On Tuesday 13th October, Wickersley Partnership Trust hosted the first-ever Foundation for Education Development (FED) Open Exchange event – a showcase dedicated to highlighting our comprehensive Entitlement and Enrichment offer.
Following the Department for Education’s recent introduction of national enrichment benchmarks, we stood as a model for best practice – having already fully embedded these standards into our core offer long before the official guidance was launched.
Throughout the day, discussions and presentations were framed around a central enquiry question: In what ways can we leverage the most impactful elements of our existing WPT Entitlement – specifically across Personal Development (PD) and Careers – to ensure that every student, regardless of background, leaves WPT genuinely “able and qualified?
Guests were introduced to our Trust’s overarching Enrichment and Entitlement programme, alongside WPT’s long-term strategic vision – a commitment to ensuring that every young person, regardless of background, gains access to life-shaping experiences beyond the traditional classroom.
Following the initial welcome, visitors travelled to Wickersley School and Sports College, where Senior Leaders from across WPT delivered insightful presentations on three core pillars of our offer:
Careers Curriculum
We’re dedicated to broadening horizons and preparing students for the modern workplace from an early age. The careers offer combines employer encounters, impartial advice and practical workplace experiences to ensure every student leaves school with confidence, clear direction and high aspirations.
Sports and Outdoor Adventurous Activities
Physical activity and outdoor discovery are central to building resilience, teamwork and leadership. Through an extensive range of competitive sports, outdoor pursuits and residential adventures, WPT challenges young people to step out of their comfort zones, stay active and build lifelong healthy habits. A key highlight of our discussion was the WPT Residentials programme – an initiative that guarantees every Year 6 student the chance to embark on an overnight stay packed with outdoor challenges, team sports, and adventure, completely free of charge.
Music and Drama Curriculum
Performing Arts at WPT are designed to break down traditional barriers to creative education, ensuring that passion and talent – not background or financial circumstance – determine a child’s journey. We offer extensive drama provision and direct access to specialist peripatetic music tutors, making immersive performance opportunities and music education accessible to every student across our schools.
The delegates then transitioned to Brinsworth Whitehill Primary School for a look at how our vision translates within a primary setting.
A standout moment of the day saw visitors sit down alongside Trust staff and 26 student representatives from across all WPT school Student Councils. During this collaborative session, the FED members listened directly to student perspectives on Entitlement and Enrichment. Our students shared firsthand insights on experiences that matter most to them, including educational visits and school trips and essential life skills such as first aid training.
Rashawn Grant, Bedrock Learning: “Wickersley was a rare opportunity to see education as we all want it to be. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I left the FED event much more hopeful about what’s possible for our young people, when we are sincere about doing our best for them.”
Helen O’Brien, CEO at Wickersley Partnership Trust, said: “It was a privilege to host the first FED Open Exchange event. We’re rightly proud of our Entitlement and Enrichment offer and how the programme opens doors for every child, reinforcing our mantra to “never do less for any one else’s child than we would do for our own.”
To round off the day, FED representatives and Trust Senior Leaders collaborated to evaluate the key takeaways and strategic findings. We will use these insights to further refine our Enrichment offer – continuing to break down barriers and champion what education can achieve when young people are put first.
Huge thank you to all participating staff, students and FED delegates for contributing to a productive and successful event.
