Trinity Academy achieves national standard as a school of character

Trinity Academy’s “virtue-driven commitment to personal development” ensured it met the exacting standards of the Association for Character Education to be awarded the ‘School of Character’ Quality Mark.

The assessor, Andrew Pettit, said leaders at the academy in Thorne had “fostered a strong sense of community” and the emphasis placed on the school community as a ‘family’ had contributed to “a powerful foundation of trust, collaboration and mutual understanding amongst staff and pupils”.

The assessor said leaders had created conditions in which staff and students could flourish and character development was an authentic and sustained part of what it meant to be a student at Trinity Academy.

The routine use of cards promoting love, wisdom, fairness, self-control, courage, humility and integrity, weekly tutor reflection sessions and a well-designed assembly programme, mapped over five years, and the religious education programme that allows for deeper exploration of virtues over time all help to reinforce the academy core virtues.

Students appreciate how good character is recognised in the whole-school rewards system and the highly regarded ‘kindness counts’ initiative. They understand character development being lifelong and that the school was “setting good foundations” for their futures.

Mr Pettit described as “exemplary” opportunities for students to display ‘good character’ such as the character and leadership residential. Sixth Form students are seen as role models and play an active role in mentoring younger pupils, and the academy’s First Give Project contributes to a culture of compassion and servant leadership.

He said: “It is clear that Trinity Academy is an ambitious, collaborative and compassionate school, united in its mission to help all pupils experience success and feel a sense of belonging. The deliberate and sustained focus on virtues helps to ensure there is a strong emphasis on pastoral support, pupil welfare and personal development alongside an unwavering commitment to securing the best academic outcomes.”

Academy principal Victoria Gibson said: “We are all delighted with the outcome of the evaluation and the many strengths of character education at Trinity Academy the assessor identified, ultimately leading to the awarding of the ‘School of Character’ Quality Mark.

“Creating genuine character education is not something that is achieved overnight and takes many months and years of commitment by staff to embed into all aspects of school life, from the language we use to expectations of behaviour and conduct as well as the many practical and tangible initiatives we run.

“I’m especially pleased therefore that the assessor singled out for praise our commitment to character education being ‘authentic and ambitious’, that it is built in rather than ‘bolted on’.

“We enjoy the support of our governors in our mission, and I must also praise and thank our students who understand and appreciate the benefits of their education at Trinity Academy and meet and exceed our expectations on a daily basis.

“The assessor also had some recommendations for how we can build on our character education such as staff deepening and developing their knowledge of character education even further through additional training, and he encouraged us to share our success with other schools on a similar journey, which we are happy to do.”