MINUTES APPROVED BY GOVERNING BOARD AT THE MEETING ON 8TH MAY 2019

Our Lady of Lourdes Governing Board and Parent Representatives Meeting.

Date: 1st April 2019 at 6.30pm at the school.

Present:

Parents:

C TurnerD CrokerA CampbellR KaraN TimminsN BernalM GilsenanM PalmerM TrottierJ GreyA DunneV TaylorA YezierskaC RohanR BhutiyaH McStay

Governors:

A McCarthy, Chairman of the Governing Board, Foundation GovernorA Burke, Vice Chair of the Governing Board, Foundation GovernorS Siaw, Vice Chair of the Governing Board, Foundation Governor, (SS)B Sherlock, Staff Governor

M Corcoran, Interim CAO Good Shepherd Academy Trust, (MC)

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Governors present.

The Chairman explained the context, Vision for the school and the background to the Catholic Multi Academy Trust (CMAT). All parts would work together to enhance the educational opportunities for all the pupils and to develop a broad and balanced experience at Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL). The school was a vibrant, happy and successful school and the Governors would continue to work tirelessly to ensure this ethos was maintained.

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Parents were informed that the CMAT process had been on going for three years and it was never the Governors’ intention not to communicate with parents. No duplicity had been intended and the pastoral communication of the 9th September 2018 from the Diocese was considered to be clear as to the vision for the future of education within the Brentwood Diocese. All Headteachers and Chairs of Governors, within the Brentwood Diocese, had been invited to three off site meetings spread over three years, where the vision for Catholic education was discussed and debated and fed back to the Governing Board for further discussion. The process was difficult as most Headteachers and Chairs were very protective of their own schools. The matter was further discussed and investigated at Deanery Headteacher meetings. In drawing together all findings, the Pastoral letter of the 9th September 2018 was sent to all Catholic Parishes in Brentwood on Education Sunday and a school newsletter, dated the 12th October 2018, was circulated by the school, drawing all parents attention to the Pastoral letter. Parents were informed as near as practicably possible, given the complexity described of the CMAT process for school leaders in regards to the position of OLOL.

Joining the CMAT at Phase One and Phase Two became the options available. The OLOL leadership team and the Governors considered, over a long period of time, that the school would have a greater voice within phase one of the CMAT process. Once that decision was made, immediate parental communication was made.

It was explained to parents that there was a clear difference between the school being a Voluntary Aided School and not a maintained school within the local authority. The school was under the direction of the Bishop and by definition the Diocese owns all Catholic schools in its Diocese. The school was accountable to the DfE for standards.

The Chairman assured parents that all questions, where possible, would be answered. Parent representatives from each year group and the E11 group had been invited by the Governors to attend this meeting and had provided Governors with questions that were considered not to have been addressed at the November meeting with parents nor addressed by the FAQ updates supplied by the Director of Education within the Brentwood education department.

All those present received and noted the written responses to the questions which had been submitted before the meeting by parents. These are attached as Appendix A to the Minutes.

Parents expressed their disappointment that the answers to their questions (attached at Appendix A) had not been sent out to them before the meeting and this led to a perceived lack of

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communication with parents. The Chairman informed parents that he felt the school would have been inundated with more questions if this had been done and wanted Governors to have the opportunity to answer questions at the meeting.

Parent Question:Why was joining the CMAT a good thing for the school?

Answer:The Vice Chair (SS) outlined the vision clearly set out by the Bishop for Catholic schools in the Brentwood Diocese, one of which was OLOL. The school had been given the opportunity to join the process in Phase One or Phase Two. The Bishop had divided the schools in Brentwood into their Deanery groups and the school would be in its Deanery group with a number of other schools. The OLOL’s leadership and Governors have worked hard and concluded that the school would have a voice and opportunity in driving forward and shaping the CMAT if it joined in Phase One.

Parent Question:Was there a scenario for the school to opt out?

Answer:The options for the school from the Bishop was to join at Phase One or Phase Two. The Governors can stop the process of joining Phase One.

Parent Question: What challenges face the school with being paired up with other schools in the Deanery group not geographically near?

Answer:This depends on what type of support other schools and OLOL offered. Does not necessarily need to be physical support.

Parent Question:Could OLOL choose which group of schools the school joins?

Answer:No, this has already been decided by the Bishop and is the Deanery group. The Deanery groups have always existed.

The Governors assured parents they would absolutely safeguard, with due diligence, the academic and financial standards of the school and CMAT.

Parent Question:Would teachers be moved to other schools?

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Answer:There were no plans to move teaching staff around the schools and OLOL would be under no obligation to do so unless OLOL feels it would benefit its staff. OLOL has in the past been asked by the LA to support other schools and there had been no detrimental effect on the standards at OLOL. Good practice and resources could be shared with other schools.

Parent Question:How much was planned for parents’ involvement to shape Phase One and for Governors to regularly communicate with parents? Parents felt there had been a direction given to Governors not to talk with parents and this was evident in the previous minutes of Governing Board meetings. This had raised suspicions amongst parents regarding the whole process of joining the CMAT.

Answer:Governors have had discussions over a period of time about the CMAT and, at the time, it was felt there had not been enough information to give to parents and Governors had not been sure what parents could have been informed about. Governors accepted that the vision for the CMAT and the Catholic schools could have been covered in greater detail at the November 2018 meeting as the queries raised by the parents present were not answered in enough detail to satisfy all those present at the meeting.

Parent Question:Could Governors explain the advantages of OLOL joining the CMAT?

Answer:All schools, including OLOL, were facing heavy financial pressures on budgets going forward. Increases in salaries and pension contributions were not being funded by the DfE and the school wants to retain good teachers. The school has been looking at ways to manage this effectively for the future and part of the due financial diligence was ensuring the school could respond to the financial pressures. As part of a CMAT there would be economies of scale with shared resources. Joining with other schools would support teaching and learning projects that OLOL would benefit from. The range of services being offered by the LA was reducing, schools were having to pay more for the remaining services. The LA was also making all services into traded services.

Parent Question:Has a Business Case been done?

Answer:This was done as part of the financial due diligence, which was on going. Financial pressures were affecting all schools. Governors

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considered other advantages of joining the CMAT at Phase One, such as being able to shape the vision and direction of the CMAT.

Parents commented that if the financial pressure on the school was the driving force for joining the CMAT and if parents and the community had known this at the beginning, they may have been able to support the school financially. Governors informed parents that this was not just a decision based on finances.

MC was introduced to the meeting and explained the background to the establishment of the CMAT. Parents were informed that the Deanery groups had always existed and four years ago informal school to school groups were established to provide support to each other. There were fourteen schools in the Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge group. There was no choice for the school as to what group it was in. There was then a move towards the Bishop’s vision for the CMAT, which would formalise the school to school support. Some schools needed to convert to academies, others would want to. There was not a choice not to join the CMAT, the only decision for Governors was whether to join the CMAT in Phase One or Phase Two.

Parents asked for confirmation that Governors would have been able to stop the school becoming an academy.

MC informed parents that the Catholic schools have had a direction from the Bishop and all schools would convert to academy status at some point. Governors have to sign off which phase the school would join the CMAT and agree that this was right for the school. Governors assured parents that if this had been the case Governors would not have agreed to proceed with Phase One.

Parents commented that they felt there was an issue with the Bishop taking important decisions on children’s education.

Governors pointed out to parents that, in all the documentation produced by the Bishop and Diocese on the matter, at no point has the Bishop digressed from his vision for the CMAT. If Governors had any doubts about the process this would have been challenged. OLOL was a “good” school under Ofsted, Governors would protect the school and its assets.

Parent Question:Has OLOL had contact with the other schools in the Deanery group?

Answer:There have been regular meetings of the leadership group, including Headteachers and Chairs of Governing Boards. This gives support to the schools, considers what the schools need in terms of support

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and what schools can offer each other. Members of Senior Leadership teams are also always invited.

Parent question:What was the choice between joining at Phase One or Phase Two?

Answer:In Phase One the school would be able to shape how the CMAT worked and be involved in developing the action plan for the CMAT.

Parent question:Why was a CMAT needed to do this?

Answer:MC explained that the school to school group did not work at all levels on an informal basis and the Bishop had looked at what worked elsewhere. In a CMAT, although the Diocese would top slice funding, the schools would be able to pool resources to protect Catholic education. MC informed parents of a small CMAT in Newham which had benefitted financially and agreed to circulate the information regarding this example to parents.

Governors informed parents that the OLOL senior team had been clear in discussions regarding the CMAT about the expectation for leadership and CPD opportunities it would give the school.

The Chairman informed parents that he had attended a meeting at the LA in October 2017 where there had been discussions on how the LA could support schools going forward. The support from the LA had now declined and models of delivery for the future were being looked at by the LA. A meeting with the LA had been held on 27th March 2019 and the LA announced it would be setting up a trading company and outsource all its services to the company. Schools had been offered partnerships in the new trading company. The school was no longer receiving the services it required from the LA and was receiving less service for the same money. The school was finding it difficult to action plans because support and expertise was no longer available from the LA. This was one of the reasons the school had recently advertised for Business/Asset Manager.

Parents summarised the advantages of a CMAT as giving the school more control of its future, economies of scale for services especially in light of the future of the LA services, support from and to other schools. Parents felt some of the disadvantages were the Deanery group of schools, the school losing its identity and a CMAT structure being less accountable.

Governors had considered the finances of the school and that every aspect of this was to be for the pupils’ experience at the school and

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how the future could be managed effectively. The school was looking outward for developing pedagogy, sharing and developing CPD, drawing in the best quality staff and further developing the extra curricula experience for pupils.

Parent question:Could the schools in the Deanery group be changed? Can the school be a single academy?

Answer:MC explained that at this point it would not be possible to change the group because of the consequences any changes would have on other Deanery groups. The school to school group had worked well and the CMAT was the next step in developing this. The support has resulted in improvements in schools. Single academy trusts can no longer be created.

Parent question:Would the CMAT buy into NHS Services?

Answer:There would be no change to access for statutory requirements and services for pupils, these would be more bespoke to pupils’ needs and meet these needs more effectively. Outside provision and resources could be pooled between schools. The LA has employed two psychologists who were developing services for schools and Governors would consider the services offered.

Parent question:This was a significant change for the school and will there be any drop in academic performance?

Answer:Parents were assured pupils would not be affected detrimentally, teachers and staff would continue to work hard for their pupils. The school has had disruption in the past without standards being impacted. Teachers were dedicated and would maintain standards. This was a priority for Governors and staff. The development of the CMAT was working alongside this and Governors would ensure there was no detrimental impact on pupils.

The Chairman expressed his disappointment that posters had been placed on the school railings at the parents’ protest at academisation on 14th March 2019 and that one of the biggest disruptions to the school had been the amount of communication from parents which had to be dealt with. The Chairman acknowledged that the meeting with parents held on 15th November 2018 could have been handled more effectively.

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Parents informed Governors that the protest was largely due to the sense of frustration and concern felt by parents at the lack of information and communication from the Governing Board regarding the process of joining the CMAT. Parents felt that, moving forward, there needed to be better communication with parents and suggested that the Governing Board meet the parent representatives from each year group and E11 group again to update parents on progress. The parent representatives would then feed back information to parents. Information should also be placed on the website and in newsletters. Governors agreed to consider the suggestion of holding further meetings at the next meeting of the Governing Board. Parents stated to Governors, if there were an additional meeting, a representative number of Governors should attend.

It was agreed the action plan for the CMAT could be shared with parents, once developed.

Parent question:Could Governors explain how Catholic education was under threat?

Answer:Catholic schools are under threat, for example, the Humanist Society is currently protesting to the DfE over reserved appointments within Catholic schools and a judicial review is taking place, this is unacceptable. Under the CMAT a support network would be put in place for all of our schools. In certain areas of the country there have been blocks on expanding schools and the opening of faith schools. There is also a diminishing availability of Catholic leaders, Catholic teachers and those wanting to work within faith schools.

Parent question:Had there been a cost analysis of services done and when would the Academy Order be agreed?

Answer:The financial due diligence was still on going and a cost analysis of services would be part of this. The Academy Order was expected to be signed in September 2019.

Governors asked parents to inform them if they felt that if they raised questions about academisation their children would be spoken to by staff about their views. Governors expressed their concern about parents feeling vulnerable.

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The Chairman closed the meeting at 9pm with a prayer and thanked everyone for attending.

(Appendix A below.)

Appendix A

Vision

Q. What are the motivations of the Bishop and his advisors to require all Catholic Schools to become part of an Academy and what evidence is there to support these motivations?

The motives of the Bishop are set out in his letter read at all parish masses on 9th September 2018 and are posted on the Brentwood Diocesan website for all

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readers. The Pastoral Letter was included with the weekly Our Lady of Lourdes Parish newsletter, available to all parents and carers. The Bishop’s aim is to protect, secure and develop the Church’s mission in education into the future, as outlined in paragraph two of his letter. The establishment of CMATs will seek to ensure that every School sits within a network of collaboration so that each institution both gives and receives support. The Bishop has divided the schools in Brentwood into their Deanery groups, which operate across London Boroughs. The grouping of Schools into CMATs is intended to translate the vision for education in the Diocese into a workable and resilient reality that secures and enables the development of all Catholic Schools in to the future.

Q. What is the long term plan in terms of converting other Catholic Schools in the Diocese?

This long term vision is clearly set out in the Bishop’s letter of the 9th September 2018. All Diocesan schools have been directed to become CMATs, in their Deanery groups, in either Phase One or Phase Two.

Q. What research into educational benefits was undertaken by the Governors prior to decision to join an academy as most of the information provided seems to have been parroted directly from the Diocese. It is not good enough for Governors to accept without question the instructions of Bishop Alan.

We have outlined the motives of the Bishop and he has set out plainly the reasons for the Diocese forming CMATs and as a governing body we discussed this at length in our meetings and we accepted this reasoning. The governors are robustly interrogating the process and will continue to do so.

Q. Will the School maintain its diversity of other and no faiths as part of a CMAT?

Yes, as outlined within the schools admissions policy.

Q. Why were parents not informed and involved from the very start of the process as had they been involved in the decision making they would have been more likely to act as ambassadors rather than being opposed to the process.

All Headteachers and Chairs of Governors, within the Brentwood Diocese, were invited to three off site meetings spread over three years where the vision for Catholic education was discussed and debated and fed back to the Governing board for further discussion. The process was difficult as most head teachers and chairs were very protective of their own Schools. The matter was further discussed and investigated at Deanery Headteacher meetings also. In drawing together all findings, the Pastoral letter of the 9th September 2018 was sent to all Catholic Parishes in Brentwood on Education Sunday and a school newsletter, dated the 12th October 2018, was circulated by the School drawing all parents attention to the Pastoral letter. Parents were informed as near as practicably possible, given the complexity described of the CMAT process for school leaders in regards to the position of Our Lady of Lourdes School.

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Q. Are you able to name two examples of the CMAT that you aspire to be and a CMAT that has performed well financially and educationally over the last 5 years?

There are many examples of successful CMATs, most notably Blackpool and Northampton. Governors attended a meeting in the Deanery where St John the Baptist CMAT, based in Norfolk, presented on the process they went through in converting to a CMAT and gave advice and guidance.

Q. What is your evidence that Catholic Education is under threat and how would converting to being an academy change or protect this?

Budget management and a new National Funding Formula will cause significant challenges for many Schools. Schools will need to be able to operate with slimmer services as well as working closely with other Catholic Schools to create economies of scale. The diminishing availability of Catholic leaders, Catholic teachers and those wanting to work within faith schools is well documented in such esteemed publications as the TES, Schools Week and on the national news.

Pupil Information

Q. I understand there is greater freedom to direct the curriculum at an Academy and if so would parents and teachers be consulted?

Academies do not have to follow the National Curriculum, however Our Lady of Lourdes Governing Board would continue to support the National Curriculum as a broad and balanced curriculum to the children in the school and to prepare them for Secondary School.

Q. If our School is removed from Local Authority control will we continue to work with local Schools that are not part of the CMAT?

Yes, the school will work with all the current partners it now has. There is no reason to suppose that the school will be isolated from other local schools. The object of the CMAT is not to become a reclusive, inward looking institution. OLOL, is and always has been an outward facing school that other local schools have modelled teaching and methods upon and equally we have benefitted from sharing good practice to support our pupils.

Q. On joining a CMAT does the requirement to follow the national curriculum cease?

Yes. The schools involved in the CMAT are committed to the NC, as are most academies. It is not in the interests academically for primary schools to divert away from the NC. You will find that at secondary level, in sponsored MATs, this has sometimes been the case. Generally, schools which deviate away from the NC are STUDIO and FREE Schools as they are aligned more to the private sector. Pupils within the CMAT are at secondary level and are still expected to complete GCSE and this will necessitate partners at primary level following the NC.

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Q. Would religious teaching take precedent over basics like English and Maths. Will parents and Governors be able to maintain a balanced curriculum?

The school follows an agreed RE syllabus that requires 2.5hrs RE teaching per week. To adhere to the NC the school must follow this timetable. The CMAT is not about inculcation of Catholic doctrine. The Bishop has clearly set out the blueprint and rationale for forming the CMAT on the 09/09/2018. We will continue to offer a broad and balanced curriculum.

Q. What are the implications of the CMAT in respect of the future of the Nursery?

Currently, it is the Bishop’s intention that all schools in the CMAT will offer early years provision, (3-5 years old). There are no plans at the moment to deviate from this directive.

Q. What guarantees are in place for SEN children and will they receive support on a continued basis throughout their OLOL School life?

This is a legal obligation placed on all schools and the Governing Board has a specific member monitoring and supporting with our legal obligation.

Staff Matters

Q. Has the teaching body been consulted and are they supporting the process as we have a very stable group of teachers and we value their commitment and professionalism.

The teaching, support and admin staff have been kept updated by the leadership team during the process. Concerns have not been raised, by the staff, to the governing board.

Q. What plans are in place to retain our current excellent teaching staff and how do teachers feel about the school converting to a CMAT?

What is clear, is that if the school stays within the LA, there will be restricted room for career progression as budgets are very tight and the school has a highly experienced and therefore expensive staff at all levels. Being part of a larger, 14 school entity, will bring with it greater opportunity for career progression as there will be a larger pool of schools to offer promotion in house. At present, staff leaving OLOL, do so on promotion and generally within the Catholic family of schools.

Q. Will Schools within the CMAT continue to follow the National School Teachers pay and conditions policy?

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Yes, this will be finalised as part and parcel of the TUPE actions to take place before conversion.

Q. As Academies do not have the same obligations to hire qualified staff will unqualified or lesser qualified staff be hired?

There is no requirement currently that precludes a school from employing an unqualified teacher. Generally, this is not the case in LA maintained schools. There is no reason, given our stable staffing structure which the parents have acknowledged for this to happen as a result of the CMAT. Governors would not see this to be quality provision for our pupils.

Q. Will teachers be moved around within the CMAT and will this have a negative impact on the teaching consistency for students and the retention of teachers?

There are no plans to move teaching staff around the group of schools. OLOL has in the past been directly asked by the LA to support other schools and this action did not impact on the results of the school. You can view the current highly successful trajectory of the school in the public domain via the DFE Performance tables website.

Q. We have received reassurances from the Diocese but where are the legally binding commitments to transparency re; long term commitment to staff pay and conditions, following the National Curriculum, and continuing to provide SEN provision?

The school, as will all schools involved in this CMAT, adhere to TUPE regulation and process. It is set out in law and we cannot and will not disregard these requirements.

Q. Will there be a super head and if not how will the School continue to be managed?

There is no Super Head in the process at present and the School will continue to be managed by the headteacher and his team.

Finance Aspects

Q. Now that the due diligence within OLOL has been completed where are parents able to find the results?

Due Diligence is still being completed. At present the reports are the property of the Trustees and Board members.

Q. What will happen if the CMAT underperforms financially? Is the School closed down as a loss making entity?

No, The Diocese would not let that happen this is one of the underlying reasons for forming the CMAT.

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Q. Explain how the Voluntary Aided element will change.

The school will receive funding directly from the DFE rather than the LA. The necessity for the school to find at least 10% of funding for essential building repairs will cease. Unlike LA schools OLOL has to supply 10% of any monies towards asset costs and apply for a specific grant. LA schools are automatically upgraded on such costs.

Q. How would the top slice of 5% mentioned at the March 2018 meeting to support CMAT infrastructure and CEO fit into the budget going forward?

At the present point in time all costs are estimated , and no percentage has been agreed, because no school is in receipt of the General Annual Grant funding. Firmer figures will be in school later in May/June for financial audit.

Q. Would funds allocated to OLOL prior to its dissolution as a separate legal entity be instead funnelled to St. Aiden’s to assist with their financial difficulties given the commingling of funds within the CMAT?

No. St Aidan’s is already an academy and as such has already received separate funding.

Q. Will OLOL receive the same amount of funding as all the other Schools within the academy and who will decide the split across the Schools?

OLOL will receive funding commensurate with the needs of the school and the pupils. This will be determined by the Board of Trustees. At the moment, the GAG, (General Annual Grant), is allocated by the LA based on pupil number. Separate funding is then added for factors such as pupil premium, sports premium, demographic etc.

Q. Economies of scale and sharing good practice have been quoted as benefits of conversion. How will this be different from the current economies of scale and sharing good practice via Redbridge LEA?

Redbridge have no plans that we are aware of within the public domain to address the long term effects of funding cuts on all the maintained and Voluntary Aided schools for which the LA has responsible.

Q. How will it impact our School as we are a relatively rich and well respected parish therefore why do you believe this CMAT will be in the pupils best interest?

As for all schools the National Funding Formula will impact upon our school budget and therefore it is financially sensible to join with other educational providers to give a wider pocket of finance to draw upon.

Our Lady of Lourdes may be in an affluent area but we are not a ‘rich’ school. We do not receive the same funding as other schools, for example due to the low

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number of Pupil Premium students. Joining with other schools will support teaching and learning projects that Our Lady of Lourdes will benefit from.

Q. What will be done to make up for the shortfall in funding for the Local Authority central educational provision at a Borough level which the formation of the CMAT will cause?

This is a question that should be answered by the local council representatives not the Governing Board.

Q. What is the vision for the future and will parents still be expected to contribute to the Governors Fund?

This will be discussed at Governors meeting and parents will be advised on the outcome. Decisions are made based on year to year by governors and is based on school requirements.

Q. Will funding for OLOL be ring fenced and how do we know if funding instead will go to supporting poorer and underachieving Schools?

The Bishop has stated that Catholic education in our Diocese will seek to ensure that every school sits within a network of collaboration so that each School both gives and receives support. Each school will continue to be allocated it’s unique budget from central government against pupil number and pupil need.

Q.How will parents be able to access information about the way resources are allocated across the MAT and on joining the CMAT will the School cease to be its own legal identity?

The school has never been a ‘legal’ entity in the strictest sense of the word. All Catholic schools in the diocese are under the direction of the Bishop and by definition the diocese owns all Catholic Schools in it’s Diocese. The DFE does not currently ‘own’ the school nor have any claim on assets or goods and this will not change as a result of the CMAT. The school will be subject to the law of contract ie, we will have entered into a contract with the DFE to provide a quality service of education and in turn be financed by the DFE to provide the same.

Q. Where is the analysis of the data / costing to support the benefits of joining the CMAT. Where is the compelling case that has been prepared prior to the decision being made to join the CMAT. Will it be possible for parents to access information about the way in which resources are allocated across the CMAT?

All accounts, once the CMAT is up and running will be placed in the public domain. There is no access now to detailed fiscal school information. The only information currently available is published on the DFE benchmarking schools website and as part of the wider DFE reporting of school performance in cost per pupil. This level of detail will not change as part of the CMAT as all schools must

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publish to the DFE regulator all accounts and spending. At present the financial due diligence process is ongoing.

Q. There is a concern about the allocation of funding and resources within the CMAT and whether this will be transparent. Where is the budget for the new management roles that will be created?

Parents and general stakeholders at the moment do not have access to such detailed information. All accounts concerned with the CMAT will be published under the terms and conditions currently in force as an LA school. In terms of leadership salary, this will come under the current legislation that requires salaries over £75,000 per annum to be disclosed to any persons making applications for such a disclosure. The budgets for all the schools in the CMAT will be determined by the Board members and this data will be published by the DFE in line with the PFO, (Public Finance Office), accounting and regulatory procedures. At present Our Lady of Lourdes will be managed under a Headteacher and leadership team.

Q. Within other academies budget restraints have caused the reduction in the number of TA’s / Teachers in the classroom?

Current budget restraints since 2016 have caused LA schools including OLOL to already have carried out staffing re-structures. This is not simply an academy problem, it is a national problem affecting all schools and nursery schools.

Q. Regarding the Nursery is it correct that it cannot be academised because it isn’t compulsory education. How will the Nursery be run if the rest of the School is academised and has the School looked at other ways of funding the Nursery eg. offering top up for parents who wish to use it for extra hours?

The nursery provision is LA maintained and forms part of the OLOL entity as a maintained educational provision. In the TUPE conversation it will be considered as an asset and therefore cross into the CMAT as the rest of the school would. There is some truth in the supposition that a nursery provision is exempt from academisation, but this is generally in the case of a nursery that is deemed as ‘childcare’ provision, (2 year old), or day nursery. The provision of OLOL is 3+ provision are part and parcel of the school offer as an LA maintained school.

Governance and Stakeholders

Q. If governors wanted in the future to leave the CMAT would this be possible?

This would require complex legal advice as the School has entered a contract for funding directly with the DFE and there would have to be applicable circumstances as to why either party would want to break contractual obligations.

Q. Will the OLOL governors have any meaningful role under the CMAT?

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It is intended that the LGB boards will continue to have the strategic oversight for their individuals school. The Bishop’s letter and subsequent FAQ’s all address this issue and are published under the CMAT section of the school website.

Q. Will Governors have levers at their disposal to hold the Trust accountable?

The LGB are under the direct leadership of the Members/Trustee’s, however the LGB would be able to question Trustees if they felt there was the need to.

Q. Decision making in the academy system is removed from public scrutiny and decisions are not made by councillors but by trustees.

In a Catholic School this assumption is untrue. Curriculum and School decisions are made by the Headteacher and Governing Body. The Head has sole discretion for the organisation and delivery of the NC and for deploying staff within the school. The GB are responsible for ensuring that the school has a strategic vision and school leaders are held to account. Within the academy system aspects such of finance are a matter of public record. Decisions about our school have never been made by local councillors, they have always been made by the school leadership team, the governing board and the Diocese.

Q. What can the School do as an academy that cannot be done as it is now?

Within the CMAT it will be possible for a number of budgetary measures to be shared where a single school, OLOL, would find difficulty. The LA is rapidly, as a result of budget cuts, making all services into traded services. Therefore, school equipment, SENd provision, teacher recruitment and supply, HR and payroll are becoming far more expensive to buy as a single school. Moreover, in terms of IT, basic school consumable stock and extra provision such as swimming or music, the school as a single purchaser cannot take advantage of bulk discount as it would if the school was part of a larger combine.

Q. How will the CMAT create transparency / clear communications with stakeholders going forward?

The school will maintain communication channels including weekly newsletters, termly parental work scrutinies and parents evenings. All stakeholders will continue to be appraised of the schools day to day life.

Q. What measures of success will be used to assess the effectiveness of the transition and what course of action would be open to parents, teachers, and governors if the move was deemed to be unsuccessful?

The usual, current success indicators such as pupil outcomes, OFSTED inspection, fiscal probity will all remain in place. There is no difference between accountability procedures for CMAT, MAT, and Maintained Schools.

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Q. Academy converter Schools are usually not inspected for at least three years after they convert. That would mean OLOL had not been examined by OFSTED for seven years.

There are Outstanding schools, in local boroughs, that have not been inspected for a decade or more. OLOL for the past four years has maintained a national position of being in the top 10/20% of the highest performing schools in the country. Currently, the school sits at the top of the Redbridge league table and is surpassing Outstanding schools in terms of higher level academic outcomes for its pupils. The Governing Body will maintain its robust scrutiny of school standards in conjunction with the school leadership, in our drive to move from Good to Outstanding. Over the last 4 years the school has brought in independent inspections teams to support this vision and the school development plan.

ProcessThe Academy order has been agreed but we were advised at the November meeting that this could be stopped at any point. Is this still the position?

Yes. The Order could be revoked if the contract for funding is not agreed. At the moment, the school has made application to become an academy, and this has been agreed in principle by the Schools Commissioner, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education- Damian Hinds. The final step for completion is when the Governing Board agrees the funding provision.

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