Tenax is a Church of England academy trust located in West Kent and East Sussex. It works in partnership with the dioceses of Rochester and Chichester, but also includes schools with no faith designation.
It currently comprises 7 primary schools in full membership (one of which is a free school), and one in associate membership, alongside a large secondary school, Bennett Memorial. It is led by Mr Richard Tyson, Interim CEO.
The Trust also runs a highly successful School Centred Initial Teacher Training centre (SCITT), recently graded Outstanding, which is this year training more than 70 primary and secondary teachers across the wider area.
We have been appointed designated Teaching Hub Status (for both East and West Kent) due to the success of our large and successful Teaching School Alliance which had a track record of delivering large scale school improvement work at regional level in addition to training programmes attracting large numbers of participants and well-known trainers and speakers.
Tenax aims to achieve educational excellence for all through outstanding leadership, a sequenced, knowledge-based curriculum, high quality evidence-based pedagogy and a commitment to teacher professional development. This is complemented by an emphasis on creating schools with a strong and distinctive ethos and culture.
While our Church of England schools place particular emphasis on teaching children and young people about Christian values, beliefs and traditions, all of our schools subscribe to our underpinning educational, ethical and personal development principles. We value diversity and the distinctive local character of each school. We welcome pupils and families from all backgrounds and from all faiths and none.
The Trust aims to maintain and further enhance its reputation for excellence in all aspects of its work.
The name ‘Tenax’ is the Latin word for ‘tenacious’ or ‘steadfast’. We chose it because we are steadfast in our belief in the value of Church of England education, and the consequent commitment to high achievement and personal growth for all young people.