Academies Briefing for Parents Desford Primary School January 18 th 2012.

Academies Briefing for Parents

Desford Primary School January 18th 2012

The aims of this meeting are

major national agenda how this will affect you and your

children openess/transparency information not consultation

Background

National Local Desford CPS

Overall lack of awareness

Quotes from the White Paper

“Across the world the case for the benefits of school autonomy has been established beyond doubt. In a school system with good quality teachers, flexibility in the curriculum and clearly established accountability measures, it makes sense to devolve as much day-to-day decision-making as possible to the front line”

“We want every school to be able to shape its own character, frame its own ethos and develop its own specialisms, free from either central or local bureaucratic constraint.... our direction of travel is towards schools as autonomous institutions collaborating with each other on terms set by teachers, not bureaucrats”

M. Gove

The vision for all State Schools

independent of the LA functioning as completely

independent entities directly funded by the DoE developing as they think fit

Local Authorities

currently the funding conduit from central Government

topslicing and LA services LA co-ordination of school provision maintaining an overall pattern

Leicestershire

C. 300 schools currently very successful 80%+ schools good or better no failing schools

Leicestershire LA future

£8.8m cuts at CYPS. £3m still unidentified £3m more to come in 2012-13 through further

reduction in Grants from central government (Academies agenda)

impact of Academisation on LA central funds County Hall restructuring/redundancies including CYPS

Gareth Williams Director CYPS Cabinet paper 20th December 2011

“Government policy is significantly affecting the way in which services for children, young people and their families should now be organised and delivered. A range of new legislation has been introduced and further reviews that will lead to additional change are currently in train. These changes will affect the ability of the CYPS to contain services within budgets and to meet its MTFS obligations unless swift action is taken to enable the CYPS to implement savings at the start of the next financial year. The CYPS and its current activities need to be remodelled so that it can focus on meeting clearly identified priorities in the most cost effectiveway.”

CYPS departments affected by cuts

Administration and Business Support • Anti-Bullying teams • Criteria for Statutory Assessment of SEN • Behaviour Services (locality support and KS4

personalised programmes • Early Help Services (as listed in Appendix ‘C’) • Education of Children in Care • Education Psychology • Emergency Duty Team • Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement

Service • Governor’s Service • Healthy Schools • Historic grants review • Historic procurement review • Modernisation of Children in Care • Music Education Service • Outdoor and Residential Learning Service

Parent Partnership (choice advice) • Placement Commissioning • Planning and Commissioning • Post-16 education provision (including NEET,

LDD and September guarantee) • School Admissions and Pupil Services • School Age Family Service • School Attendance • School Change Team (Academy, UTC, Studio

Schools, Free Schools) • School Food • School Improvement • Special Educational Needs Assessment

(SENA) • SEN Out County Placements • Specialist Teaching Services • Transitions

how this affects us (so far)

school improvement backroom LA support

summary of the issues

the gradual and inevitable disappearance of the LA as entity capable of supporting schools and coordinating overall provision

timescale on this is within a year

We have to solve these problems

access the back office services we need

provide the capacity to preserve and further develop academic standards

Secondaries/Primaries have different issues to solve

An Academy is …

a not-for-profit company, a charity, with directors and trustees

the employer of all its staff the contractor for all services it uses wholly responsible for its own assets wholly responsible for all financial

decisions audited as a company

and more......

Allowed to define its own curriculum But still accountable to Ofsted responsible for its own pupil

admissions policy and catchment criteria

allowed to define its intake age-range allowed to enter into legally binding

collaborations with other schools and other organisations

What will Governance look like as an Academy?

Academy TrustCharitable Company Limited by Guarantee

MembersAt least 3 appointed by the current Governing Body

Governing BodyDirectors or Trustees

The Governing Body

o Appointed by the Academy Trust

o Governors should include:i. Head Teacher (ex-officio)ii. At least TWO Parent Governorsiii. Maximum of ONE LA Governoriv. No more than a third of Governors can be

Academy staff

o Additional Governorsi. Up to three Governors can be Co-opted

how this affects us

replacing LA-sourced services defending what we have allowing further improvement collaboration with other schools

collaboration to survive

shared services financial critical mass school improvement

Where are we at the moment?

whose decision? serious and diligent reconnaissance in a time-frame what’s happening around us? we need a plan consultation

Key Academy Questions

LA view on converting to an Academy

our view a duty to thoroughly investigate the

options Governor working party this is information, not consultation