academy partnership for colchester - knockhall.kent.sch.uk

KNOCKHALL PRIMARY SCHOOL
REPORT ON ACADEMY CONSULTATION
Background
As a result of Knockhall Primary School being judged ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted, an Interim Executive Board
(IEB) was appointed in 2013. This judgement required the school to become a sponsored academy and
after investigation the IEB in liaison with Kent County Council and DfE identified Lilac Sky Academy Trust as
the preferred sponsor. The Secretary of State approved this sponsorship in May 2014 and issued an
Academy Order.
The Academies Act 2010 requires the IEB to carry out a formal consultation on this proposal. This report
describes the consultation activities undertaken jointly by the IEB and the Trust, the feedback from this
activity and makes a recommendation about the outcome of consultation.
Purpose of Consultation
The purpose of consultation is for the IEB and Trust to present their proposals for sponsored academy
status and to establish whether there is any significant objection to Academy status among stakeholders
that would cause the IEB to reconsider.
The Academies Act sets out clearly the duty to consult with ‘appropriate stakeholders’ and the IEB took
their responsibility to consult extensively very seriously. This consultation is separate from the statutory
TUPE consultation led by the IEB as the current employer of staff.
Consultation Process
The formal consultation ran from 12th May to 13th June 2014. A consultation plan, summarised below,
identified the different stakeholders, set out how those stakeholders would be consulted and how the
consultation would be managed.
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It was agreed that the consultation on the TUPE transfer of staff to the Lilac Sky Academy Trust would run
in parallel.
Stakeholder
Approach
Information
Staff
 Letter,
FAQs,
leaflet
and
questionnaire sent to all staff on
May 12th 2014
 Academy Consultation meeting May
20th
 TUPE Consultation meeting May
20th
Parents
 Letter, leaflet and questionnaire
sent to all parents on May 12th
2014
 Consultation meeting May 20th
Local Councillors and  Letter sent with invitation to attend
community leaders
consultation meeting
 Consultation meeting May 20th
Unions & professional  Letter, staff FAQs and leaflet sent to
associations
union representatives
 Staff letter
 Academy FAQs
 Questionnaire
 Parent Letter
 Academy FAQs
 Questionnaire
 Stakeholder letter
 Questionnaire
 Union letter
 Staff FAQs
 Leaflet
Consultation feedback
Staff
The meeting was led by Chris Bowler (Managing Director, Lilac Sky Academy Trust) with support from
Robert Cochrane (Chair Of IEB), Annie Donaldson (Executive Principal, Knockhall School), Stephen Capper
(Principal, Knockhall School), Claire Isaacs (HR Consultant, Kent County Council) and Philip Cranwell (Lilac
Sky Project Manager).
The briefing started with the panel outlining the process behind and the reasons for the sponsorship
proposal and the TUPE process.
Staff asked a number of questions that fell broadly into three categories;
1. Impact of academy status on current and future staff pay and terms and conditions;
2. Impact of academy status on school governance and operation;
3. The role of Lilac sky Academy Trust as sponsor.
The panel’s answers emphasised the protection staff had through the TUPE process, the Trust’s
commitment both to honouring national terms and conditions and the strong protection for staff pensions.
The panel also set out the Trust’s commitment to staff professional development.
A total of 8 questionnaires were received from staff. 4 teachers and 3 support staff supported the
conversion to academy status while one questionnaire did not have an answer.
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Parents
The meeting was led by Chris Bowler (Managing Director, Lilac Sky Academy Trust) with support from
Robert Cochrane (Chair Of IEB), Annie Donaldson (Executive Principal, Knockhall School), Stephen Capper
(Principal, Knockhall School) and Philip Cranwell (Lilac Sky Project Manager).
It was a robust and comprehensive question and answer session and a note of the meeting is attached as
appendix A. The questions were in four broad areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Impact of Lilac Sky sponsorship on the children’s learning;
Recent progress of the school;
Affect on staff ;
Changes to school name and uniform.
A total of 30 questionnaires were received from parents and carers. 17 were in support of the school
becoming a sponsored academy, 8 were unsure and 5 were No. Two of the parents/carers both raised
specific concerns that were addressed subsequently by the Principal. He spoke to both parents to answer
their concerns, which was well-received.
Stakeholders
Three Councillors from Swanscombe and Erith Town Council together with two Councillors from Dartford
Borough Council attended a special stakeholder meeting on 20th May.. The meeting was led by Chris Bowler
(Managing Director), with support from Robert Cochrane (Chair Of IEB), Annie Donaldson (Executive
Principal, Knockhall School), Stephen Capper (Principal, Knockhall School) and Philip Cranwell (Lilac Sky
Project Manager).
The group wanted to understand Lilac Sky Academy Trust credentials to be the school’s sponsor and the
Trust’s view of the role of the school in the local community. After a detailed question and answer
discussion the Councillors expressed their gratitude for the meeting and their satisfaction with the
reassurances given. Subsequently no questionnaires were received.
Consultation summary and recommendation
The consultation with key stakeholders has been appropriately comprehensive.
Parental engagement in the consultation meeting was been higher than is usual for academy consultations,
which is encouraging. The returned questionnaires suggest no significant objection to the proposal.
Staff engagement is difficult to judge given the low number of questionnaires but those that did respond
were in favour of the proposal.
Therefore the IEB is advised that overall there has been very limited objection to the proposal for Knockhall
Primary School to convert to academy status sponsored by Lilac Sky Academy Trust.
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APPENDIX A: Q&A from parent consultation meeting
How and why were Lilac Sky chosen as the sponsor?
Knockhall went into ‘Special Measures’ and it is government policy that schools that are in this category
should become a sponsored academy. The Local Authority, Kent County Council, and Department for
Education worked together to identify the most appropriate sponsor for the school. As Lilac Sky was
already working in the school on a leadership and management contract from KCC and has a strong track
record in driving improvement, the LA and DfE recommended the Trust to the Secretary of State. The
Secretary of State has approved the proposal and issued an Academy Order.
Lilac Sky already has three academies including two primary academies in Kent. It will have six from
September 2014 and up to 15 from September 2015 across Essex, Kent and East Sussex.
What is the point of consultation if the decision has been made?
The school’s Interim Executive Board (which replaced the Governing Body when the school went into
Special Measures) is required by the Academies Act 2010 to consult with Knockhall’s stakeholders before it
can make a final decision to proceed with academy status and joining Lilac Sky Academy Trust. The
consultation will be completed on 13th June and then the IEB will consider a report and make a final
decision. The purpose of consultation is to establish if there is any significant objection that would make
the IEB re-consider.
Although the Secretary of State has issued the Academy Order until he signs the funding agreement with
the Trust it is not 100% definite.
How is the Trust held to account for the improvement of Knockhall?
The Trust is directly accountable to the Secretary of State for Education, the Department for Education, and
the Education Funding Agency for how it runs its’ academies. The Trust is also subject to company and
charity law. Each year the Trust Chief Executive has to report to the Minister responsible for academies on
the performance of Lilac Sky academies. This is a tough regime of scrutiny and there have been recent
examples of other sponsors having academies taken away and/or sponsors being told they can’t take on
any more. Lilac Sky has been approved by DfE to take on more academies.
Who will be the Headteacher?
Stephen Capper will continue as Headteacher from September 2014 and Annie Donaldson will continue to
be involved in the school as Lilac Sky Academy Trust Regional Director for Kent academies. Chris Bowler is
the Managing Director of Lilac Sky Academy Trust.
How will the school be funded and will Lilac Sky divert money from Knockhall to other schools?
Knockhall will be funded to the same level as now but with addition of a grant to cover the costs of
academy status. Lilac Sky will not take money from Knockhall to spend in other schools. The funding comes
direct to the Trust from the Education Funding Agency rather than the Local Authority.
The Trust will be responsible for paying all Knockhall staff and the balance of the funding each month will
be paid into a Knockhall academy account.
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Will Lilac Sky make a profit out of Knockhall?
No. Lilac Sky Academy Trust is a charitable organisation that cannot make a profit. Any surplus has to be reinvested back in the academies. There is a separate company, Lilac Sky Schools, that has contracts with
Local Authorities to improve schools, such as the Knockhall, and also runs an Outstanding Teacher
Programme.
What happens if the Government changes and withdraws funding?
All three parties are committed to the academies programme and schools would still need to be funded by
Government regardless.
What about the recent Ofsted monitoring visit and what happens if the Knockhall doesn’t come out of
Special Measures by the summer?
The HMI monitoring visit report will be published shortly and the Headteacher will report to parents on the
outcomes. Everyone hopes the school will come out of Special Measures by the summer. However, if it
doesn’t, that wouldn’t stop the academy conversion unless KCC or DfE had real concerns about the ability
of the Trust to improve the school quickly. Lilac Sky has been chosen because KCC and DfE believe the Trust
can do this.
If Knockhall becomes an academy then it is treated as a new school by Ofsted and is no longer judged
Special Measures.
What impact has Lilac Sky had on Knockhall already?
The school has made good progress since Lilac Sky took over leadership and management. Quality of
teaching has improved and pupil progress and achievement have also increased. Fewer teachers have left
the school.
There is still a long way to go but it is very important that there is stability in leadership, teaching and
support staff. Lilac Sky offers excellent training and development to staff which is a key factor in attracting
outstanding teachers to a school. For example all staff from Lilac Sky academies are coming together for a
joint training day on 1st September. This is a great opportunity to motivate staff and to set out the Lilac Sky
vision, standards and approach to outstanding teaching and learning.
Who parents do go to if they are unhappy with the school?
The first point of contact is the Headteacher, then the Local Governing Body and the Trust Managing
Director. After that parents can always contact DfE or Ofsted direct.
What about the building works?
Kent County Council has committed to continue with the building works. When the plans are approved by
Planning, they will be displayed in the school.
What about the awful traffic situation?
Everyone knows this is a problem and it is up to Kent County Council to address this rather than the school.
However, the school has suggested a one-way system on the street. The Headteacher and staff cannot stop
people parking on the yellow lines outside the school even though it is an offence in law. The new plans for
the school do include more parking spaces.
Why has some intervention work stopped?
The intervention needs to be better targeted to meet the needs of pupils and some activities that it was felt
weren’t making an impact have been re-organised. Any parents with specific concerns should contact the
Headteacher.
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Will there be a new uniform?
Yes. All Lilac sky academies have the same uniform with a different badge. The uniform is a purple blazer,
white shirt, tie, grey jumper, grey trousers for boys and tartan skirt or grey trousers for girls. Nursery pupils
are required to wear a purple sweatshirt. The Trust will provide further information on the uniform policy.
How much will it cost?
All parents will be provided with a free uniform pack for children attending the school from September
2014. This pack will comprise a blazer, tie and skirt (for girls only). Parents can buy white shirts, grey
trousers and grey jumpers from any retailer as long as the colour matches the uniform policy.
Further information on ordering the uniform will be provided by the Trust towards the end of June. The
uniform is sold at cost.
There will be samples available so that parents can make sure they order the right size.
Will the term dates change?
No. These will continue.
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