St Stephen's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, a Voluntary Academy

Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust

St. Stephen's is part of the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust (BWCAT). BWCAT is a Catholic Trust whose role is to provide and safeguard the future of a World Class Catholic education to all the young people within our area.

The Directors of the Bishop Wheeler Trust are drawn from our schools and include foundation governors, parent governors and staff governors.  The Directors are responsible for the strategic direction which drives this forward.

One of the founding principles of our trust is subsidiarity; that all decisions are made at the most appropriate level, rather than being imposed from above. In practice, therefore key to the work of the Trust is our Headteachers Group.

The Headteachers of all ten Trust schools meet on a regular basis. As well as sharing good practice, they offer mutual support and development, peer review and develop and oversee the implementation of Trust wide policies.

Each school has an Academy Council with Governors appointed by the Diocese or elected by parents and staff. They oversee the strategic direction of each school and scrutinise standards, finance and admissions. Governors work with staff to continually monitor and develop the school’s achievements and direction as outlined in the School’s Development Plans.

The Trust Directors meet as a Board supported by Trust Finance and Audit committees. They receive regular updates on progress within all the schools and have overall legal responsibility for standards, finance and admissions. They work closely with the Headteachers Group, many of whom are Trust Directors.

Everyone who works in our schools are employees of The Bishop Wheeler Trust and the Directors are responsible for developing and ensuring implementation of policies across all our schools to support this.