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What is an Academy? • A state school free from Local Authority control• Church of England status is unaffected• Allocated full pupil funding directly from DfE without Local Authority retention• Free to negotiate new arrangements with suppliers• Free to improve terms and conditions for staff• Within reason, free to change term dates, admission criteria
What would being an academy mean?• Greater control, flexibility and responsibility• Opportunities for forward thinking and development• Increased opportunities for pupils• Enhanced partnerships with neighbouring schools• More business like approach to how the school operates focussed on maximising resources ensuring they are put back into our pupils and their education• Protection of pupil-staff ratio
• We are a forward thinking Trust who want to work closely with all schools and stakeholders and not a national trust who impose their agendas on schools.• PRIDE is a locally established Trust who plan for all schools to work in partnership not with one lead school making the decisions.• Whilst the Trust has been established for a while now it is an exciting time to join with the expansion plans of the Trust and to have an impact in the direction in which we move.• Our Finance Director already has many strong links with finance officers and business managers within the authority.• We have strong partnerships with both Tykes Teaching Alliance and Barnsley Teaching Schools Alliance so in addition to the expertise already within the trust we can access additional CPD.• A highly skilled Board of Directors covering finance, teaching and learning and SIAMS (for Church schools only) with clear schemes of delegation to local governing bodies.
• Case studies which clearly demonstrate a Good school developing with sustained improvements to an Outstanding school and the journey of a school in Special Measures moving to good and then Outstanding (expected in the next OFTSED visit).• We have an Executive Head and Board of Directors that have worked in both LA maintained schools and Church schools so can fully support each school’s ethos and identity.• We have a good track record in supporting the growth of staff in schools in terms of their progression as well as increasing the capacity of each school team.• Cost saving exercises have already been undertaken seeking better value for money for many SLA’s
Why Choose Pride Multi Academy Trust?
How can schools operate without the support of the Local AuthorityWe will still be able to purchase services from the LA and/or other providers as we do now. The difference is that schools have greater freedom to buy in services that they need without being tied to the authority. We are also fortunate that our Board of Directors consists of a number of current and former Headteachers from a range of local authorities who are able to offer additional support and challenge for school improvement. In addition to this we also have directors with expertise in health and safety, HR, buildings and finance.
Existing partnerships and collaborations are important to schools and there is no reason why these would not continue, or be enhanced as a result of the school converting to academy status within a MAT.
Roles of the Directors and LGB’s
The role of each Local Governing Body will be different for converter and sponsored schools. Typically a converter school LGB will retain its current levels of responsibility and the Trust will act in a way similar to the Local Authority. Full breakdowns of each committee’s duties can be determined throughout the consultation and conversion process. There may also be scope for each LGB to be represented at director level.
How will the governance of the school work?
Q – Will school keep its own identity?A – Absolutely. No two school communities are the same and no two staff teams are the same. Every school within the Trust will maintain its own identify and uniqueness. Q – How much will it cost? A – This depends on the level of support required but a converter school would typically pay between 3% and 5% of their annual budget (taken out of the 8%) that is currently top sliced from your budget by the LA. Q – How long does the conversion process take? A – The average conversion takes 4-6 months.
Q - What are the plans of the Trust moving forward?A - PRIDE MAT are keen to establish a group of schools that support each other in a number of ways. The number of schools is dependent on the approval from the DfE as the Trust grows, however, it is envisaged that there will be formal links with up to 6 schools with continuing partnerships with both Tykes Teaching Alliance and Barnsley Teaching School Alliance. Q - Is PRIDE MAT purely for Church Schools? A - No. The Trust has been established for both Church and Non-Church schools.
Commonly asked questions
What is the process of conversion and how long will it take?
How will the governance of the school work?
Registration• Schools register interest using the on-line form.• A named contact in Department for Education (DfE) contacts the school and supports them through the conversion process• School governing body starts the consultation required by legislation with interested parties (can start later but must be completed before Funding Agreement).
Achieve Funding Agreement• School submits grant claim to DfE and receives £25,000 grant to cover costs associated with the conversion process• School finalises governance documents based on DfE model documents provided• School registers the Academy Trust with Companies House• School agrees leasing arrangements for the school land and buildings• Local Authority/governing body complete the TUPE process• School completes required consultation with interested parties• School submits the Funding Agreement to the secretary of state for approval
Pre-opening - Opening• EFA provide school with indicative funding letter• DfE sign and seal Academy funding agreement• School undertakes CRB checks as necessary• School puts new financial systems and contracts in place• School completes academy registrations e.g. with exam bodies• School opens officially as an Academy
Applications to convert/pre-approval checks• School governing body and Foundation (where relevant) pass a resolution in favour of academy conversion• School submits application to convert form to DfE• Schools develop plans to support another school to raise standards and discuss with named DfE contact• Local Authority governing body start the TUPE process• Secretary of State approves school proposal and issues Academy Order
If you are interested and would like to find out more, then our Executive Headteacher Ian Goddard would be happy to come and meet with you and your Governing Body to answer any questions.
If you would prefer a more informal chat then please contact us using the details on this page and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
• Executive Head: Mr I Goddard, [email protected]• Finance Director: Mrs C Simpson, [email protected]• www.pridemat.org • Telephone: 01226 444220 • Address: PRIDE Multi Academy Trust, c/o Dodworth St John’s Primary Academy, Barnsley Road, Dodworth, Barnsley, S75 3JS.
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PRIDE Multi Academy Trustc/o Dodworth St John’s Primary Academy
Barnsley Road, Dodworth, Barnsley, S75 3JSc 01226 444220
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