriculum, underpinned by an agile and comprehensive system of school improvement.
Ambition for our communities - education is one of the key civic partners in our communities. At schools within the Trust much already takes place which adds value to communities and we are committed to making this a planned deliverable and expectation for the Trust, fitting with our formal purpose of delivering "education for the public benefit".
Ambition for our Trust - our Trust will continue to develop and strengthen in order to provide the best conditions for our students, staff and schools to flourish. Seeking to reduce operational frontline commitments so that the focus can be on students, appropriate systems of assurance are in place so that we know what is effective, where we need to do things differently and how we can keep each school working efficiently, effectively and in a safe way.
The Parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10, 11-16) reflects beautifully the ethos of our Trust in the context of our purpose and vision:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
With a focus on ambition, learning and enrichment for all, the impact we have for our students, staff and communities is important to us. The words of Jeremiah 29:11 "to give you a future with hope" encompasses our commitment to the nurturing of the whole self.