Come and Work for WAT

The WAT Family

Established in 2011 with Windsor High School and Sixth Form, our family has grown to fifteen successful schools. We currently have seven primary schools and eight secondary schools . 

Learn more about our schools here.

We put children at the heart of everything that we do, delivering excellent education to 10,000 students aged 2 to 18 by nearly 1,300 committed and talented staff. 

We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved over our first 10 years. Building on our first 10 years and striving to reach new frontiers, we have developed a compelling new strategy that will power WAT into the second decade. 

We strive to be an employer of choice and feature as a case study in Sir David Carter and Laura McInerney’s book, Leading Academy Trusts: Why some fail, but most don’t. You can read the case study here.

WAT Strategy and Values

The graphic below illustrates ‘What makes WAT WAT’- it outlines are aims, values and the five big moves that enable us to unlock academic and personal potential.

Our values are at the heart of everything that we do, and a way of working that inspires us to achieve our aims. Our five big moves are the turbo boosters that focus our efforts and drive us to succeed. Collectively, this provides a clear vision and shared understanding that is displayed across the WAT family every day.

You can read more here about how we are 'Powering into the Second Decade'

Staff Benefits

We provide members of the WAT family with a range of benefits to show that we value and support our employees. 

• Providing generous leave entitlement including bank holidays and five additional WAT days
• Providing access to a contributory Pension Scheme relevant to your role which is either the Local Government Pension Scheme or the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme.
• Giving access to continuous professional learning and career progression.
• Support and access to the government’s tax free childcare scheme as well as access to our flexible working policy
• Access to affordable loans and secure savings though a local credit union, a not for profit financial co-operative. 

Well-being and Staff Voice

At WAT we recognise the importance of the well-being of our employees, not only from a legal and health perspective but because of the impact it has in turn upon the provision we deliver to our students and young people.  We do this by:

• Offering well-being support including access to an Employee Assistance Programme, free flu vouchers and eye tests (job role dependant)
• Participating in the Cycle to Work Scheme plus Health and Fitness Facilities at Windsor Academy High School and Sixth Form (for school employees only)
• Signing up to the Education Staff Well-being Charter which is a declaration of support for, and set of commitments to, the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in education
• Undertaking well-being audits and well-being surveys
• Providing support for emotional wellbeing by providing our staff with mental health leads  as well as an introduction to mental health awareness training for all staff
• Access to a 247 Employee Assistance Programme 
• Giving access to healthy meals in our schools
• Having in place Well-Being Ninjas
• Social events such as end of term celebrations and breakfast and coffee mornings. 
• Access to our flexible working policy and the government tax free childcare scheme 
• Various employee groups such as well-being and LGBTQ+
• Working with our recognised trade unions to listen to feedback and consult upon change.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

WAT is committed to developing and sustaining a workforce representative of society and it strives to provide a fair, equitable and positive work environment where differences are valued and respected. 

As a result, we are currently developing our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Plan and Strategy. In addition, we are looking to undertake workshops with our employees so that their feedback  can inform our strategy and plan. 

WAT:

• Provides equality and diversity training for all its staff
• Ensures our recruitment process focuses on the skills and experience needed for the role and separates personal information from the short-listing process
• Has reviewed our HR policies and made them gender neutral
• Provides supportive policies e.g. flexible working policy as well as a discretionary leave policy which allows time off for religious observance as well as family emergencies.  
• Has an LGBTQ+ groups in some of our schools
• Is a disability confident employer and where disabled applicants meet our short-listing criteria, they are guaranteed an interview.
• Promotes an equality, diversity and inclusion events calendar

Continuing Professional Learning 

We are extremely passionate about continuous professional learning, so much so we have a large section of our website dedicated to explaining the kind of opportunities available to our people. You can read more about this here:

WAT Professional Learning

Our Recruitment Process

WAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This is demonstrated in our recruitment process by incorporating safeguarding responsibilities into all of our job descriptions. monitoring application forms for any discrepancies/gaps in their employment history as well as questioning candidates’ understanding of child safeguarding procedures. 

Successful applicants will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check with barred list check (child) via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Please note it is an offence to apply for the role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

We have a number of policies and procedures that contribute to our safeguarding commitment, including our child protection policy which can be viewed here