Aston Community Education Trust (ACET) is a not for profit charity established since May 2011, which sponsors primary and secondary academies in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. The Trust is one single organisation made up of all our academies which share the same vision and values. We regard ourselves as a family of schools, working together to ensure that all our young people benefit from high quality educational provision which will enhance their life chances and ability to contribute to the local and wider community. We care deeply about our young people and prioritise them and their learning at all times. We recognise the important influence parents/carers have on their children’s lives and work closely with them in helping to improve their children’s self-esteem, resilience and learning progress.

ACET wants its academies to be at the centre of their communities; to retain and develop their own unique character and local community links whilst implementing the policy and practise of the Multi Academy Trust (MAT). In accepting a school into the trust we have no intention of separating it from its local community. We are opposed to elitism when it means that one group of youngsters succeed at the expense of others, therefore, whilst working with partners, we would hope to establish strong links with the school’s host Local Authority and other local organisations. As our record demonstrates, we are committed to supporting all schools in informal and formal arrangements whenever we are asked to do so. From the very outset of our work with a partner school, we would work closely with relevant local bodies to ensure that we fully understand and meet the needs of the community.

We believe that local children should attend local schools and so our academies are not selective in admitting children. All our academies are fully inclusive and welcome children from all backgrounds and ability groups, including those who might be categorised as vulnerable. We are committed to meeting the needs of all our children, believing they possess unlimited potential and that it is our responsibility to unlock that potential and empower them to be the very best that they can be. We have an excellent record with children with SEND and pride ourselves on exhausting every existing intervention to enable children to succeed and then if necessary we will create more - we are determined that no child will be left behind. We strive to create positive learning environments in which fixed and permanent exclusions are used sparingly and only as a last resort.

We value our staff, striving to recruit and retain high quality practitioners and to develop and deploy them to their best effect. We follow the guiding principles of School Teachers Pay & Conditions and National Joint Council Conditions of Service and endeavour to engage positively with professional associations. We recognise and accept our responsibility to collaborate with other organisations in promoting the development of education provision as a whole.

We want to be known for our track record in improving schools and raising standards; prioritising attendance, behaviour, literacy and numeracy. We want happy, healthy and confident children in our academies and believe that Physical Education and Sports make an important contribution to physical and mental wellbeing. We fully appreciate the fundamental importance of learning to read well and, therefore, strive for excellence in the teaching of Phonics in our junior academies and are extremely proud of the outstanding provision we offer in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Whilst focusing on these core skills, ACET academies offer a wide curriculum model which provides for all aspects of a child’s development.  

ACET Curriculum Intent

We endeavour to provide ACET young people with an engaging, exciting and empowering curriculum that equips them with the knowledge, skills, understanding and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. The inclusive ACET Curriculum values every young person’s entitlement to an outstanding quality of education, ensuring ambition for all along with promoting the values of equality and diversity. It is of fundamental importance that all young people leave each Key Stage having secured fundamental skills in all curriculum subject areas and have clear ambitious aspirations for their future, in order that they can make a positive contribution to wider society. Local contextual considerations feature within each academy’s curriculum plan linked to specific academy drivers or identified sources of local interest.

Coherent planning supports the sequencing of the ACET Curriculum in a purposeful way to recognise prior learning, ensuring progression and challenge in the skills, knowledge and concepts of discrete subject disciplines, whilst maximising opportunities for young people to transfer and apply their learning through a cross-curricular learning approach. ACET learners will be captivated and immersed during lesson delivery from highly skilled teachers who actively promote an enthusiasm for learning through innovative pedagogical approaches, develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and enable young people to become creative, critical thinkers who are happy and demonstrate a love of learning.

We prioritise educating our young people in order that they can keep themselves safe in an ever changing world and prepare them to manage risks and make informed decisions. Through a rich tapestry of enrichment activities, young people gain an understanding of British values as a citizen in the modern world.