Welcome to our Sidney Stringer Multi Academy Trust website.
Introduction – Our History
In 2024 the Sidney Stringer Multi Academy Trust will become 10 years old and we launch into a new decade.
With any organisation, we must understand our History; who was Sidney Stringer and how did an Educational Trust get named after him?
Established in 2010 Sidney Stringer Academy, previously known as Sidney Stringer School, was opened in 1972 as the first urban community school in England. The school was rated as Ofsted Good and was rebuilt on the same site, following a fire in September 2007. It formed part of the city’s Swanswell Regeneration Initiative in Hillfields. As part of the consultation, over 80% demanded the name of the school remained the same due to the importance of Sidney Stringer in the City. £29 million was invested and the new Academy opened in June 2011, in award-winning buildings.
After 3 years of opening the Academy, Ofsted visited and the Academy achieved an Outstanding judgement. Following this in January 2014 the Sidney Stringer Multi Academy Trust was formed. Two schools initially joined Ernesford Grange Community Secondary School and Radford Primary.
The Trust now provides an education for over 3500 children in five schools, soon to be six, through all stages, ages, and settings: there are currently two secondary schools, two primary schools (one a Free School), a Broad Spectrum Special school and, soon to join, a Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) special school.
The Trust is diverse and teaches the full range of children with different abilities, needs, and demographics. There is every type of learning in our Trust and consequently, every type of member of staff, meaning our in-house CPD and across Trust support is a key strength.
We pride ourselves on being an Inclusive Trust and this runs through everything we do and all the decisions we make. Our moral purpose is to ensure that every child reaches their full potential and we achieve this through a collective responsibility.
Our vision statement, which was established over a decade ago, remains as prevalent today as it was when the original Directors and CEO and founder of the Trust, Ms Tomes, wrote it.
“Working together to achieve excellence”
Through our first decade as a Trust, we have taken schools from Special Measures, Serious Weakness, Double RI to Good and Outstanding. We have built our own Outstanding Free School and led the Local Authority SEMH special school to achieve a Good Ofsted following an inadequate judgement. Alongside all of this, we have led the Coventry SCITT from its inception in 2016 to an Ofsted Outstanding provider in March 2024.
Our Strategy now will build on the success of our first 10 years and our main objective is for us to have an even greater and even more sustainable impact on the system. We must ensure education is sustainable, whether it is environmental sustainability, financial sustainability, or staffing sustainability through recruiting, and retaining the very best professionals in our schools, or ensuring the children are ready for their future ahead of them.
Our mission is quite simple:
“To provide a first-class education, to all children no matter what their starting point, so that they achieve the very best educational outcomes and develop into responsible, respectful, and active adults who can play their part and become actively involved in public life as adults”.
Claire Turpin
CEO
Sidney Stringer Academy
Telephone 02476 633 946
