Proposed Conversion to Academy Status – Consultation
Dear Parent/Carer,
After careful consideration, the Governing Body of Oaklands School has agreed to apply to become an academy under the Academies Act 2010 and is proposing to join The Mead Educational Trust (TMET).
We are now consulting about our school’s plans to convert to an academy with anyone who might have an interest, including parents and carers, pupils and staff. Further information about what becoming an academy means is set out in the FAQs document below.
The consultation runs from Wednesday 21st January to Wednesday 11th March. During this time, we will hold meetings, answer questions and receive written views.
The consultation timeline and documents are posted on the school website.
We would like to invite you to attend a parent/carer meeting:
Thursday 5th February 10-11am
This meeting will be about the proposed academy conversion. You will have an opportunity to hear from Me (Chair of Governor), the Headteacher and the Chief Executive of TMET and you will be given an opportunity to raise any questions or concerns about academy conversion.
In addition, the Headteacher, Sarah Osborne, and a TMET representative will have a presence at our parents’ evening on Wednesday January 28th to answer questions.
Questions or comments can also be made in writing to consultation@oaklands.leicester.sch.uk , especially if you are unable to attend the above meeting. We would like to hear your voice.
The closing date for representations to be made is Wednesday 11th March
I look forward to meeting with you and hearing your comments on Thursday 5th February,
Yours faithfully
Sonia Barnes (Chair of Governors)
ACADEMY CONVERSION AND JOINING A TRUST
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GENERAL
What is an academy trust?
This is a charitable company that has to be set up to run an academy school or group of academy schools. A multi-academy trust (MAT) is an academy trust with more than one school (or the potential to have more than one). An academy trust is responsible and accountable for the performance of all the schools within the trust and sets the vision, strategic direction, and values for the trust. As the legally accountable body, the academy trust is the employer, admissions authority and enters into contracts. All schools within a trust are governed by the trust.
An academy trust is subject to company and charity law, it is not allowed to ‘own’ schools and it cannot it profit from the schools it controls. Year-end accounts must be sent to Companies House within strict time limits and must be published on the academy trust’s website.
The academy trust enters into a funding agreement with the Department for Education which is the contract by which the trust agrees to provide educational services in exchange for funding. Usually, the academy trust enters into a leasehold agreement with the local authority when taking a local authority-maintained school into the trust.
What is The Mead Educational Trust (TMET)?
TMET is a local multi-academy trust which currently comprises 15 schools:
A number of our primary and secondary schools have DSPs (Designated Specialist Provision) units. DSP is a model of a co-located specialist facility in a mainstream school which allows pupils with SEND who have needs which would normally be beyond the capacity of the mainstream environment to have those needs met whilst still being able to access a mainstream curriculum.
TMET also has The Mead Institute of Professional Learning, Leicester and Leicestershire Teaching School Hub and Leicestershire SCITT (School-Centred Initial teacher Training).
What checks and balances are there for academies and academy trusts?
The Regional Directors act on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education and are responsible for academies in their region. Amongst other things, they monitor and review the performance of academies, take action when academies underperform and make decisions on applications from schools to join academy trusts.
The Department for Education (DfE) is accountable for funding education and skills for children and young people. Amongst other things, the DfE regulates academies, intervening where there is a risk of failure or where there is evidence of mismanagement of public funds. The DfE publishes the Academy Trust Handbook which describes the financial requirements for academy trusts, including the requirement for academy trusts to have annual external and internal financial audits.
Academies are still subject to Ofsted inspections as they are as local authority-maintained schools.
THE PROCESS OF JOINING AN ACADEMY TRUST
Will our school definitely join The Mead Educational Trust (TMET)?
Your school is not obligated to convert to academy status and join TMET until the contract between TMET and the Department for Education (known as the Funding Agreement) is signed. This will not be signed until parents and carers of pupils at the school, staff at the school, and possibly pupils themselves have had the opportunity to comment on the proposals during the consultation period. Any comments or representations which are made about the proposals will be considered by the school’s governing body before it takes the final decision about joining TMET.
At the same time, TMET will conduct due diligence on the school which means that it will look at areas such as education standards, staffing, finances and buildings to assess what the school could bring to the Trust, how the Trust can support the school and whether there are any risks in bringing the school into the Trust. TMET will not sign the Funding Agreement unless they are content that conversion would be in the best interests of both the school and the Trust, taking account of all of the legal and practical ramifications.
Is there a cost to academy conversion and how is that covered?
Yes, for things such as legal advice and licences for the services used by the Trust. Special schools are eligible for a DfE conversion grant to help cover this.
What is the timeframe for conversion of the school to academy status?
The conversion process usually takes 5 or 6 months to complete once agreement is made, though this can take longer if there are any specific issues with things such as the buildings and site that have longer term activities to complete.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES
What are the benefits of being a school in TMET?
The governing body believes that the benefits include opportunities to:
What are the disadvantages?
Every school that joins an academy trust loses some autonomy. The trust board and executive team will retain some control over areas such as senior leader appointments, the school budget and reserves and policies. It is worth saying that such control at a central level can ensure more consistency and a level of assurance for each school. Any school choosing to join an academy trust needs to weigh up the loss of some control against the potential benefits.
Does TMET take control of the schools?
In short no. TMET describes themselves as a supporting team: they understand every school has its unique culture that is relevant to the area, environment and demographic of its students. There are elements that TMET oversees to support efficiency and process, all done with the intention to allow each school’s focus to be on teaching and learning. The school can still define the curriculum offer for their own school.
How does TMET improve standards in its schools?
All the schools in TMET have improved since joining the Trust. Major factors in this are the:
WHAT WOULD CHANGE?
Will the school change?
For pupils and parents/carers, it is unlikely that they will see much, if any, change in their day-to-day school lives. Academy schools do have the power to vary their curriculum offer and vary the length of the school day. However, TMET does not intend to take any such steps at this stage and would engage with parents/carers, staff, and pupils if any such changes were proposed in the future. All TMET schools continue to follow the National Curriculum and assess children using national standards.
Will SEN (special educational needs) work in the same way?
Yes, the way funding for SEN works the same in TMET and the process for applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan is the same.
Will Ofsted still inspect the school?
Yes, joining a multi academy trust does not cause a change to the frequency of Ofsted inspections.
What routes will parents have to complain about concerns?
TMET has a Trust-wide complaints procedure which sets out the stages of a complaint.
STAFFING
Who will employ the staff if the school joins TMET?
All staff working at the school immediately before joining will be employed by TMET upon transfer. Their employment will be transferred under a process called TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Rights). It is the law that protects employees, and their terms and conditions, when their employment changes hands.
TUPE is a formal process that requires written notification of the change in employment which includes any ‘measures’ (changes in terms and conditions) and a consultation period with staff, unions and any other appropriate parties.
Will all staff retain their jobs?
All staff working at the school immediately before joining TMET will be transferred over to the Trust.
Will the school still have a headteacher?
Yes. All the TMET schools have a headteacher (known as the principal).
Will staff be moved around the different schools in the Trust?
Staff who already work at a school on joining the Trust will not be required to work in another TMET school, although they are welcome to put themselves forward to do so if they wish. Many members of staff in the Trust have recognised that secondments to other Trust schools can provide them with opportunities to stretch and develop themselves and to gain additional experience and skills. Staff who join a Trust school once it is in TMET have a clause in their contract to say that they can be deployed to any TMET school as required although the Trust would seek to do this in agreement with the individual.
Will my pay arrangements change?
TMET pay staff monthly and our pay date is 25th of each month, or the working day before if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday. Changing to TMET’s pay date and payroll system will be one of the measures that TMET proposes when transferring a school.
TMET have full online facilities for payslips, P45 and P60s, which you will be given access to. If you currently use an online platform to access your pay document, your school will check with their current provider to see what you will have to do to maintain your access to those documents. For example, you may need to move your existing log in to a personal email address prior to transfer if you currently log in using a work one.
As you will be moving employer, you will be issued a P45 at the point of transfer. This is for administrative purposes only and has no effect on your transfer with full continuity of service and terms and conditions.
Will staff have the same pay and conditions?
TMET will complete a review to assess how roles would map across to their pay structures. No member of staff will suffer detriment on transfer. TMET also apply TUPE which is the law that protects employee’s terms and conditions when their employment changes hands.
Pay scales will not change for teachers or leaders on transfer which is standard in the sector: they will be mapped across on their current points. TLRs that are in place at the point of transfer will remain in place. TLRs are set and agreed by principals to reflect their local school improvement needs and priorities.
TMET have their own support staff grading structure and the value of the scale points are ahead of the NJC framework. Support staff will be mapped across to the TMET support staff grading structure on an equivalent salary.
No colleague will suffer detriment to their holiday entitlement and the majority of support staff will receive an extra day. There will be no change to an employee’s notice period on transfer. New colleagues joining the school post transfer will move onto TMET’s notice periods.
TMET’s Pay Policy covers overtime, payment for supporting clubs, call out, trips, duty lunches and tuition.
Full details of the transfer arrangements will be set out in a formal letter to staff and will be discussed with staff at a TUPE meeting.
Will pensions be affected for staff?
No. There will be no changes to any pension arrangements or scheme membership upon transfer to TMET, for any staff. All teachers, both current and future, will continue to be enrolled into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. All non-teaching staff, both current and future, will continue to be enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme, which replicates the current position. Employer contributions and the ability to make additional contributions will be unchanged.
Will staff have continuous service on transfer to TMET?
On the transfer to TMET, all staff continuous service will be protected for redundancy and other purposes. In the instance of redundancy, for all staff, continuity of service for the purpose of redundancy calculations is protected by the 'Redundancy Modifications Order'. This amends the employment regulations so that, if an employee moves employment between bodies in a specified list of public employers, then continuity of service is retained for redundancy. Local authorities and academies are on this list, so continuity of service is retained for staff moving back and forth between these employers for redundancy purposes.
Will unions be recognised?
Yes, TMET recognises teacher and support staff trade unions in with national bargaining arrangements. The Trust holds regular meetings to consult on policies and other relevant matters.
What support and training will staff be offered?
The Trust is committed to developing staff at all levels and makes this a high priority. Staff are encouraged to engage in training and development programmes and some staff have taken up the opportunity to work in other Trust schools or across several schools, which has enabled them to develop their skills. The Mead Institute of Professional Learning offers a range of staff development programmes for teachers and support staff and training workshops for staff and governors. The Institute is continuously reviewing the needs of Trust staff to further develop the Trust CPD offer.
Does TMET follow School Teachers Pay and Conditions and the National Joint Council?
TMET’s Board approves and publishes its Pay Policy each year following consultation with their recognised trade unions. It has been developed to comply with current legislation, the School Teacher’s Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), the National Joint Council for Local Government Services National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service (“Green Book”), any local pay agreements in place at the time that TMET was established, the spirit of the Burgundy Book and in accordance with the principles of public life - objectivity, openness and accountability.
Will our HR policies change?
Yes, one of the measures that we will propose will be that TMET’s HR policies are implemented on transfer. Included in the measures letter will be a comparison of the main differences between your current policies and TMET’s.
What will happen to performance management?
TMET no longer uses formal appraisal and does not link pay to performance, therefore all staff increment each year automatically. TMET has My Professional Development Conversations (MPDC) which focus on professional and career development and wellbeing. TMET will work with your principal to identify when you will transition from your current model to MPDC.
What does TMET do to support Wellbeing?
TMET has invested in Wellbeing Platform called VIV-UP. This includes:
TMET also has a Trust wide wellbeing and workload charter.
FINANCES
Will there be a difference in the funding on joining TMET?
The schools in TMET get a similar amount of funding as they did when they were maintained schools or single academies. Previously the schools would have either paid the LA or outsourced activity for central services. Multi academy trusts work similarly but central services are provided by the Trust and therefore the Trust retains some funding for the central services it provides.
The TMET schools can gain from economies of scale and collective bargaining in buying services and resources. The guiding principles of the TMET approach is that it ensures ‘we live within our means’, that pupils have expert teachers in front of them as much as possible, and that the mix of expenditure is well-balanced between education and operations as well as staffing and non-staffing. Ultimately, the objective is to be more sustainable, equitable and strategic.
GOVERNANCE
How does governance work in an academy trust?
A trust must have Members (who are effectively guardians of the constitution) and a Board of Trustees (who govern the trust). The Board decides how governance works at a local level and, in TMET, this is an academy council for each school. See the TMET website for more information. Responsibilities for the different levels of governance, Executive Team and principals in the Trust are set out in the TMET Scheme of Delegation which can be found on the TMET website here.
What will happen to governance at the school on joining TMET?
On joining TMET, the governing body of the school will be reconstituted and an academy council will be set up. In TMET, each academy council is typically made up of 9 people: 2 parents, 2 staff, academy principal and 4 Trust-appointed members. Usually, many of the existing governors of the school joining the Trust transfer over onto the academy council. As vacancies arise, parents and staff members are recruited through an election process which is the same as in maintained schools. Trust-appointed councillors are appointed by the Trust Director of Governance in agreement with the chair of the academy council and the school principal.