Academies Briefing for Parents

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

2. The aims of this meeting are • major national agenda • how this will affect you and your children • openess/transparency • information • not consultation

3. Background • National • Local • Desford CPS Overall lack of awareness

4. 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

5. 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

6. Local Authorities • currently the funding conduit from central Government • topslicing and LA services • LA co-ordination of school provision maintaining an overall pattern

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

8. 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

9. 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.”

10. 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

11. how this affects us (so far) • school improvement • backroom LA support

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. What will Governance look like as an Academy? Academy Trust Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee Members At least 3 appointed by the current Governing Body Governing Body Directors or Trustees

17. The Governing Body • Appointed by the Academy Trust • Governors should include: • Head Teacher (ex-officio) • At least TWO Parent Governors • Maximum of ONE LA Governor • No more than a third of Governors can be Academy staff • Additional Governors • Up to three Governors can be Co-opted

18. how this affects us • replacing LA-sourced services • defending what we have • allowing further improvement • collaboration with other schools

19. collaboration to survive • shared services • financial critical mass • school improvement

20. 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

21. 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