Mrs V Shelley

Headteacher of Blue Coat School

At Blue Coat Church of England School, our vision is “Living life in all its fullness”. We exist to equip our students to live life in all its fullness by providing excellent education which is distinctively Christian and inclusive of all. We aim to provide a broad & ambitious curriculum that provides all students with the opportunity to flourish academically and achieve their God given potential.

In John 10:10 in the Bible, we hear of Jesus saying that ‘Life in all its fullness’ is found in Him. It is God’s desire to see us flourishing in abundant Kingdom living – so that inspires everything we are and all we do at Blue Coat.

We want all our children and staff to live an abundant life; academic success is important yet we recognise that personal and spiritual development are a priority and our role as educators is to support the development of the whole child.

Our vision ‘Life in all its fullness’ inspires and shapes our resulting school values that are at the heart of a Blue Coat education. These are Care, Hard Work, Respect, Integrity and Servanthood, working Together for the good of all individuals, the school and wider communities. We always look for opportunities to recognise and reinforce our school values through all aspects of school life.

As a Church of England school, we recognise that we are part of a rich history, delivering high quality education to the places and people where it is most needed. In that respect, we exist to serve both the Christian community of Coventry and the surrounding area, and our local geographical community.

The Church of England Vision for Education is ‘Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’. The Christian ethos at Blue Coat allows students and staff to pursue the big questions of life, whilst allowing for considerable diversity of opinion and freedom of expression: a ‘complex yet generous’ model.

Our school is one which is fully inclusive, truly diverse and about the whole person. It is a challenge to all of us to make the most of every experience and opportunity presented to us, and to ‘fan into flame’ giftings of students as these reveal themselves.

We know that not all staff and pupils will be followers of the Christian faith, yet there is an expectation that all members of the school community are sympathetic and respectful of the place of individual faith in personal development. Our values therefore reflect the distinctiveness of the Christian faith and the Kingdom of God, yet can be applied by all stakeholders, no matter their spiritual or cultural background.

Our curriculum is both rich and challenging and delivered by a dedicated, enthusiastic and experienced staff. We pride ourselves on the breadth and variety of our extra-curricular provision with Music, Drama and Sport playing a pivotal role in the wider educational experience we provide and demonstrating the importance of ‘Togetherness’ in our school community.

With our strong ethos, high expectations and excellent examination results, Blue Coat is a place where children thrive, and learn to live and experience life in all its fullness. We look forward to welcoming you to our school.

Mrs L Whitehouse

CEO of Inspire Education Trust

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Blue Coat Church of England School and Music College.

Our school is a member of the Inspire Multi-Academy Trust. The other schools in the Trust are: Walsgrave CofE Academy, Clifford Bridge Academy, Hearsall Community Academy, Stockingford Academy and Whittle Academy

Blue Coat is a Church of England school and to this end we try to ensure that there is a Christian distinctiveness in all we do set around a clear vision of “Living life in all its fullness”. At the heart of this are the values of Care, Hard Work, Respect, Integrity and Servanthood, working Together for the good of all individuals, the school and wider communities.

We are all positive about the autonomy and independence that comes with our schools being a group of academies working together. The schools are accountable to a ‘Board of Directors’ and the ‘Local Governing Body’.

At Inspire Education Trust we are passionate about making a difference to the lives of our students. They are at the heart of everything we do and we strive to inspire all learners, and want all our schools to be the best they can be and for each and every child, to discover the skills, abilities, talents and interests that lie within them.

Our schools have a desire to question, change and innovate to ensure that what they provide enables our children to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

We believe in working in partnership, enabling us to ensure all children and students achieve their full potential. Our schools know the impact that working collaboratively can bring.

At the same time, we recognise the importance for each school to retain and promote their individual identity. Every school has its own context and challenges. This is why we encourage our member schools to lead and manage in a way that preserves that individual identity and responds to the specific needs of their children and community.

The combination of autonomy and collaboration across key areas of leadership and management, underpinned by shared values and best practice is what makes our schools special.

We want to work in partnership with parents and carers and will provide regular opportunities for you to come into school. We have an open door policy and all problems and concerns will be promptly dealt with.

Both of my children attended Blue Coat so I know what a special place it is. I now hope to see your children when I am in school to share and celebrate with them their hard work, efforts and achievements.

Mr D Bermingham

Chair of IET Board of Directors

A very warm welcome to the Inspire Education Trust on behalf of the Board of Directors (trustees).

At Inspire Education Trust we set out to provide a first-class education across all of our schools, one which empowers our pupils to flourish, grow and achieve. The Covid pandemic clearly provided significant challenges for staff and pupils alike, but our schools did not carry the burden alone as they benefited from the support of a close-knit, well-run family of schools. This culture of collaboration and teamwork has enabled our schools to swiftly return to a semblance of normality and ensure that there is sustained support to help pupils re-adjust and catch up. It is testament to the hard work of our teachers and support staff that during the last year we have received excellent Ofsted outcomes at the two schools inspected, Blue Coat School and Walsgrave Academy, and all internal and external data indicate a strong educational performance across all schools.

We are a very successful and well-run multi-academy trust, demonstrated by our ability to effectively translate our vision and strategy into pupil outcomes. The cornerstone of our success is our focus on employing and developing great teachers and leaders and prioritising staff well-being. We look positively to the future, and I am delighted that as a result of our growing reputation, we will be shortly welcoming at least two new schools into our family during this academic year, as well as commencing a collaboration with Coventry City council on the establishment of a SEND unit.