‘Working and learning together to improve children’s lives.’

Why we academised… ‘We are building a partnership of schools who put the needs of children at their heart and are committed to true collaborative working. Our schools’ learn together to ensure pupils are confident, responsible and are equipped with the knowledge and skills to take ownership of their life long learning.’ Current DfE agenda Autonomy Similar ethos in 3 schools – shared core values and a passionate belief in collaborative approaches to learning. To establish a Multi Academy Trust dedicated to working with primary schools.

Our journey to academisation… Consultation process with parents and staff Once school receives acceptance to apply for academy status by RSC receive £25,000 Solicitor – Browne Jacobson (£8K - £12K) Commercial Transfer Agreement (The Commercial Transfer Agreement is the legal agreement that sets out the terms of the transfer of the employees, contracts, commitments and assets which benefit the School across to the Academy Trust on conversion.) Funding Agreements (the key legal documents which oblige the Secretary of State for Education to make payments to the MAT in relation to the setting up and continued running of the academies. The funding agreements provide the framework within which the academies must operate. Importantly, the funding agreements place certain obligations on the academies which they must satisfy to secure funding. Articles of Association (The Articles of Association set out the governance arrangements for Academy Trusts and includes the Trust’s charitable objects, the individual Members and Trustees are and how they are appointed, together with the rules setting out how Members and Trustees make decisions together with detailed provisions surrounding Trustees interests, financial transactions and conflicts.) New systems (£2K - £4K) remaining funds available to support the school during the process. Project Management - TUPE Main impact of the process felt by HT, admin and Governors.

The structure of YCATs governance… There is strong governance at all levels throughout YCAT and this is vital for our continued success. High quality training and support is provided for governors in all our schools. Members, trustees and individual school governing bodies are the key drivers for sustained improvement of the Yorkshire Collaborative Academy Trust They are very effectively supported by our Finance, Risk and Audit Committee, School Improvement Committee and the School Improvement Leadership Group (SILG).

What does the YCAT Multi Academy Trust look like….

The Members The members of YCAT bring a wealth of experience from education, legal, business, banking and HR. Their role is to hold trustees and schools to account. YCAT has 5 members who meet twice a year. Judith Holliday Liz Pugh Stephen Root Nigel Simpson Aiden West

The Trustees Trustees provide the passion and drive to promote the values and working practices that will ensure YCAT’s strategic planning raises standards and progress for all pupils across our schools. The Trustees meet 4 times per year. Martin Ellison (Chair) Roger Gook (Vice Chair) Martin Bellamy Ian Moore Nigel Muttick Don Parker CEO Judith Ratcliffe Jo Robinson Fiona Rogers

Local Governing Bodies Each school’s LGB meets every half term Each school has 9 members on the LGB Each school continues with it’s own committee structure. Each school is responsible for managing its own budget

How the MAT runs on a day to day basis…… Each school has retained it’s own special identity. YCAT have continued to buy in many of the NYCC traded services eg. Payroll and ESS in this year. Health and Safety – retained services of HANDS for each school. Now responsible to HSE. Still have access and support from NYCC LADO and Child Protection/Safeguarding Now buy insurance direct from the DfE. School Improvement programme of CPD and School Improvement across schools. Challenge and support provided for each school by the Trustees and the School Improvement Leadership Group (SILG) to enable schools to take ownership for their own learning journey YCAT is responsible for all schools performance and annual review systems are being developed and their the related summary documents will be reported to the Trustees.

YCAT finance – what we do: The key objectives of our finance team are to: Provide an efficient and cost-effective financial service to all our schools Ensure compliance with the Companies Act, Charity Law and the Academies Financial Handbook Provide timely, accurate and appropriate information to different levels of management (budget holders, HTs, Govs, Trustees and Members) to support decision making Ensure all EFA reporting requirements are met and annual financial statements are prepared; and Support the Accounting Officer in ensuring the schools achieve value for money, regularity and propriety in use of public funds

YCAT Finance – How we do it… We have a centralised finance team and central finance system (CIVICA). This helps us in achieving efficiency and consistency across the schools. Our central finance team works closely with each of the schools and meets regularly with the local school administrators Our processes ensure each school has local autonomy for financial decision making whilst managing day to day transaction processing and accounting in one central location Our finance lead is a qualified chartered accountant with 15 years experience in a wide range of businesses and 7 years in education. She has also been a school governor for 8 years. Our finance team is very strong, with many years experience and qualifications both in accountancy and School Business Management. The finance team lead reports to the Financial Risk and Audit Committee which consists of Trustees with strong financial and business skills. We are also establishing a regular independent review of our systems and processes by auditors in addition to the annual statutory audit.

YCAT Finance…. Central charges We charge a top slice from each school of 3.5% This covers central costs including the following: School Improvement Cross school CPD Central Finance Services HR Payroll Health and Safety Health and Well being Legal Services Support from NYCC energy team ICT licences and support for Civica, Scholarpack and Budget Planning Software (Orovia BPS) Statutory Audit and internal audit charges

What YCAT can offer primary schools… School Improvement Ensure schools provide a well-designed curriculum that is carefully linked to effective teaching, learning and assessment that has impact on improving outcomes for all groups of pupils Evaluate the impact of leadership on teaching and achievement True collaborative learning that is evidence based Financial Expertise for primary education Strong systems bespoke to primary schools Strategically planned CPD opportunities that value staff by effectively meeting their professional needs and promoting the importance of their work-life balance Opportunity for leaders to explore ways to share best practice across the MAT Affiliation with key partners: HART, Carnegie Learning Partnership, Northumbria University and HART of Yorkshire Teacher Training SCITT

What next for YCAT? Converter schools who are committed to our approach from NYCC and adjacent LAs join YCAT As we grow the top-slice reduces Continue to personalise finance and administration systems to meet the needs of Academy primary schools Develop further the sharing of teachers skills across schools eg. SENCO, arts, music A commitment to professional development for all staff in YCAT primary schools with strategically planned CPD linked to individual school needs. Develop an effective YCAT School improvement support system including school improvement officer/partner To sponsor a school during the next two years to support the education of children in our region Continue to explore ways to further improve primary school’s economies of scale across YCAT.

Joining YCAT Joining YCAT should be a two way process: 1.Interested schools must be committed to the principles, values and working practices of YCAT. This would lead to a further presentation at a Governors meeting. 2.YCAT Trustees would finally carry out ‘due diligence’ on the performance and financial status of schools who apply to join. Interested schools who would like to find out more please contact one of the following: Don Parker, HT Askwith Primary – Judith Ratcliffe, HT Bilton Grange Primary – Jo Robinson, HT Lothersdale Primary –