Consultation with Bridgelea PRU Parents and Partners
The purpose of this booklet
This booklet launches a formal consultation with Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit’s parents, carers, staff and other community partners (for example local high schools) on whether or not to form a Multi Academy Trust in collaboration with Manchester Secondary Pupil Referral Unit.
The aim of this booklet is to provide you with an explanation of what this change would mean for the school. Parents and carers will have the opportunity to ask further questions and give your feedback at our Parents Meetings. You can also submit an electronic or written response at any time.
The Governors are keen for as many people as possible to take part in the consultation process and voice their thoughts about the future of the school.
After the consultation period there will be a Full Governing Body meeting at which the Governors will consider all your responses and will decide whether to continue with the work necessary to convert to academy status, prior to making their final decision.
The booklet is broken down into several sections:
- A brief on the national situation
- A reminder of the current position of the school
- An explanation of what a Multi Academy Trust is and how this differs from our current position
- An explanation of what this would mean for Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit
- Answers to some frequently asked questions
- Information on how you can ask further questions and make your voice heard in the consultation process
- A proposed timetable of events.
The Current Situation in Education Nationally and Locally
The last ten years have been a period of great change in education. Increasing numbers of schools have converted to become academies and the number of schools maintained by Local Authorities has reduced dramatically. There are currently more than 6000 academies in the UK, with approximately two thirds of secondary school pupils educated in academies.
In Manchester the number of primary schools that are now becoming academies is rising at a significant rate, and there is little sign that there will be any change in the direction of government policy in the foreseeable future.
The Current Position of Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit
Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit is currently maintained by the Manchester City Council. This means that the City Council is responsible for making sure that the School is managed effectively and provides support for some areas of the School’s work.
The budget for the school is made up of place funding provided by the Local Authority with top-up funding from the Local Authority or placing schools.Schools that receive their budget from the Local Authority are known as maintained schools.
What is an Academy and What Is A Multi Academy Trust?
An academy is a state school that is independent from the Local Authority. This gives Academies more flexibility and freedom than maintained schools.
A Multi Academy Trust is where two or more different schools become academies in their own right, retaining their separate identity and yet legally joining together with some areas of shared governance. Multi Academy Trusts are charitable companies limited by guarantee and would own the academies’ sites and become the employer of staff. If we were to become an academy Bridgelea PRU would have full control over use of its budget to ensure the best possible learning opportunities for its students.
What might our Multi Academy Trust look like?
Our Multi Academy Trust would be a partnership with Manchester Secondary Pupil Referral Unit. We would aim to operate as equal partners, with each school providing specialism and expertise in areas where it excels. We would aim to co-operate in the way we work so that the best opportunities and support can be offered to pupils and families, and so that difficulties some pupils experience when changing schools are minimised.
At first, pupils at the schools would notice very little difference. They will still attend the same school and will mostly be taught by the same teachers. Any changes in their school lives are changes that would have happened anyway due to teachers changing jobs or moves to improved buildings. In the future we might look at ways of improving what we provide to pupils, ensuring that the education they get is the one they need. For example we are currently considering the possibility of establishing a middle school for pupils in years 6 to 9 to support our pupils through the change from Primary School to Secondary School. Changes like these will be easier to make if the schools are all part of the same Multi Academy Trust.
The leadership of the schools will be very similar to the leadership currently in place. Most decisions about running the school will be made by the Headteacher, who will be held to account by the governing body. A Board of Trustees and a Board of Members will ensure that the governing body are managing the school appropriately as well as being responsible for other schools in the Trust.
Becoming a Co-operative Multi Academy Trust
We hope that, at some point in the future, our Multi Academy Trust will become a Co-operative Multi Academy Trust. This would mean that the Trust would be run using the same values and principles as co-operative enterprises throughout the world. Staff, pupils and other stakeholders would have a voice in the running of the Trust by becoming members. This would create a strong ethos of co-operation that would drive democratic accountability, and lead to a strengthened relationship between the schools and their communities.
Co-operative Values
Self Help – people help each other whilst helping themselves by working together for mutual benefit
Self-responsibility – individuals within co-operatives act responsibly and play a full part in the organisation
Democracy – a co-operative will be structured so that members have control over the organisation, one member one vote
Equality – members will be treated justly and fairly
Solidarity – members will support each other and other co-operatives
Ethical Values – in the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of: honesty, openness, social responsibility, caring for others
Academy Powers and responsibilities
Funding
At present, our school receives its funding from the Local Authority but as an Academy it would receive some funding directly from central government. Academies receive the same level of per-pupil funding as maintained schools plus additions to account for services no longer being provided by the Local Authority.
Admissions
We will continue to admit pupils in the same ways as we do currently. Some pupils will be admitted to the school to avoid the need for their school to issue a permanent exclusion, whilst others will be admitted as a result of not being able to manage in a mainstream school environment. We will also continue to provide education for children with an Education Health and Care Plan that identifies that pupils will need a specialist setting. We will continue to work closely with our partners in Manchester schools and the Local Authority to ensure that an appropriate education can be provided for pupils who cannot access learning in other centres. We will work with these partners to ensure that an appropriate access protocol is developed.
Community
Academies have to ensure the school is at the heart of the community, collaborating and sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community.
Staff
Academies directly employ their own staff, including teaching staff, and have the freedom to determine terms and conditions.
Curriculum
Academies do not have to follow the National Curriculum. However this is unlikely to have any impact on the way education provision is delivered at our school. Students at Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit will continue to follow a flexible curriculum tailored as far as possible to their individual needs.
Legal Status
Academies are set up as charitable companies limited by guarantee. The City of Manchester Learning Partnership, a Multi Academy Trust, would become legally responsible for all of the school’s property.
Why Governors believe being an academy will benefit the students at Bridgelea PRU
The school senior management team and the governing body have seriously considered all aspects and implications of converting to an academy. We are united in wanting to ensure that the ethos of the school and self-governance for the school is maintained. We also want to secure the future for Bridgelea PRU.
Capital Funding
It is increasingly difficult to access funding to improve facilities in the current environment All schools are experiencing cuts to budgets as the impact of Central Government cuts is felt. Becoming an academy would enable us to apply for Condition Improvement Funding from the Department for Education, and a Multi Academy Trust could also apply to open Free Schools and get funding to build new school buildings. Neither of these options is available to the school if we do not become an academy.
Planning for the future
BridgeleaPupil Referral Unit has doubled in size over the last seven years, and is continuing to grow. It is very difficult to plan the education we provide for our pupils when numbers continue to increase and we are unsure how many students we expect to have and what buildings we have available to work in. Becoming an academy will enable us to plan more effectively and have clear limits on the number of pupils we can manage. This will mean that the educationwe can provide for pupils will be more suited to their needs, and any growth in numbers can be planned and resourced.
Collaboration
Bridgelea PRU has a long history of collaborating successfully with Manchester Secondary PRU. As an academy working in a Multi Academy Trust with Manchester Secondary PRU the school will be able to share good practice and expertise more frequently and in a more structured way. This will enable us to provide a better experience for our students and to reduce and minimise the stress of changing from one school to another.
Answers to questions that might come up during the consultation
Will staff have the same employment rights if we become an academy?
The governors feel very strongly that staff national and local terms and conditions of employment and conditions of employment and union rights must be fully preserved if we convert to academy status. This is morally right, and will ensure that we can continue to attract and retain high quality staff.
In practice all staff will transfer their employment from the Local Authority to the Academy Trust. Their terms and conditions of service will be protected under the “transfer of undertakings” legislation known as TUPE.The governing body would fully endorse continued union recognition rights. Pension schemes are currently run by external bodies and there would be no change to these agreements.
Will Ofsted inspect all schools in a Multi Academy Trust separately?
Yes
Will students have to wear a school uniform?
There is no intention to change the policy on uniform at the school. If we are considering changes to the way the school runs, decisions will be made by the school’s leadership team or the governing body in consultation with parents and students, just as they are now.
Will the school day stay the same?
Again, there is no intention to change things that are working well. If any changes are made then the school’s leadership will make them in the same way as they are at the moment.
Who are the people in charge of the Multi Academy Trust?
There are two groups of people running the Trust. The Members of the Trust are respected local figures with a particular interest in the local community and in providing an excellent education for our students. They have been recruited by the governing bodies of the schools in the Trust and have been approved by the Department for Education. They will make sure that the Trust continues to operate in the interests of our students and the local community.
The Trustees are the people who will make most of the decisions about how the Trust will operate. They have been appointed by the Members after a recruitment process that has involved governors and school leaders from each school. Under almost all circumstances the Trustees will allow decisions about the running of a school within the Trust to be made by that school’s governors. Trustees will only become directly involved in running an academy if that academy is in need of extra support to provide a good education for its students.
Where can I get further information?
The Department for Education website has links to further information about academies:
You can also find information and comment on the proposed changes in the consultation section of the Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit website:
Timetable for the development of the Multi Academy Trust
November /December 2016
The Governing Body takes the decision to explore opportunities to develop the school and consider the possibility of becoming an Academy. It undertakes research and invited in speakers who are specialists in the field of academies. A resolution is passed to apply to become an academy.
January 2017
Manchester Secondary Pupil Referral Unit submits an application to convert to academy status to the Department for Education. This does not commit the school to converting to an academy, but allows access to information and support from the Department.
February 2017
Bridgelea Pupil Referral Unit submits an application to convert to academy status to the Department for Education. This does not commit the school to converting to an academy, but allows access to information and support from the Department.
February 2017 – November 2017
A working party of governors and teachers from Bridgelea PRU and Manchester Secondary PRU work together to create a structure for the Multi Academy Trust, ensuring that an equal partnership is created.
Informal consultation exercises are conducted with the staff of Manchester Secondary PRU and with other schools in the City.
November 2017
Academy Orders are issued, confirming that the Department for education is happy to allow the schools to become academies. The Department also gives it consent to the creation of the Multi Academy Trust proposed by the schools.
January – February 2018
Informal consultation exercises are conducted with the staff of Bridgelea PRU.
February – March 2018
Consultation with parents of Manchester Secondary PRU, Bridgelea PRU and the local community and other stakeholders is conducted.
April 2018
Governors from each school make a final decision on whether to convert to academies.
September 2018
If Governing Bodies decide to proceed the target opening date for the new academies is September 1st 2018.
1