HEART Academies Trust
Enabling more children and young people facing disadvantage to achieve their potential
School Uniform Support
92 of the new students joining Bedford Academy in September received £50 towards the cost of school as part of our School Uniform Scheme.
Sponsorship of HEART Academies Trust
We are proud sponsors of the HEART Academies Trust, a multi-academy trust which comprises of Bedford Academy, Cauldwell Primary, Goldington Green Academy, Shackleton Primary, Shortstown Primary and Wilstead Primary.
The core aim of the partnership is to create a family of academies who are at the heart of their community, delivering great education for pupils aged 4-18 and improving life chances for all. The core aim of the partnership is to create a family of academies who are at the heart of their communities, delivering great education for pupils aged 4-18 and improving life chances for all.
Ways we helped HEART Academies Trust schools over the last year:
- Pupils from Goldington Green, Shortstown and Shackleton have all received art workshops run by professional visiting artists to enter the Harpur Trust competition and teachers took part in CPD art workshops run by The Trust.
- 8 University Bursaries worth £4,500 each were awarded to Bedford Academy students.
- Funded Mouse Club to support pupils with the transition from nursery to primary school.
- Funded speech and language therapy across HEART primary schools.
- Funded Primary Lead Practitioner post to focus on mentoring early career teachers, supporting those in initial teacher training, and helping leadership teams with curriculum development and strategic planning.
- Bedford Giving delivers mentoring to 40 students at Bedford Academy to help them to navigate what career path they want to follow.
- Provided grant funding to provide counselling for students who are struggling, football and sports sessions, as well as support for adoptive pupils.
More Impact
Our mission is to nurture potential and improve people’s lives. Our strategy, Together for Bedford, commits us to enabling more children and young people facing disadvantage to achieve their potential, to provide high quality education with an impactful bursary programme, and to maximise our impact on the community in Bedford. Find out more below about how we have achieved these aims in 2024-25.
Find out in more depth in the links below about how we impact the community in a variety of ways helping to unlock potential, provide high quality education and improve people’s lives through our Grants Programme.
More children and young people facing disadvantage achieve their potential
Our Accelerator Programme aims to enable more children aged 0-11 eligible for Free School Meals to reach the expected standard. We also host Bedford Giving, a collaboration to bring together the whole community to support children and young people in Bedford.
High quality education with impactful bursaries
For more than 400 years, we’ve helped generations of young people in Bedford to unlock their promise and embrace their moment to shine.
Maximum impact on community needs
Each year, we award £1m+ in grants, giving a diverse range of community groups the resources they need to tackle issues and seize opportunities.
Host of Bedford Giving
The Harpur Trust is a founder member and host of the Bedford Giving, helping to deliver its programmes. The movement was up by eight passionate local businesses, charities and partners, who all came together with a united goal to help create a brighter future for the next generation in Bedford.
Sponsorship and Community Events
We sponsor the Heart Academies Trust to help create a family of academies who are at the heart of their communities, as well as sponsor events such as Booktastic to help children to gain a love of reading and provide a bi-annual Art Competition for local schools and their pupils from across the borough.