Academy Consultation - Response to questions

 

1) Will it be the Governors who will have the ultimate say in whether we move to the Academy status?
 
Yes, the Secretary of State has directed that it is the Governors ultimate responsibility to make the decision.
 
2) Will the proposed 6 months time period be long enough for the Governors to fully get to grips with the added responsibilities? Are they aware of their added responsibilities?
 
Governors have been weighing up this issue carefully and seeking advice for some considerable time. At the time of writing they have indicated that, should they decide to proceed, Christmas looks like a sensible timescale, although a final decision has not been made. Because of their careful consideration of this issue, they are very aware of the added responsibilities.
 
3) Would there be a conflict of interest if Members of the Governing Body were in addition member of the Charitable Trust (CT)? (That's if my understanding is correct, forgive me I if I have the wrong end of the stick.
 
No, all members are drawn from the governing body and have the same aim – to improve the college for the benefit of the students.
 
4) I understand that the Charitable Trust will be made up of 3 Members. At this stage do you know which officers would be part of the CT?
 
No. The advice is that it should be the Chair, Vice Chair and Chair of Finance. As no decision has been made to proceed, no decision on this has been made. The advice stressed that it is about the office, not about personalities, so should the office holder change membership would change also.
 
5) Training with regards to the Finance Manager, will there be enough time to ensure she/he will have the knowledge to carry out the additional duties?
 
We have taken advice on this and are confident that we have the expertise to carry out the additional duties.
 
6) Will the School receive any assistance or guidance from the Council during the transitional period? If so , do you know how long for? Is this guaranteed? Will if applicable this relate to the post transitional period ?
 
The Local Authority have indicated that expert guidance will be provided to assist with the whole process. Two officers attended the recent staff meeting to give guidance. Alan Potter, Director of Education, has stated that he wants to work with any school contemplating this conversion.
 
7) It was stated that the extra funding for the 1st year would be approx £300K. It was mentioned that this would diminish during the meeting. I just wanted to understand how would this diminish, year on year?
 
The reasoning is that, as more schools convert, there will be less and less left in the Local Authority “pot” to fund increasingly expensive services (smaller services are more expensive to run). Consequently there will be less money available as time goes on.
 
8) The additional skim off the top comment that was made during the meeting last month, the funding that we will get back under this Scheme is this for services that we do not use or will we have to buy services from this extra funding pot? Will we lose services that we then have to purchase under this Scheme?
 
The value of the services we currently get from the Local Authority is at most 10% of the top slice. If we did convert we would have the option of buying those services from the LA or obtaining them elsewhere, if we could secure better value for money.
 
9)  Can you confirm that the School will still have their Ofsted inspection/s?
 
Yes, I can confirm that academy status schools are treated exactly the same regarding Ofsted requirements and inspections.
 
10) I assume if it doesn't work there is no return as all Schools will eventually have to move to this Scheme?
 
 This is the current governments wish, although the initial funding agreement is for 7 years, so it would be theoretically possible to end the agreement then and revert back. I do not envisage any schools doing this. When Grant Maintained status was introduced in the 1980’s no school went back.
 
11) I understand that the £25K start up help is a one off and that we have to spend it or lose it. If we exceed I assume this will have to made up from the current school budget? Do we know if we will exceed estimated costs? If so will current budgeted services be effected?
 
On the advice we have had, both legal and financial, I strongly feel that the £25K will be sufficient, should the governors decide to go ahead.
 
12) Will Staff contracts be changed? I am worried that the School may lose good teachers? Have any teachers advised that they may not stay?
 
Governor have reassured all staff that their terms and conditions will be unaffected. Their view is that the foundation of an outstanding school is a happy staff. No staff have indicated to me that they will leave if we convert.
 
13) At the moment NMBEC is an outstanding school. I am worried this may change after the proposed transition period. I understand that nothing is guaranteed. Will there be any additional controls or measures to ensure that the School remains on track as it were?
 
You are correct in stating that nothing is guaranteed! Academy status, of itself, does not affect our performance either way. It is how the additional freedoms and funding are used that will have an effect. My view is that , if used wisely, the additional freedoms and funding could increase the likelihood we remain outstanding.
 
14)What involvement will the Council have regarding the School post event?
 
 The LA have indicated that they would wish to maintain their current level of involvement with any school that converted. We would want to continue to work closely with them. On key matters, e.g. admissions, SEN, exclusions, current arrangements would continue.
 
15) School budgets. I understand that any debts or surpluses can be carried over. If we have a surplus will be lose this when if we go for the proposed Academy status?
 
No, any surplus would be transferred on conversion – this is our money anyway.