Our North Star

All achieving, without exception

Our Vision

We build great schools where every child and young person flourishes, every colleague thrives and everyone belongs - feeling safe, respected and valued for who they are. Our commitment is simple and uncompromising: kindness in every interaction, excellence in all environments, inclusion in our culture, collaboration across communities and integrity in all we do.

Our Values

Our four values are not aspirations, they are the standards we hold ourselves to every day, in every decision, across every school.

Our Principles

Our principles describe how we are and how we work, the behaviours and commitments that bring our values to life every day, in every school, for every person.

Every child and young person, no exceptions. We hold high expectations for every child and young person in every school, every day, regardless of what stands in their way.

Current barriers should not limit the future. We refuse to accept that an individual’s current barriers should determine the scale of their ambition. Every child and young person deserves to be met with relentless ambition.

Wellbeing as a foundation. The safety, happiness and wellbeing of every child, young person and adult are preconditions for achievement, not extras. A school where people do not feel safe or valued cannot be an excellent school. We protect this always.

Great schools are built by great people. We invest in our colleagues as deeply as we invest in our children and young people. When our people grow, our children and young people grow. We take the development, support and wellbeing of every member of our community seriously.

We ask of others only what we are prepared to do ourselves. Leadership here is earned through example, not conferred by title. We lead from alongside, not from above.

We are stronger together. We share what works freely and without ego. The strongest thinking emerges collaboratively - each school’s approach shaped by collective wisdom, adapted to its own community. Collaboration is how we get better for every child and young person.

We treat each other with kindness, always. The culture of a school is built in corridors and staffrooms as much as in classrooms. We hold ourselves to the same standard of kindness and respect that we ask of our children and young people.

Every school belongs to its community. We stand alongside families, listening to them, being shaped by them and working through difficulty together. Our schools are anchors, not just buildings. Partnerships with families built on honesty and respect.

We meet every child and young person where they are. Inclusion means actively reducing barriers, not just acknowledging they exist. We meet children and young people with relentless ambition. We are relentless in our ambition for all.

Honest about now, relentless about better. We face what isn’t working with courage and act with urgency. We pause to celebrate what is good and what is working - and then we use that as the foundation to reach for better.
We do what is right, not what is easy. We make decisions we can stand behind, transparent, accountable and consistent.

We celebrate every step forward. We recognise progress, in every child, every young person, every colleague, every school, and we share it with the families and communities who are part of that journey. Joy is not a reward for finishing the work; it is part of the work.

 

Ethical Leadership Statement

The premise of ethical leadership at Compass Eko is to behave in a way that models Nolan’s Principles of Public Life, whereby decision making is underpinned by a framework of values. Our words, actions and practices develop to promote social engagement and challenge inequality and injustice.

This framework also protects individuals and organisations from the perverse effects of external pressures and accountability measures so that decisions are ethical and do not compromise integrity.

Our policies aim to achieve clarity for all, underpinning our ethical approach. Short term, reactionary measures do not offer sustainability, therefore we aim to support leaders in schools to focus on the long-term cohesion of the school and Trust community.

‘To do right’ is ambiguous – we can only be sure that what we choose to do is ethical – it does no harm to the emotional, physical, social and reputational well-being of individuals and schools. What constitutes right and what constitutes wrong is a value judgement.

At Compass Eko, we seek to do no harm. We strive to achieve the very best outcomes across the curriculum thereby ensuring all children make exceptional progress and leave us as confident young people, ready for the future ahead of them.

Pupil Voice

Our children are playing a vital role in shaping the future of Compass Eko Trust. Two children from each of our schools are nominated to become members of our Compass Eko Council each year, which was set up to bring children together and provide a platform for them to participate in decision making across the Trust. School leaders meet regularly with representatives from both the Compass Eko Council and 28 school councils, to expand on their ideas and incorporate their feedback into the development of our partnership. The Compass Eko Council has developed the ‘11 before 11’ and ‘16 before 16’, the key experiences that they believe children attending a Compass Eko School should experience by the ages of 11 and 16 years.

• 11 before 11
• 16 before 16