Becoming an Academy October 2015

Academies Act 2010 offers all schools the opportunity to become Academies, with the support of their governing body.

Academies are publicly funded independent schools that give heads and teachers greater freedoms and flexibilities including; –freedom from local authority control –the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff –freedom in delivering the curriculum –greater control of their budget –freedom to change the length of terms –freedom to spend the money the local authority currently spends on their behalf. Becoming an Academy gives professionals greater scope to innovate and raise standards for the pupils in their schools, while remaining clearly accountable for the outcomes they deliver. Academies - Key features

Academies - Accountability Academies are run by the Academy Trust which is subject to company and charitable law Academy Trust cannot profit from the Academy. Academy Directors/Trustees have a legal duty to act in the interests of the Academy The freedoms, rights and responsibilities of the Trust are set out in a Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State Ofsted inspections are carried out on the same basis as all other state funded schools The Education Funding Agency (EFA) is responsible for funding and working with open Academies

There are some commonly held misconceptions about Academies Academies receive more funding than other schools Academies receive the same funding as maintained schools, but including additional funding for services that their local authority would have provided. Academies cream off the best pupils in an area and are detrimental to neighbouring schools Academies must comply with the admissions, exclusions and SEN laws and codes, like maintained schools. An independent report from the LSE has shown other local schools also saw results improve Academy status is detrimental to staff and means they’ll get paid less Staff transfer with their current terms and conditions. Any changes have to be negotiated. It’s unlikely Academies will pay less otherwise they would struggle to attract staff – in reality many offer more attractive packages Myth Fact

Academies are working together to improve performance All schools that are performing well are expected to work with another school to bring about an improvement in standards An Academy is part of a chain if it is part of a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) Academy chains are growing rapidly with hundreds of Academies now part of MATs

Some benefits of MATs Economies of scale Shared services Broader curriculum offer Opportunities for staff and pupil movement Career development opportunities

What is being proposed On the 1 st September 2016 Highfields Community Primary School will open as an Academy. The name of the school will be Highfields Academy. Also on this date the Star Academy Trust will open. Highfields Academy will be the first (and at this stage only) member of the trust.

Consultation process -Consultation with staff -Consultation with parents -Consultation with LA / unions

Questions