Schools trust that began in Haverhill adopts a new identity

The need to make a clear 'distinction' between the school that first gave it its name and the multi-academy trust that it is a part of has led to Samuel Ward Academy Trust (SWAT) being renamed.

SWAT was born back in 2013 when Churchill Special Free School was opened and joined Samuel Ward Academy as the first two schools in the trust.

As of Sunday, July 1 that will change and SWAT will henceforth be known as the Unity Schools Partnership.

The trust's chief executive, Tim Coulson, said the trust has been thinking about changing the name since early this year and the decision to do so was influenced by some people thinking the school and the trust were the same thing.

He said: "We've just been thinking that, obviously Samuel Ward was the school that started the trust. It was the first school and other schools joined it, now we are up to 22 schools.

"Calling it the name of one school doesn't feel right. The name belongs to the school really and not to the trust.

"From about the beginning of the year we started these conversations.

"We asked, 'was Samuel Ward the right name for the trust' and I tried it out at the school first, particularly on the staff.

"They wer very keen to say probably it was about time to make the distinction between the school and the trust."

Suggestions for a new name were invited, added Mr Coulson, and hundreds of ideas were put forward, some like and some not liked.

The word partnership first came out of the consultation, - which involved every school in the trust -followed by the word unity.

Mr Coulson said: "I tried it out on the schools and said 'do you feel comfortable with the name of Unity or don't you like it'."

The name change is costing 'almost nothing' confirmed Mr Coulson and each individual school will retain their own logos.

After staff were informed of the new name, schools then began informing parents, and the response, said Mr Coulson, has been positive.

"I thought people might find it more difficult. Samuel Ward is a very well known trust across the country.

"All the feedback I've had so far is that people like it.

"It's quite a nice name and people feel comfortable with it. Certainly the staff are comfortable with it.

"I had quite a lot of quite strong feelings back from staff that they were proud that they were there at the beginning, but they were ready in a sense to reclaim the name just for their school."