1. Our Lady & St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Catholic Voluntary Academy Status Louise Hatswell 9 th March 2015 “As a Catholic School we value the special identity that God’s love has created in each of us”

2. Background and Introduction In June 2011 Bishop John wrote to Catholic Schools in the Diocese encouraging Governing Bodies to consider conversion to academy status. It is the belief of the CES, Diocesan officers, our Bishop and many Bishops around the country, that conversion to academy status is the best way forward to protect and enhance our Catholic schools long into the future. It is still essential that schools ensure a process of consideration and consultation so that they are able to understand the reasons that led to this belief.

3. The 10 Principles The Diocese have set out 10 principles which schools considering conversion to academy status must consider When a school decides to convert they must sign up to a Partnership Agreement with the Bishop and the other schools in the Diocese which are becoming academies. The Partnership Agreement will include the principles which everyone must follow.

4. The 10 Principles (cont) 1.All Diocesan schools, whether academy or voluntary aided status, will continue to be members of the Diocesan family of schools and will not be left to work in isolation. 2.All Diocesan schools will continue to work for the Common Good and promote community cohesion. 3.The Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher and any member of staff appointed to deputise for the Headteacher, and the Head or Co-ordinator of Religious Education in a Diocesan Catholic school must be a practising Catholic as determined by the Bishops’ Conference Memorandum of Appointment. 4.Religious Education must be taught:- a.In line with the Curriculum Directory and any directive given by the Bishop with regard to specific programmes of study; and b.In line with the Bishops’ Conference which specifies 10% of curriculum time required in Key Stages 1-4 and 5% in Key Stage 5 5.Religious Worship will be in accordance with the rites, practices, disciplines and liturgical norms of the Catholic Church. 6.Personal Health and Social Education and in particular, Sex and Relationship Education must be taught in line with guidance from the Bishops’ Conference and in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church. 7.Foundation Governors must be in the majority of at least two. The Chair of Governors must be a Foundation Governor. 8.Diocesan schools will be led, managed and governed according to the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church. They will express a preferential option for the poor and disadvantaged, particularly those with Special Needs and those in Public Care. 9.Governors and staff will ensure that priority is given to promoting good relationships with homes and parishes of the children. 10.All diocesan schools will be obliged to work collaboratively with diocesan and local families of schools.

5. What is an Academy? An Academy is a state funded independent school The Academy Trust is a private company limited by guarantee (this means it is a charitable company, and not for profit) Separate from the LA, agreement directly with DfE

6. Why should we become a Catholic Voluntary Academy? Becoming an Academy will protect the future of Catholic education for all children in our Learning Community It could give us some ‘freedoms’ eg National Curriculum, buy backs It would bring opportunities for more formal collaboration

7. What will be different if we convert? Being an Academy is about autonomy, so hopefully you and your child/ren would not notice anything different about Our Lady and St Joseph’s. We would operate in the same way and we would continue to provide the best possible Catholic education for all our children. There would be some differences in how the business side of the school is managed, we would have to abide by the Companies Act and the Charities Act The TUPE process would transfer staff from the school to the Academy on the same terms and conditions with no break in service We would receive slightly more funding as an Academy, but we would have more traded services to purchase out of this. However, we would have the freedom to find more cost effective solutions for some services currently provided by the Local Authority

8. Common questions about Academies Will admission arrangements change? No, admission arrangements will stay the same; Academy Trusts take over the responsibility for their own admissions, but this is already the case for Voluntary Aided Schools. All Academies have to adhere to the mandatory conditions of the School Admissions Code which came into force in February 2012. Will you start charging fees for education? No, Academies are publicly funded independent schools but are not allowed to charge fees for education.

9. What happens next? We have recently received the Bishop’s permission to explore conversion and have just submitted our application for an Academy Order to the DfE If we are granted an Academy Order, we will receive a start up grant to cover the costs of the conversion process. We can then instruct our solicitors who will handle the legal side of the process. The consultation process will continue, and we will consult with all stakeholders - staff, parents, and the learning community

10. Questions…?