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St James the Great R.C. (VA) Primary and Nursery
SchoolLearning with God’s Love
Academy Status
Parental Consultation
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Purpose of meeting
• To confirm our school’s vision and values• To advise parents of the Governors’
discussions regarding Academy status• To clarify what an Academy is • To discuss the advantages and risks of a
transfer • To seek your views as part of the wider
consultation process
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Our Vision and Values
We are committed to;• Catholic education• Maximising student progress• Inspirational teaching and learning• Innovative ways of working• Developing and supporting pupils and parents• Making a positive contribution to community
improvement and inter-school links
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Our History
• In 1994 St James the Great School became one of the first primary schools in Croydon to convert to Grant Maintained status.
• This move was supported by the vast majority of parents and agreed with the Diocese and LA
• In 1999 GM status was abolished and the School returned to Voluntary Aided status.
• Our time under GM status is recognised as a successful period in the School’s history
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What is an academy?
• Academies are state-funded schools that are not accountable to the Local Authority
• Academies have greater autonomy in terms of curriculum and finance
• It is not part of the original first phase of academies which were sponsored by third-party business
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Why Consider Academy Status?
We as a school have a responsibility to;
- Ensure the delivery of the best education
- Ensure we maintain services for pupils and staff alike
- Serve the wider Catholic community
- Consider options which allow us to achieve the above objectives
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Why now?
• The political landscape
• Greater freedom to teach what we think is important
• Finances
• The School’s current position in terms of finances and ability to make the change
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St James the Great R.C. (VA) Primary and Nursery School
Learning with God’s Love
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Where does the money come from?
• Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG)
• The majority of services that Croydon provide and that we make a contribution to fund are not used by the school.
• Those services that are required will still be purchased – no change to provision
• We are in a good position to make the change
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What does this mean for the school?
• Surplus money from Grant will fund school priorities and maintain provision.
• Continue to be subject to Ofsted inspections
• Continue to be accountable to the Diocese
• Catholic ethos will remain – school will continue to look & feel the same
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What does this mean for the school?
• Land and property would continue to be owned by Diocese
• Governors appointed in similar way i.e. majority by Archbishop
• Staff pay, terms and conditions remain the same
• Continue to work with other schools and wider community
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It does not mean…
• Changing our name or uniform• Sponsorship from a third party or joining
a federation of academies• Changing our admissions policy• Sweeping changes to the curriculum• Compulsory pairing with weaker schools• Changing SEN support
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Concerns
• Have the costs been considered?
• Staff pay and conditions
• What happens if future funding is cut?
• What happens if future governments change policy?
• What happens to other schools ‘left behind’?
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If we become an Academy…
• Improved finances to meet school’s needs
• Maintain and improve buildings and resources
• Retention and recruitment of best teachers
• Targeted support and reasonably sized teaching groups
• Improved results
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Summary
• There are clear advantages– Finance
– Greater self governance
– Maintain name, ethos, culture within school
• There are risks– Greater responsibility and liability
– Keeping staff/parents/pupils happy through change
• But what is the risk of doing nothing?
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