Draft letter from each school.
Dear Parents/Carers
PROPOSAL TO CONVERT TO ACADEMY STATUS IN PARTNERSHIP
This letter asks for your comments on a proposal for our school to convert to academy status
and to form a Multi Academy Trust whose initial members will be Bishop Carpenter Church
of England Aided Primary School, Hornton Primary School, Sibford Gower Endowed Primary
School and The Warriner School. More information about what that means is attached to
this letter.
We are choosing to make this proposal as a positive way forward for our schools which will
enable us to continue to improve the opportunities we provide for your children. This is a
new proposal and involves the schools named above; there is no external sponsor.
Academy status is becoming more common in Oxfordshire and the Government continues to
encourage schools to become academies and in particular for primary schools to become
academies in groups. As its budget is reduced, the local authority is also reducing the
services that it has available to schools. Making this change now means that we can choose
how we want our school to develop. Converting to Academy status within this Multi
Academy Trust will:
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Give us greater freedoms in developing the school curriculum to make sure that it is
personalised to the needs of our students to ensure they are inspired and motivated
to succeed.
Enable us to work together more effectively to improve the quality of teaching and
learning, particularly as the national arrangements change, for example in the way in
which children are assessed.
Formalise the existing links between our schools and enable us to share best
practice and expertise, for example in governance, estates management, bid writing
– e.g. for money to make improvements to school buildings and financial planning.
Enable us to support each other as support from the local authority reduces.
Increase the flexibility of use of our school budget and funds which are currently
allocated to the local authority to give us more freedom to spend it to best meet the
priorities of the school and our students.
Whilst we see real benefits in working more closely together, any changes are likely to be
behind the scenes. You and your children will see little visible difference when we become
an academy. The name of the school will stay the same; the uniform will not change and we
will not change term dates or the school’s admissions policies. All children and all members
of staff will continue to be part of each school as they are now. All of our schools will
continue as part of the Warriner Partnership so that we shall also have the benefits of joint
working that a larger grouping provides.
Governors believe that Academy status within the Warriner Multi Academy Trust is the best
way to support the school in continuing to develop and improve, and that working together
within the Trust will bring benefits to teaching and learning and thus on your child’s
achievement. We hope that you will continue to give the Governors and the staff your
support.
There will be an opportunity for you to come and hear more about the proposal and to ask
questions on 4 March at 7pm in the Warriner school hall. If you have any questions or
comments about this proposal please email us on [email protected],
respond on-line at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wmat, or send a letter marked
“Academy Consultation” to your child’s school.
If you have any comments please send them by 27 March.
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH THE WARRINER MULTI ACADEMY TRUST AND FOR
SCHOOLS TO CONVERT TO ACADEMY STATUS: INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Bishop Carpenter Church of England Aided Primary School, Hornton Primary School,
Sibford Gower Endowed Primary School and The Warriner School, propose to convert to
academy status and to establish a multi-academy trust of which all schools will be members.
Each school will continue to have the same character as it does now. Bishop Carpenter CE
Aided Primary School will remain a church school and we have been working closely with
the Diocese of Oxford to develop our proposal.
What is an Academy?
Academies are state maintained schools free to all children. They are run separately from
the local authority, and have an agreement with the Government which provides funding
directly to the Academy Trust. They have to follow the same rules as all other state-funded
schools over admissions, pupils with Special Educational Needs and exclusions. They are
still inspected by Ofsted.
What is a Multi Academy Trust?
A Multi Academy Trust is a company established to be responsible for a number of
Academies. Each Academy remains a separate school, but the governors are responsible
to a board of directors established for the Trust as a whole. This model is becoming more
common, particularly as more primary schools seek academy status and the Government is
encouraging primary schools to choose this route. In this case Directors will be appointed on
the basis of the skills they have and to ensure that the Board has a range of skills available.
First appointees are likely to be from within the 4 governing bodies.
So why make the change?
Academy status gives us some more freedom to make decisions about how we can best
continue to move the school forwards and how best we can use the funding we receive to
improve opportunities for our pupils. Working within the Warriner Multi Academy Trust we
will be able to strengthen the existing good relationship between our schools and further
develop good practice across the Trust.
When will these changes take place?
We hope to be able to complete the process of conversion during the Summer of 2015.
How can I find out more?
There will be an opportunity for you to come and hear more about the proposal and to ask
questions on 4 March at 7pm in the Warriner school hall. If you have any questions or
comments about this proposal please email us on [email protected],
respond on-line at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/wmat, or send a letter marked
“Academy Consultation” to your child’s school.
Please send us your comments
If you have comments about these proposals please make them by 27 March.
Academies: Some key facts
Curriculum
Academies are required to have a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the
spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for
the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. For pupils below Key Stage 1
(i.e. reception and nursery), academies are required to follow the Early Years Foundation
Stage (EYFS).
The curriculum must include:
 English, maths and science;
 Religious Education, although the nature of this will depend on whether the school
has a faith designation;
 access to independent, impartial careers advice for pupils in years 9-11; and
 sex and relationship education (SRE).
Academies are required to take part in the same pupil assessment arrangements and to
report on the achievement and attainment of pupils in the same way as all other state-funded
schools.
Inspection
Academies continue to be subject to Ofsted inspections.
Staffing
The regulations that place requirements on maintained schools do not directly apply to
academies. General employment law applies to academies in the same way as to other
organisations. The Academy Trust has responsibility for setting pay and conditions.
Teachers must be suitably qualified. The Warriner MAT has no plans to change staff terms
and conditions,
All teachers employed at an academy must have access to the Teachers Pensions Scheme
and all other employees at an academy must have access to the Local Government Pension
Scheme.
Attendance
Academies have considerable freedoms over the length of the school day and term – but
there are no plans for us to change that.
Funding
The academy trust will be funded by the Secretary of State as follows:
Recurrent expenditure
General Annual Grant (GAG) - the equivalent to that which would be received by a
maintained school taking account of the number of pupils at the academy.
Education Services Grant (ESG)
For 2015/16 academies will receive £87 per pupil, based on the number of pupils aged 3 to
19.
Capital expenditure
Any capital expenditure incurred by the academy on which capital grant payments are
sought from the Secretary of State will require the specific prior written agreement of the
Secretary of State.
Financial monitoring
The academy trust must abide by the requirements of and have regard to the guidance in
the Academies Financial Handbook.
SEN
Academies should be fully inclusive local schools and in common with all other schools have
a clear legal duty to do their best to meet the needs of children and young people with
special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities.
Admissions
Academies must have admission arrangements that clearly set out how children will be
admitted, including the criteria that will be applied if there are more applications than
available places.
Academies are required to provide education for pupils of different abilities (i.e. they may not
select pupils by ability.
Academies are required to provide education for pupils wholly or mainly drawn from the area
in which the academy is situated.
Converting as a group
Schools can convert together as part of a multi-academy trust, which allows them to share
staff and expertise, and make savings when buying goods and services. All academies in a
MAT are governed by one trust and a single board of directors. The MAT can establish a
local governing body for each of its academies, to which it can delegate some of its
functions.
The conversion process
The conversion process includes a number of elements. All schools must consult
stakeholders; the Academy Trust must be established and funding agreements drafted and
agreed with the Secretary of State; staff must be transferred from their current employer to
the Academy Trust and their terms and conditions – including pensions - are protected in the
process; arrangements must be made for the Academy Trust to have the right to occupy the
school site and buildings; contracts must be transferred from schools to the Academy Trust;
and new insurance arrangements are required together with new bank accounts and
auditors. A grant from the DfE will support the costs incurred.