Academy Feasibility Study

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to set out the context in which the Governing Body of Holy Trinity CE Aided Primary will make a decision about

whether conversion to Academy status is the correct strategic direction for the school at this time.

Conversion to Academy is a policy option that Governors have been monitoring since the option to convert to Academy Status was offered in

May 2010.

Background

The Headteacher and The Chair of Governors have visited Lavington School - the local secondary that has elected to convert to Academy status

- to discuss possible collaboration.

The Head and Chair have also attended meetings hosted by Diocese to explore the setting up of „Umberella Trusts‟ to support Church schools

converting to Academy.

With input from other members of the Governing Body analysis of material in the public domain has been undertaken and the Headteacher has

consulted frequently with the Department for Education.

This document is the outcome from that research.

Objective:

The Objective of this Feasibility Study is to bring together all the research undertaken to date in order to facilitate a decision on the optimum

way forward for Holy Trinity School.

The deliberations of the Governing Body fall under four main headings:

philosophical implications,

financial implications,

academic implications and

legal implications.

Each of these areas is discussed and the arguments for and against are laid out for assessment by stakeholders. Stakeholders, including staff and

parents, will be consulted.

As we explore the various scenarios offered by conversion to Academy status it has been helpful to have held a single question in our minds:

Will this improve outcomes for children?

Our responsibility as Governors is to ensure a strong, valuable primary education is available at HolyTrinity for the local community. We have

explored whether various known aspects of conversion to Academy will enhance outcomes for children and we have also highlighted areas

where there is currently insufficient information to draw full conclusions.

Current status of Holy Trinity compared with Academy Status based on currently available information.

An Overview

At present, Holy Trinity is a Voluntary Aided primary school with a Church Foundation. Voluntary Aided schools already have more

independence and autonomy than community or voluntary controlled schools.

In this school, the Governing Body is already the employer of all staff (rather than the County as in other schools), the school controls its own

admissions, and capital projects and maintenance contracts are controlled by the school rather than by County.

Governors at Voluntary Aided schools are free to set their own holiday dates without reference to the County.

Other freedoms for Academies are outlined below

The Church Foundation of the school is immensely important to the Governors, since this is what makes the school distinctive. The Christian

ethos gives Holy Trinity its particularly warm, welcoming and family atmosphere, where children thrive.

Governors would want to ensure that this ethos is protected and strengthened by any change in status. The Diocese of Salisbury would have to agree any change of status, should Governors elect to convert to Academy , and Diocese would have a Trustee on the board of

the school. The school would still be a Church School.

OUTSTANDING STATUS

Holy Trinity has been judged to be “Outstanding” by Ofsted and interim assessments by external evaluators (including Ofsted – March 2011)

indicate that Holy Trinity is maintaining the standards and performance that gained the judgement Outstanding .

The move to Academy status would be easier for Holy Trinity as all Outstanding schools are automatically given permission by the

Secretary of State to change status.

The freedom to set our own engaging and creative curriculum contributes to the school‟s success – remaining as a state school could change or

remove that freedom.

As an academy, the school would not have to follow the National Curriculum but would be expected to provide a broad and balanced

curriculum.

The school is oversubscribed in some year groups and is almost at its net capacity of 150 (at present we have 149 children on roll). Holy

Trinity‟s results in statutory tests show that Holy Trinity children do better than other similar children in similar schools across the country.

There is no clear evidence that indicates that transition to Academy status would increase the desirability of the school in the local community.

We may need to undertake further research to establish this but Governors‟ assessment is that the status of the school matters less to parents than

the quality of the education, the excellence of the teaching staff and the wider extra-curricular activities engendered by the whole school

community.

We cannot exceed capacity without significant structural changes. Expanding the size of the school is a different conversation and is not covered

in this Study .

FINANCIAL

The school currently has the option to carry forward a surplus in the budget each year, usually the maximum permitted surplus (8%).

With this level of „rollover‟ there are no significant concerns about the school‟s financial position.

The school would manage more of its own finances as an Academy. More money would come in to the school but the school would have a wider set of unknown responsibilities to predict and to finance .

Currently many services are received “Free” at point of delivery after the Local Authority „top slices‟ 10% to cover unforeseen eventualities

such as illness, maternity leave, special educational needs for children etc.

Academies can only carry forward a surplus of 2% of revenue. This is being reviewed by the Dept for Education and outcomes from the

consultation will not be available until September. In a small school this 2% rollover may present a significant challenge. In larger

schools where the economies of scale are greater this smaller rollover is less of an issue.

In a small school leaving a very small buffer for emergencies is a great concern.

There is no clear evidence that a small school such as Holy Trinity will benefit financially from changing status

At present, a lot of support comes from the Local Authority (the County) including Human resources, Budget and accounting, Staff training,

Payroll, Legal matters, Data handling, Health and Safety, Training and many other areas.

Governors would have to buy in these resources if the school changed status. There is evidence that commissioning services from some other providers might be cheaper. Support might be available from the Diocese and from other schools in the Umbrella Trust which

would be set up with the help of the Diocese and the National Society. There is as yet little clarity on the actual support that would be

available.

Holy Trinity Staff are experienced, morale is exceptionally high, there is a very low staff turnover in the school and this is one of Holy Trinity‟s

strongest assets.

Academy status frees the Governors from having to abide by School Teachers‟ Pay and Conditions as set out by central government, and

they would be in a position to offer more to recruit and retain the best staff, as well as to change the conditions of service to ensure the

very best teachers are in place for the children. However, some staff might be concerned that the new Terms and Conditions could be

less favourable. Consultations with staff are ongoing.

Within a more free market scenario where other schools are free to offer improved pay and conditions Governors need to be mindful of the potential loss of opportunity to retain the best staff.

Parental surveys show a high level of satisfaction with the school.

There is no strong evidence that transition to Academy status is a high demand from parents.

Consultation with parents and other stakeholders would be essential before any decision to change status is taken. However, it is strongly recommended that Governors have a clear view on the way forward before engaging in consultations with parents. Governors are

appointed to act in the best interests of parents, children and the wider community and it is for Governors to make recommendations to

stakeholders whilst being open and responsive to any strong opinions.

Academy status - Governments aims From the DfE website http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/whatisanacademy/a0061252/about-academies

“Academies are publicly-funded independent schools that provide a first-class education.

Academies can benefit from greater freedoms to help you innovate and raise standards. These freedoms include:

freedom from LA control

ability to set your own pay and conditions for staff

freedoms around the delivery of the curriculum

ability to change the lengths of terms and school days.

The Academies Act includes provisions to

allow maintained schools to apply to become academies and permit the Secretary of State to issue an Academy Order requiring the local

authority to cease to maintain the school

allow the Secretary of State to require schools that are eligible for intervention to convert into academies

provide for secondary, primary and special schools to become academies

ensure there is no change of religious character as a result of the conversion process

allow schools that apply to become academies to keep any surplus financial balance

require the governing bodies of maintained schools to consult with those persons whom they think appropriate before converting into an

academy

ensure that for foundation and voluntary schools with a foundation, there is consent from that school‟s foundation (often a diocesan board

of education) before the school can apply to become an academy

allow maintained schools that currently select to continue to do so as an academy

deem academy trusts to be charities

ensure that a converting school will continue, as an academy, to be able to occupy the land/buildings it had as a maintained school, and

that the school‟s other assets may also transfer to the new academy for the benefit and use of the pupils of that school.”

FEASIBILITY OF HOLY TRINITY TRANSITIONING TO ACADEMY STATUS

1. Philosophical Issues Church School

If Holy Trinity became an Academy, we would continue to be a Church school. As an Academy, the school would preserve its strongly Christian

character and would continue to forge strong links with the Diocese who would appoint a Trustee onto the board of the new Academy. Without

approval from the Diocese, we would not be allowed to become an academy.

The most popular option currently from Diocese is that Holy Trinity would be part of an “Umbrella Trust” with other church schools, and the

Umbrella Trust would be set up with assistance from Diocese of Salisbury, but this has yet to be clarified. The trust document for this umbrella

trust would be agreed by the participating schools, probably 10 – 20 schools. Within this trust each school could either stand alone or form Multi

Academy Trusts, each containing 4-6 schools, which contribute a percentage of their income to the trust to allow for larger savings and larger

projects, particularly capital projects. Economies of scale, sharing contracts etc would offer Holy Trinity advantages similar to those we already

enjoy as part of a LA „buying group‟.

It is not clear how much autonomy we would be handing to Diocese. They would, however, be clear about the Church school status and the

Christian ethos and would ensure that these aspects of each school in the Trust were prioritised.

Effect on outcomes for children

Possible positive impact on outcomes for children if the Umbrella Trusts and Diocese support and strengthen the Christian Ethos of the

school.

Possible negative impact on outcomes for children if the school is left unsupported through crisis situations – this could be mitigated against when drawing up the Trust to ensure that there is support available from the Diocese through the Trust. (It is worth mentioning

that in crisis situations in other schools, the LA has not always provided much support in any event.)

Competition with/support for local schools especially local church schools As a Christian school, we would need to keep in our minds that we are part of a local community and need to be supportive of that community.

Because this school is already judged to be Outstanding, surrounding schools have been negatively affected by the success of Holy Trinity and

their numbers on roll have been affected by their families choosing to send their children to this school. It is unlikely that this effect would be

made worse by Holy Trinity becoming an Academy.

We need to ensure that we are in a position to help other local schools, especially those in need of development, to make progress as this is a

requirement of becoming an Academy. We would have to have identified a poorly performing school to support and set out the detail of the

support to be offered in our application for Academy status. We would work with Diocese to comply with this requirement, ensuring that we are

able to carry out the necessary intervention and support for the nominated school.

Effect on outcomes for children

Possible negative impact on outcomes for children. Competition with local schools, to their detriment, impacts negatively on the children

in those schools, and indirectly could affect children in our school since the possibility of collaboration between geographically close

schools could be reduced. This could be mitigated against by ensuring close ties with local schools are nurtured as they are at present,

with eg. cluster meetings, sports events and moderation of work.

Positive impact on outcomes for our children since supporting a struggling school encourages more reflective learning for staff in our own school – as has been our experience to date.

Supporting a struggling school could impact negatively on our children if our teachers‟ resources are stretched. This could be mitigated

against by ensuing that the support is discussed with the staff involved beforehand, and budgeting for the extra resources that might need

to be provided.

2. Financial Issues: The government is at pains to emphasise that they do not expect schools to be better off financially after conversion to Academy status. There is

no evidence that becoming an Academy will bring significantly more money into this school. We will receive about £50 000 more than we do at

present (money that used to be kept back from our budget by County), but it is estimated that most of this will have to be used to purchase in

those services currently provided by County “free” at point of delivery (see Annex A) and also to purchase in the services required to run an

academy according to the Charitable Trust rules which is more expensive than the present system.

If the majority of schools in Wiltshire eventually took Academy status (which is the Government‟s objective) and we did not, we could be left

with very poor services from the County (since their funding will be greatly reduced) and we would not have the extra funding to pay for the

services independently.

Since we are a Voluntary Aided school, we already pay for the majority of our own maintenance projects and manage all of those projects

ourselves, unlike community and voluntary controlled schools. So those costs will not be new to us.

We would have to change the way our finance system works – at present it is a cash system, money in and money out. But under the new rules,

we will have an accrual accounts system, run according to Charitable Company Law.

We would need accountants/auditors/bursars to support this since it is more complex and beyond the current staff and management to manage

unaided. An extra administrative burden is put upon the staff. The end of year financial reports are very different from what we present now and

far more complex. There is a cost attached to this.

The issue of rolling over as little as 2% of revenue and 10% for capital works remains a problem – though latest information suggests that this

policy is under review, and the review should be completed before September 2011. For a small school like ours, 2% of revenue is only £10 000

leaving very little in reserve should we need any other large cost such as covering maternity or redundancy.

We would probably be able to take out a contract/insurance policy to help mitigate against this kind of unexpected cost, but that policy has its

own cost.

County advisors are still working out how they would charge Academies for “Bundles” of services (such as maternity supply and redundancy).

Because the County will need to have revenue coming in, we believe that the costs to Academies will be kept low in order to be competitive and

encourage Academies to purchase from the County.

We would need to be confident that the school‟s finances would continue to be strong, mainly by ensuring that our pupil numbers are high. It is

very difficult to predict that this will be case. We could market the school strongly – with possible implications for our neighbouring schools,

should demographics dictate that there simply are too few children in the area.

There are many extra costs at the start up of the programme towards Academy status

Paying off the deficit of support staff pensions

Financing the legal costs for the new documents/transfers/lease.

Development of a new curriculum

Development of or adoption of new terms and conditions

Arranging for new Terms and Conditions for staff

The DfE will give each school that changes status £25000 to cover some of these costs. It is not clear that all of these costs will be met by the

£25000, but it seems likely that, since our land is held in Trust by the Diocese and there appears to be no complication with this lease as far as

we know at this stage, the grant should come close to covering all costs. We are free to keep any money remaining in the grant at the end of the

process. The National Society has mentioned that if half of all schools take academy status, the £25000 grant will have to fall away since the

costs will be too great – their view is that this will be the case. (ACADEMIES UPDATE – MARCH 2011 – Rob Gwynne, point 25). This could be

significant with regard to the timescale predicted if the decision to change status is taken.

Effect on outcomes for children

Could have positive impact on outcomes for children. Governors would have greater control of their finances, possibly accessing cheaper

or better services than those currently provided. There might be a little extra money available if these services are more efficient or

cheaper which could be allocated to better resources for children.

Could have negative impact on outcomes for children, should the 2% surplus prove to be too little to manage a sudden requirement for

more funding and the school ran into deficit. The 2% rule is currently being reviewed by DfE – review due for completion by September

2011. This could be mitigated against by insuring against the extra costs, joining a Multi Academy Trust, or purchasing “bundles” of

services from the County.

Could have a positive impact on children if the alternative is a County service very much stripped down as more schools take on Academy Status.

Could have a positive impact on children if the decision is taken to adopt Academy status before the grant is withdrawn (should this

happen), since there will be more money available for resources rather than for going forward with Academy status at a later date and

paying the full cost ourselves.

3. Legal Issues: Transfer of property

We have been informed by Diocese that the DBE is the trustee of the school site and that subject to confirmation by the Board‟s solicitors the

school site could be leased to the academy trustees.

Effect on outcomes for children

Possible positive impact on outcomes for children and the wider community who wish to have places at this school. Greater control of

the property might allow us to expand the school should Governors wish – though the issues around this would need to be clarified by

Diocese.

No change to outcomes from the point of view of the control we have over the buildings and property since as a VA school we already

have responsibility for most of these aspects.

Managing a company under Charitable Company Law The current management (Governors, Managers and Admin staff) of the school have not had experience in managing a company limited by

guarantee like this and would need to ensure that experts were paid to support this work. As the number of Academies grows and as Diocese

becomes more familiar with the process, this should not be difficult to manage, but might be expensive. At this stage the costs are

unquantifiable.

Autonomous control of a Limited Company requires a very different set of management skills to those currently employed. Increased

administrative burden on staff may result in loss of resource availability for children.

Effect on outcomes for children

Possible negative impact on outcomes for children if the Academy is not properly managed and the school falls into deficit/loses,

outstanding staff. This could be mitigated against by ensuring that qualified staff are bought in and expert advice is taken in all areas of

management. The Government would ensure that staff salaries are always paid, should the school fall into deficit, but it would require a

repayment plan to be set up.

Admissions

We are allowed to maintain our existing admissions criteria (ie those based on the Church School Foundation). As a Voluntary Aided school we

have always managed our own admissions and have run our own appeals when required – change of status would not be different from the

present situation.

Effect on outcomes for children

No change

School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions

Should the Governors change the status of the school, we would be allowed to set our own pay and conditions – this could give us the flexibility

to pay more to attract the top staff or to retain our current staff. It also allows us to, for example, pay an allowance for leadership on one

particular project – freedoms we do not currently have.

We are already the employers of our staff since we are Voluntary aided.

Staff might be anxious that they have little protection from significant changes to their terms and conditions, should Governors decide to go this

route. However, the TUPE process will protect all existing staff on their current terms and conditions, unless they chose to go to the new terms

and conditions. Staff have been among the stakeholders consulted on this document. (See Annex B)

Teaching staff would continue to be part of the Teachers‟ Pension fund. The Academy would take over responsibility for the pension for Support

Staff and would have to find a good provider for this.

Legal advice would have to be sought to change terms and conditions.

Effect on outcomes for children:

Positive impact on outcomes for children, if we are able to recruit and retain the very best staff in the area – and if we did not take

Academy status, then we could be in the position of having our staff “poached” by other primary Academies.

Possible negative impact if staff did not care for the new terms and conditions and either left or did not apply for posts here. This could be mitigated against by ensuring terms and conditions were attractive whilst still ensuring value for money. No current staff member

would be required to change but would retain their current terms and conditions through TUPE unless they chose to change.

4. Curriculum Issues:

Freedom from the National Curriculum. Consultations on the new curriculum are underway and early indications are that is likely to be less skills based, heavily knowledge based and, at

this stage, looks more suitable for the 1950s than for our children‟s future in the 2020s. However, we know that consultations start out radical

and are diluted as part of the consultation process. The view of the Chair is that DfE needs to be preparing our future work force to compete in a

global market place and this learning by rote based consultation is already being challenged by the CBI and major employers. However, if

Governors do not change the status of the school, we shall have no other option but to follow the new curriculum, regardless of how

inappropriate we felt it to be.

No more detail on the proposed curriculum will be available until early 2012, when it will go out for consultation. It is expected to become a

requirement in September 2012.

Academies have to teach English and Maths and have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. However, within those broad restrictions, the

curriculum can be developed to suit the school, the situation and the needs of the children. We would have to put money aside to support our

work on developing this engaging and creative curriculum if Governors were to decide to change status.

SATS for Y2 and Y6 children will still have to be taken and the school‟s results will be used to judge the school, on league tables and at Ofsted

inspections. The new tests on “reading” for 6 year olds will also be compulsory, should the Government go forward with these tests.

We would continue to be subject to the Ofsted process if we were to change status.

Effect on outcomes for children:

Clear positive impact on outcomes for children if the curriculum is as rigid as early indications show – we can provide an engaging, modern, creative curriculum, based on gaining life skills as well as the required knowledge.

Positive impact as creativity of teachers can be encouraged, leading to more exciting learning experiences for the children.

Positive impact as we gain the flexibility to change the curriculum as technology and other factors change, rather than being stuck with

the same curriculum for 10 years or more.

Negative impact on outcomes for children if the curriculum developed by the school does not fulfil the requirements for a broad and

balanced curriculum. This could be mitigated against by ensuring that research and time is invested to ensure that the curriculum is

excellent, and that monitoring by school, governors and SIP ensure that standards remain high.

Summary:

Once we give the factors considered above a weighting, it seems that there are three important factors that could impact positively on the

outcomes for our children should the school move to Academy Status:

More control over our own curriculum

More control over Pay and Conditions

Revenue available to buy in our own services, particularly important should the County services be greatly reduced as a result of many schools becoming Academies

There are two important factors that could impact negatively on the outcomes for our children

Increased management responsibilities for Governors, managers and admin staff in the school, areas in which we currently have very little experience, particularly with regard to the reporting and managing of finances as a company limited by guarantee.

At present, only a very small surplus balance is allowed (2%) which could make it difficult to manage requirements for large amounts of

extra revenue as a result of, for example, maternity cover or redundancies.

RECOMMENDATION:

Having assessed to the best of our abilities the available information on moving to Academy status, the authors of this Feasibility Study ie the

Headteacher and the Chair of Governors recommend to Full Governors that they elect to move Holy Trinity to Academy status under the

Umbrella Trust model offered by the Diocese.

Annex A

Estimate of extra running costs associated with academy status

P/A

Educ Psych £5,000 Based on £500 per day - we rarely use an EP this much but might if we had a needy cohort. Usual use about 4 times a year

Behav Supp £2,500 Based on £250 per day - we rarely use Behaviour support this much but might if we had a needy cohort. Usual use about 6 times a year.

Learning Support £2,500 Based on £250 per day - we rarely use Learning support this much but might if we had a needy cohort. Usual use about 6 times a year.

EMAS/EAL £2,000 Based on £250 per day - we have never used Ethnic Minority Achievement Service nor English as an Additional Language but might need to

EWO £1,500 Base on £250 per day - we use the service once a term on average but might need to use it more if we had persistant absenteeism

Subject advice £5,000 Based on £500 per day - if we establish a new curriculum we might need this support for the first few years

Training £5,000 Assuming extra training will be required for teaching, admin and management staff for the first few years

Audits £3,000 Based on £500 per day - 6 visits a year. We do not have auditors at all at present.

Accountant (RO) £3,000 Based on £300 per day - 10 visits a year, one each working month. We do pay for this already but will need a "Responsible Officer" to sign off accounts

Capita contract £10,000 Based on estimate - if we do not go with Capita, we will have to buy in some other management software and support at similar price

Insurances - maternity £3,000 Estimate - County has not yet published figures though they are trying to set up "Bundles" that we can buy into.

Legal £2,500 Based on £150 per hour - we rarely use this service at present but might need it more as an academy. Usual use about 4 hours a year.

Other £5,000 Any costs that we have not yet realised we have to pay out - the picture is still unclear

Total £50,000

Estimate of extra funding from Academy Status

£50,209 On current budget, with numbers on roll at an all time high. This will drop dramatically if numbers on roll drop

Surplus £209 This might be higher if we do not need to use the services outline above

We already pay for the services below and would either continue to buy them off County or get other providers privately or through Diocese. Assuming similar prices

Health and safety

Governors' services

SWGfL (Internet service provider)

Human Resources

Payroll

Curriculum advice

Maintenance contracts

Insurances

Communications

Free school meals

Accountant 8 visits a year

Annex B

Consultation with Stakeholders

Consultation with the staff took place on Thursday 31

st March 2011.

An overview of the key changes were outlined by The Chair and discussed amongst the Head and Staff.

Pay and Conditions to be TUPE'd across were satisfactory; new management status was also satisfactory with comfort being drawn from role of

Diocese as a member of the Umbrella Trust and to provide a collective for services.

It was understood that Foundation Stage curriculum was still compulsory and SATs would also remain in place and would be a means of

assessing continued academic attainment at Holy Trinity. Staff were in favour of having more control of the curriculum as would be the case in

the Academy situation.

There was a general consensus amongst the staff that:

They were united in preferring the autonomy that the new Academy model offered Holy Trinity if - importantly - Church status is maintained.

No other major issues were envisaged. There was a strong consensus that if we were to choose Academy status we should move sooner rather

than later.

A decision by Governors to move to Academy status would be supported by the staff body.