Consultation about the proposed move to form a Multi Academy Trust Thursday 9th November 2017

Key Points In April 2018 the school intends to join the Galileo Multi Academy Trust with 10 other local schools. All of these schools are members of the Landmark Teaching Alliance and are schools we have and do work with regularly. Belmont Primary School Coatham Primary School Galley Hill primary School Greengates Primary School Ings Farm Primary School John Emmerson Barry Primary School Lakes Primary School St Peter’s Primary School Westgarth Primary School Wheatlands Primary School

Statement “In my opinion the opportunity we have through joining the Galileo Multi Academy Trust provides our pupils, staff and parents with an excellent opportunity to make further improvements to the education we provide at New Marske Primary School. The decision to join a multi academy trust should not be taken lightly. The most important issue we have to consider is how will joining this trust benefit our pupils. I am confident that through the leadership of the trust and the quality of schools within it, this is the right decision for our pupils.” John Dooris

Timeline so far… March 2016 Initial discussions took place between a core groups in the Landmark Teaching Alliance about the possibility of forming a Multi Academy Trust after the release of Educational Excellence Everywhere 2016 which established that the government wanted all schools to be an academy by 2022. October 2016 The government changed the ‘forced academisation’ aspect the white paper, but the principle about all schools becoming an academy stood. "Our ambition remains that all schools should benefit from the freedom and autonomy that academy status brings. Our focus, however, is on building capacity in the system and encouraging schools to convert voluntarily.” Justine Greening Oct 2016

Timeline so far… January 2017 The schools in the Alliance discussed academisation in greater depth and decided, in principle to discuss the process with a number of organisations: Endeavour Partnership, Avec and Reach2. This involved members of the SLT and governors. March 2017 The schools from the Landmark Teaching Alliance decided to formally start the process of forming an academy. After a tendered process, the Endeavour Partnership became our solicitors to take us through the initial phase. July 2017 A formal application was submitted to the Regional Schools Commissioner for New Marske Primary School to join the Galileo Multi Academy Trust. This was approved on the 20th of September 2017 when the school officially received its academy order. The academy order does not mean we will become an academy, the academy order allows our school to access a £25 000 conversion grant which will ensure that any cost associated with the conversion will not affect the school budget.

Who decides? The governing body of the existing maintained school applies to the Secretary of State asking him to make an ‘academy order’ . This decision was taken unanimously by the full governing body on the 22nd March 2017 If the Secretary of State agrees and makes the academy . An academy order was issued on the 20th September 2017 The governing body of the maintained school must undertake consultation on the question of whether the school should be converted into an academy. The final decision about whether to convert to an academy is a governor decision. Staff, pupils, parents and stakeholders feed into this process.

What is a consultation? Consultees need to be given enough information about what is being proposed to understand why it is being proposed – why do the governors want the school to become an academy? They need to be honest about their reasons; and provide proper explanations for them These explanations need to withstand scrutiny – they cannot be nonsense The information needs to be in a form which people can understand – not technical gibberish People need to be given enough time to digest it; and the opportunity to ask questions and for more information If something changes in the course of the consultation, then the consultation may need to be extended for the fresh information to be provided to everyone The governors need to be open minded on the question of whether to go ahead when they consider consultation responses.

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Principles All schools in the MAT share similar values and a vision for the future of education within the Trust. As a school we will be able to take the initiative to shape a MAT that reflects our values, ethos and vision for the future . None of the schools within this MAT have been forced to join the MAT. This MAT contains 11 good or outstanding schools who are keen to keep their individual identify and the special characteristics of what makes them unique. There are no plans for a single school uniform There are no plans for a single, academy wide, curriculum to be imposed, but if something is working well in another school, it could be used in other areas of the MAT: If it’s not broken; don’t fix it! There are no plans for staff in each academy to be forced to work in other academies Due to the fact that there are a number of processes that need to be completed prior to conversion, a Chief Executive Officer has been appointed: Anna Coulson. Anna has a proven track record working in schools and , like the head teachers of the 11 schools, is very keen in individuality amongst our schools.

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Benefits Educational progress and outcomes Schools will benefit from increased internal accountability; we will support and challenge each other to ensure high quality outcomes for all pupils Research indicates that school to school collaboration is an effective tool for improving educational standards - we would seek to exploit close working relationships to do just that We will ensure a common approach to curriculum development ensuring that students have a similar experience in all primary schools Increased curricular and extra-curricular opportunities Teaching staff will benefit from a more diverse approach to their ongoing professional learning including access to action research and regular school visits to ensure that teaching practice is high quality and evidence based

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Benefits School organisation This is a decision fully supported by the head teachers and governing bodies of the schools proposing to form the MAT; we firmly believe that this decision is in the best interests of children, their parents and the schools themselves. The proposed MAT will provide a clear structure reflecting this organisational change and a solid platform to ensure that it is highly effective The proposed MAT ensures long term stability and continuity, even if a head teacher leaves post Schools have strong relationships and a history of working closely together and there is high levels of trust among colleagues The ‘mixed MAT’ allows us to be wholly inclusive ensuring that all primary schools are able to join this ‘family of schools’  

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Benefits Ofsted/School performance All of the schools listed in the proposal are currently rated as either good or outstanding by Ofsted therefore we join together from a position of strength All schools are performing well with the potential to make further improvements through closer collaboration  

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Principles Financial We will develop teams to manage key areas such as finance, HR and data; this will free up head teachers to focus on improving teaching and learning, and driving up standards Joint procurement and purchasing opportunities will enable us to be more financially resilient at a time of increasing cost pressures on school budgets Improved recruitment of high quality staff as they will be attracted to working within a strong MAT with a track record of success Improved retention of high quality staff within the MAT; we will be able to plan effectively for succession and internal promotion We will benefit from economies of scale To retain our own unique ethos within our family of schools  

Why do we want to become an academy? Key Point We recognise that the role of the Local Authority is diminishing significantly and therefore schools will need to become more self sufficient We reduce the risk of being left in a position in the future where we feel we need to join another MAT without the opportunity to shape that MAT or retain any autonomy at school level  

What will our Multi Academy Trust look like? The Members In most cases, the Members will simply be those individuals who agreed to establish the Trust. Those individuals who have agreed to be Members and whose names have been entered onto the Register of Members, a register which must be kept by the Trust. Within our trust we have 2 church members to safeguard the church schools, 2 non church members and a member agreed by both parties. The Trustees The Trustees of the Trust are those people responsible for the carrying out of the business of the Trust, i.e. the running of the academies, although management responsibility can be delegated to a management board or leadership group made up of executive officers (such as the “Chief Executive Officer”) and the head teachers of the academies. The Trustees will also be the directors of the Trust,

What will our Multi Academy Trust look like?

The process The conversion process involves at least five elements: September 2017: the setting up of a charitable company known as the academy trust with memorandum and articles of association putting in place a funding agreement between the academy trust and the Secretary of State for the running and funding of the academy school(s) transferring the employment of the staff of the school(s) from the local authority or governing body (as applicable) to the academy trust in accordance with TUPE negotiating a commercial transfer agreement for the transfer of assets and contracts of the school(s) from the local authority and/or governing body to the academy trust arranging for the academy trust to have use of the land and buildings of the school(s), usually either by way of a 125 year lease with the local authority or the transfer of the freehold of the land, as applicable. April 2018: the school converts to become an academy as part of the Galileo multi Academy Trust.

Task and questions?