Academy Status Proposal Summerhill Primary School

What are Academies? Academies are state-maintained but independently-run schools in England. The independent status of Academies allows them the flexibility to be creative in their management, governance, teaching and curriculum, to find innovative solutions to meet local needs. Academies have more freedoms than schools under local authority control!

Dispel the Myths….. Academies are, however, still subject to: OfSTED inspections Feature in the DfE Performance Tables (and have to take National Tests) Still bound by a School DfE Admissions Code The SEN Code of Practice.

Who is an Academy Accountable to? ‘The governing body of an Academy is accountable directly to the Secretary of State through the requirements of a Funding Agreement - a legally binding contract.’

We are NOT proposing converting because….. We are an under performing school! We require a sponsor to support us to improve! We will require a high level of monitoring. We are being forced to! IN FACT………Academies, without the above requirements, are aimed at very successful schools who require a lower level of monitoring!!

Why are we Considering Academy Status? The proposal is attractive to our school because: 1. Decisions will be made by the school (and not by the LA or the council) and cannot be imposed on the school even when it is not in the best interests of the pupils. We know what our children need and what they don’t need – we want to make these decisions not be told what to do! 2. We have a proven track record – we have very little support from the LA now and know we can lead the school on our own! 3. We want to begin to procure services that are of higher quality for our school and its stakeholders! 4. We want to formalise our working relationship, to make it even more effective and bring us further capacity, with Tipton Learning Community!

number of significant benefits which will support the school’s drive for continuous improvement. 5. Governors also take very seriously their responsibility to serve the local community. After much thought and consideration, plus discussion around the Academy Consultation outcomes, governors now believe the decision to convert to an academy is viable and may offer a number of significant benefits which will support the school’s drive for continuous improvement. 6. There is also a strong belief that Summerhill Primary School has a moral obligation to, wherever possible, further the life chances of children who do not attend our school. 7. As a good school with outstanding features, Summerhill has the skills, experience and capacity to support others and has already been engaged in doing so in the past. 8. Becoming an academy would also give the school additional resources to continue and extend this work, potentially benefiting more children and their families. Such work already generates significant additional funding into school which will continue be used to improve the quality of the education offered at Summerhill Primary School.

What are the Advantages of Converting? 1.In the short term there are some financial advantages to encourage schools to make the move. There is a £25,000 grant to help the transition. There would be no ‘top slicing’ from the school budget to help provide LA services. This is in the region of 6% of our initial budget is held back. This could equate to a figure of approximately £130, 000 and estimates of the LA services we buy back would be considerably cheaper! Money saved could be better spent directly on our children! Governors would welcome the freedom to achieve best value and to procure competitively priced quality services. By forming an Umbrella Trust we would have strength in numbers = buying power!

What are the Advantages of Converting? To date buy back a large amount of LA services and we pay for a substantial amount of them. Not all services are of a high quality and comparative prices demonstrate we are not getting the best deal! We even pay into funds that we are not entitled to ‘tap’ into or pay into funding streams we do not benefit from e.g. PFI schools. any Under the Academy proposal, we could ‘buy back’ services from any provider and demand quality!

What are the Advantages of Converting? 1. We will have the freedom to create our own curriculum, tailored to the needs of our pupils. The new National Curriculum is very prescriptive and allows for very little freedom. Will the LA be here to support us in the future? 2. LA Funding has been cut, we buy back more and more services we had for free previously anyway! Will the LA be here to support us in the future? 3. There will be strength in numbers – we are proposing that we convert as an individual school in our own right, BUT under an Umbrella Trust with the support of Tipton Learning Community Schools.

What is the Umbrella Trust? Summerhill Primary School already works closely with both primary partners and secondary schools in Sandwell. Further collaboration would allow our schools to: Save money by sharing resources; Share expertise across the Partnership; Provide excellent professional development opportunities, supporting retention and recruitment. By forming an Umbrella Trust, our School would have the potential to develop lasting partnerships with other schools. This already successful relationship would be formalised as an Umbrella Trust!

So HOW will the School Change? Changes to the school day and term? Changes to the school day and term? NO! Changes to the school name? YES – we are hoping to be called Summerhill Primary Academy! Greater freedoms to make decisions and try things for the best of all stakeholders! YES! YES! IN FACT THE DAY TO DAY, WEEK TO WEEK AND TERM TO TERM RUNNING OF THE SCHOOL WILL CHANGE VERY LITTLE!

Rest Assured….. If we do make changes in the future decisions will be made by the school, and where appropriate, consultation will take place. If we do make changes in the future decisions will be made by the school, and where appropriate, consultation will take place. We do have a good track record of making the right decisions otherwise our school would not be a high performing one! We do have a good track record of making the right decisions otherwise our school would not be a high performing one!

So HOW will my Job and Terms and Conditions Change? Pensions are not affected – you are all eligible to continue paying into your current pension pots! as you would be working for the Academy and not Sandwell anymore. Transfer of employment would be done under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) – as you would be working for the Academy and not Sandwell anymore. The Governors of the school are not planning any measures! Terms and conditions will remain the same! The Governors of the school are not planning any measures! Your day to day job will remain the same!!

What are the Disadvantages of Converting? one-way This is a one-way process. The LA are at present our safety net and not having the local authority to mediate with central government could be a daunting prospect. lone school There will be greater levels of financial responsibility to accompany greater financial autonomy. As a lone school there could be a loss of economies of scale in provision of external services (but there is also the ability to join with other local schools for services which could reduce costs – Umbrella Trust) A school in more challenging circumstances than Summerhill could well miss the additional support of the Local Authority! still We still need to buy back services – in many cases we already do this – Personnel and Payroll – Admissions etc.

So What Happens Next? Stakeholder process has been completed Stakeholder process has been completed and Governors have passed a resolution to convert to an academy. 1 st 2013 Timeline – proposed conversion date is December 1 st 2013 Formal TUPE consultation will now commence and we will include the trade unions throughout the process. There will be an opportunity to see what information will be provided by the LA to the Academy in staff surgeries.

Any Questions?