FAQ's - Academisation
Proposal for The College of Richard Collyer (Collyer’s) and The Forest School (Forest) to academise and form a new multi-academy trust (MAT).
This FAQ document aims to answer the common questions that may arise from the process. This is not an exhaustive list. We encourage interested parties to attend one of our public events or contact us via our respective response forms.
What is an academy / multi-academy trust (MAT)?
An academy is a state school that is run by an academy trust. The academy trust enters into an agreement with the Secretary of State for Education that sets out its responsibilities and accountabilities for the effective running of the academy. For Collyer’s, who are already funded directly by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), the funding will come from the same source, however for Forest, this would mean they would no longer be funded by the local authority (LA) and will also receive funding directly from central Government. Maintained schools who convert to academies have more control over how they operate and for groups of schools, it is possible for greater financial freedoms to be achieved.
Multi academy trusts are charitable companies that have responsibility for running a number of academies (in this case Collyer’s as a 16-19 academy and Forest as a converter academy and any other schools in Horsham who may wish to convert and join in future). They cannot, as charities, be run for financial profit and any surplus must be reinvested in the trust. They have Trustees responsible for standards and financial performance (in a similar way to Governors). The Trustees are both company directors and charity trustees, and the Academy Trust employs the school staff.
We’re proposing to form our own multi-academy trust (MAT). This means that we’ll be part of a group of schools that are governed by one board of Trustees in Horsham. Each school in the Trust will also have its own Local Governance Board made up of key stakeholders such as parents, with some delegated governance responsibilities for that particular school. The Trust will also employ a team of central staff to support the group of schools and drive school improvement.
What are the benefits of academisation and what options are there?
The Government’s aim is for all schools to continue to be part of strong trusts by 2030 and already over 50% of schools are academies and 80% of secondary school students across the country are taught in academies. By working in partnership with each other, schools within a trust can share resources, curriculum expertise and effective teaching practices and commit to working together to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people. We feel uniquely placed to collaborate with a number of education providers across all key educational stages in our community as there are very few schools Horsham who have taken the opportunity to convert. Therefore we are in a better position to make a positive choice in creating our own Trust centred around the needs of the town which is an important part of the vision of the Horsham Learning Alliance.
As well as greater freedoms, together we can achieve improved outcomes, academic support and learning pathways and secure financial efficiencies and opportunities for our staff. From the outset our Trust will have around 4,000 students, approximately 400 staff and a combined income of £20 million, putting the Trust in a strong position.
Further information on the key benefits of our proposal can be found here in the key benefits section.
Will the Trust or Trustees make a profit? Will the Trust take money away from our school?
No. Academy trusts are charities, and any surplus or other income must be used for the public benefit. Trustees are volunteers and are not remunerated for their roles.
The Trust will receive the funding for each school known as the general annual grant (GAG). It will collect a proportion of this funding to form a fund to pay for some central services before passing on the rest to the schools (known as top-slicing). This percentage may change over time as more schools join and more efficiencies are realised. The Trust will carefully consider the funding needs and allocations of each school in the Trust and provide services that are currently not provided to maintained schools such as finance and HR support, IT and cyber-security services, estates management and marketing support.
How much is academy conversion going to cost?
So far, the costs to prepare to form a MAT have been largely met by our successful bid for a Trust Establishment Grant issued by the Department for Education (DfE) totaling £38,000. This funding has helped us with additional staff costs, preparations and advice on finances and systems and was also used to design our consultation website and communications.
Now that permission has been granted from the DfE, Collyer’s and Forest have access to further conversion grants to support the legal process.
Who is accountable and what happens if the Trust fails?
While other types of school partnerships can be effective, the key difference with academy trusts is shared accountability for standards across the Trust; all schools within the Trust support each other and the Trust is accountable for them all. Freedoms do not come without regulations. In fact, academies are subject to greater accountability than local authority schools because of increased financial regulation as well as from the Regional Schools Directors and their teams, together with the ESFA, who provide robust educational and financial oversight of all academy trusts. If an academy school is failing to meet the required standards, the current system allows the DfE to take swift action.
Will the College and the school(s) still be inspected by Ofsted?
Academies are inspected by Ofsted and are held to the same standards as other state-run schools.
Will schools in the Trust follow the National Curriculum?
Schools who are academies don’t have to follow the National Curriculum, however there are no immediate plans to review the curriculum at this time. The curriculum in a sixth form setting differs to that of a school.
Will schools in the Trust have to change their name/logo/uniform?
We are committed that our schools will retain their own unique identities and there will be no change of branding, logos or changes to school uniforms. The Horsham Learning Alliance logo which represents Horsham, will be included appropriately on individual school websites and specific communications.
Will the term times change?
There are currently no plans to deviate from the current term dates other than potentially to share INSET days in the future. Collyer’s as a sixth form college has slightly different terms dates to schools in West Sussex.
What about admissions? Will the policies change and will students from Forest have to go to Collyer’s?
Academies are their own admissions authority. However, schools like academies, must follow the DfE’s Admissions Code which is the statutory framework that ensures that admissions are fair, transparent and changes are properly consulted on. There are no changes planned to Forest’s Admissions Policy and it would not be possible to do so without fully consulting over the statutory time period. We stand by freedom of choice and will work in alignment with the local authority and the fair access protocol for schools. There are also no plans to change the Collyer’s Admissions Policy as Forest and several others are already listed as partner schools.
Our clear vision is to improve the transition experience with regards to students who do choose to transition from one school in the Trust to another and we can do this from a practical sense in terms of admissions.
How will academisation affect...
our students?
There will not be a big difference in the day-to-day operations, however, the schools with the Trust will benefit in the longer term from the various opportunities that academisation will bring.
our provision for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?
Academies have the same requirements when it comes to SEND as maintained settings as set out in the SEND Code of Practice. It is hoped that the schools in the new Trust will be able to share expertise and resources and better support children and young people with SEND in our community by promoting a more inclusive education.
our staff?
Staff have been fully consulted on plans at each stage of the process as significant change can bring uncertainty and we will work closely with the relevant unions throughout the process to ensure it is as seamless as possible.
Staff are protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations which preserves employees’ terms and conditions when a business undertaking is transferred to a new employer (Horsham Learning Alliance). Staff will be fully consulted about this in a separate formal consultation process, as required by the legislation, in the months to come.
Academisation will bring opportunities for team collaboration and sharing of good practice, knowledge and expertise, which is possible in a group structure where schools are closely located. Together we also hope to provide enhanced support and CPD for staff across the Trust with access to career development opportunities and staff benefits.
our parents and carers?
One of our aims is to create more consistent communications with our key stakeholders which will likely start with some shared school and Trust communications. There will be updates and information on any significant activity in the development of the Trust.
We hope over time, the systems we implement will enable more seamless operations e.g. information management systems and finance/payment processes.
There are no plans to modify the current admissions or term dates, which includes the length of the school day. Parents would be fully consulted if there were any changes considered in future.
We will start to explore the possibility of enabling smoother transition points across the key stages and as the Trust grows there will be the opportunity to provide more impactful support and learning pathways for our students.
our community?
There will be regular dialogue with West Sussex County Council to ensure that education in the Horsham area is well managed and planned for and the needs of children and young people remain the priority for example with regards to safeguarding, SEND, admissions, transport and health & safety.
Collyer’s and Forest will continue to work in partnership with other schools and colleges in the local area including current collaborative federations. There may be other events such as joint sports days with local partners and schools in Horsham and the Trust will continue to welcome all such events.
We hope that other schools will be interested in joining the Horsham Learning Alliance so that we build a strong educational trust in our town that is inclusive of all educational organisations across the age ranges and designations.
