1. Welcome to the Yeo Moor Infant School and Yeo Moor Junior School Information Sharing Event Tuesday 11 th November 2008

2. Overview of this event Short presentation Informal chance to look around the stalls, speak to people on a 1-2-1 basis, write your comments on the comments board and submit your ‘Ask the Panel a Question’ Q&A session where the main questions raised will be answered

3. What is being suggested? North Somerset Council is proposing that the Infant and Junior Schools join to become a Primary School, continuing to admit up to 60 children per year group If approved, the schools would be joined by: Closing both the Infant and Junior Schools on 31 December 2009, and Re-opening the buildings as the new Primary School on the present school sites on 1 st January 2010

4. Why consider joining the schools ? In 2007, and after public consultation, the Local Authority published its School Organisation Plan (SOP). The plan sets out the council’s preference to establish, where appropriate, all-through primary school provision provided no insurmountable risks have been identified Following the retirement of Mrs Trufitt, a trigger for change was reached. In accordance with the Council’s policy, we are now considering whether an all-through primary school provision should be established This information sharing event is one part of a statutory process The Local Authority encourages Governing Bodies to work together in arrangements such as collaborations and federations (this has to be Governor initiated and led)

5. The benefits of Primary Schools A single school can provide continuity of the curriculum and assessment for pupils aged 4 – 11 Primary schools normally have a larger team of staff that can provide more flexibility in terms of covering all the subjects of the curriculum Primary schools can provide staff with more opportunities to develop skills across the whole primary range and can enable the best use to be made of teacher expertise An amalgamated school has one Headteacher, one Governing Body, one budget, one Ofsted inspection and one set of performance tables An enhanced head teacher role can make it easier to recruit/retain a good leader, which in turn can improve a school's popularity

6. The benefits of Primary Schools A primary school can provide greater flexibility and efficiency in the use of staff and other resources Primary school staff are usually part of a larger team that can result in better training and development, and more cross-fertilisation of ideas A larger primary school gives greater resilience to fluctuations in pupil numbers It can be helpful to parents to have one school with which to work and set up a relationship Having all-through provision takes away the uncertainty of pupils’ placement at time of transition from an Infant to a Junior school Limited financial savings are normally achieved but the facilities previously available to separate schools would become available to all pupils at the combined school

7. The benefits of separate Infant and Junior Schools Parents like the smaller school units particularly for younger children starting school The pastoral care offered to children in smaller schools is often excellent Schools are smaller and have fewer key stages to address in terms of curriculum and assessment. They are often centres of excellence There are fewer staff and children and families feel that they know everyone

8. Standards North Somerset has a team of very experienced School Improvement Advisers and Teaching and Learning Advisers that work with schools to support them during periods of change. North Somerset School Improvement Service is highly regarded by the Dept. for Children Schools and Families Amalgamated schools are usually inspected during the first year following amalgamation. The School Improvement Team support schools in the inspection preparation and process Schools in challenging circumstances face greater issues in terms of standards. There is no reason to believe that amalgamation automatically leads to a drop in standards although this sometimes does happen

9. Standards The key to effective transition is leadership and management. North Somerset is developing a strategy to specify the extent of extra support available to amalgamating schools North Somerset is highly regarded by the National College for School Leadership in its approach to networking and coaching to support school improvement

10. Can the advantages of the separate provisions be incorporated into a Primary School setting? Both schools deliver high quality education; this can be maintained Both schools offer high quality pastoral care; this high quality is not lost in primary schools. Good leadership and management ensures that pastoral care enables all pupils to be happy, make progress and enjoy school Pupils will be familiar with staff, and support for vulnerable children can be enhanced through continuity from those responsible for their well- being Two thirds of North Somerset ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools are Primary Schools. Being an all-through Primary School does not mean that it cannot excel

11. What will happen to the children ? We will work to ensure that during this period of change any disruption to pupils’ education is minimised as much as possible The Local Authority will guarantee that any pupil attending either school at the end of December 2009 will be given a place at the Primary School in January 2010 Any applications for new school places (YR or Y3) to start at Yeo Moor Infant School and Yeo Moor Junior School in September 2009 will be treated (with the applicant’s approval) as if they were applying for a place at the Infant or Junior School in the knowledge of the possibility of the schools amalgamating The Admission Number for the school will remain at 60 pupils per year group

12. What about the buildings ? Recent condition surveys indicate that over £700k needs to be spent on maintaining both school buildings over the next few years The new Primary School will initially utilise both school buildings Some changes will be needed in the short term to enable the buildings to be used as one school

13. What about the buildings ? It is hoped that in the future savings from the joining of the two schools may be converted into ‘prudential borrowing’. In addition there may be potential funding from the Primary Capital Programme. Investigations will be undertaken to establish how best to create an educational environment fit for 21st Century teaching and learning It is important when making building changes that they reflect the vision for learning of any school Both schools are currently working on their vision for learning and this will inform the final plans and design for the school

14. Are you doing this to save money? No. Money saved from the joining of the schools may be used to make the physical changes needed and to provide additional support to the schools during the period of change North Somerset Council does not benefit directly from any savings. They remain in the budget available to schools

15. Funding implications The majority of school funding is based on pupil numbers - this will not change Some elements of school funding will reduce or go. For example: - Small School Support - SEN top up for infant / junior schools - Lump Sums

16. Budget implications The Governing Body decides on the new staffing structure and how a school’s budget is spent There will be cost efficiencies: -1 Headteacher -1 Ofsted e.g. preparation -1 Budget to set -1 Set of accounts to administer

17. How will the savings be used? The Strategic Schools Forum (SSF) have a policy on use of savings resulting from amalgamations In the first instance savings are used to fund borrowing for capital building projects at the amalgamating schools Savings can also be used, following agreement by the SSF, to fund short-term additional expenses (e.g. management support) identified by the Governing Body / Local Authority

18. What could happen to staff if a Primary School is established? If a school closes, then all pupil places and staff posts in that school technically cease to exist, but since the demand for school places at the sites would be very similar (regardless of whether they are infant and junior or a primary school), similar staffing levels will be required In these circumstances, it is normal practice for existing staff to be re-employed as far as possible in the new school

19. The Council will work closely with the Temporary Governing Body of the Primary School who are responsible for designing the new staff structure. This will involve a further period of detailed consultation with staff and their trade unions on a proposed structure including how people may be affected individually. The aim will be to avoid, as far as possible, anyone being left without a job Wherever possible, staff will be made direct offers of posts in the new structure Staff who transfer to the Primary School will retain their continuity of service, so their pensions, sickness and leave entitlements etc will remain unaffected What could happen to staff if a Primary School is established?

20. What next ? The first stage of the consultation process will end on Monday 24 th November 2008 Your comments are needed so that the Council can decide the way forward

21. What do you need to do now? We want you to ask questions. Please : speak to people at the stands write your comments on our comments board submit your ‘Ask the Panel a Question’