The Wickford Federation

The Wickford Federation is made up of Wickford Primary and Beauchamps High school and came into effect from 14th March 2022.

What is a Federation?

A federation is a formal and legal agreement between schools to operate with a single governing body. The decision to federate is made by the governing bodies of each school following a consultation process with key partners such as parents, staff and the Local Authority.

Many of the potential benefits of a federation have already been seen as the schools have had a close working relationship for some time, however Governors of both schools believe that a formal collaboration will further increase benefits to the pupils by enhancing educational provision.

Federation is a mechanism aimed primarily at reinforcing leadership and governance of, and collaboration and co-operation between, schools.

The two schools remain as separate legal establishments with their individual identities. There will continue to be an OFSTED inspection in each school, results will be published for each school and their funding will be determined separately.

Why Federate?

Beauchamps High and Wickford Primary have enjoyed a close working relationship for several years. This working partnership has now been formalised in a federation with a single Governing Body.

Working closely in a federation will:

ensure the schools retain their own identity while being part of a larger community
facilitate the sharing of best practice and professional expertise
enable much closer alignment of curriculum progression and improve transition
enable access to a wider range of facilities
offer development opportunities for staff across the schools
create a synergy of financial economies of scale and improve purchasing power and cost savings

The federation has a Lead Headteacher, Mr Harper, who will be responsible for the performance management of the other Headteachers in the federation.

The priority for the federation in its first year will be to secure and embed the new governance structures, while maintaining the strong academic performance of the schools.

There will be no change at all to the admissions of each of the schools. Essex County Council will remain the admissions authority for Wickford Primary School and Beauchamps High School will remain its own admissions authority. The schools remain committed to maintaining their productive working relationship with families and other schools.