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Click here to read latest update: 13 June 2008
Click here to read responses: 6th June 2008
1. Would Axton Chase School (ACS) be simply a clone of Leigh Technology Academy (LTA), thereby reducing local school
choice?
This is not the case. ACS has its own unique culture and ethos that need to be developed by its community. The role of the Sponsors is to help it to do so as efficiently as possible. The combined effect of the University of Kent and The LTA on ACS is to create an even better school, built by its community, which will allow even more young people to achieve better opportunities in their lives. The intentions of the Sponsors are to maintain and improve diversity and choice as much as possible so it is fair to say that the Sponsors do not wish ACS to become a clone of LTA.
2. What role can there be for the Axton Chase headteacher?
The Sponsors have identified a need to keep a Principal in post during the formative period of the new academy and a range of options is currently being explored in consultation with the existing headteacher.
3. What influence will students and parents have in the proposed new Academy?
We are currently in the process of establishing a stakeholder
reference group which will include student and parent representatives as well as other interested groups.
The purpose of this group will be to ensure that key stakeholders remain fully aware of the plans for the academy and will provide an opportunity for ongoing involvement for key stakeholders to make a positive contribution towards ensuring the successful establishment and operation of the new Academy.
4. What kind of management structure is proposed for the academies?
It is proposed that there will be one Trust with one Governing Body.
The Governing Body will be accountable for the performance of both academies and will include parent representation from both academies. A Chief Executive will be responsible for the performance of the academies and will report to the Governing Body. Each Academy will have heads of school that will be responsible to the Chief Executive for the day to day running of each Academy.
This structure will allow the academies greater opportunity for collaboration which will in turn enable the academies to provide much wider choice to students, parents and staff than would be possible if each Academy were to operate completely independently of each other. Teachers will be able to share best practice across the Academies to provide greater choice of subjects for their students and exciting career paths for themselves; and resources and administrative functions can be shared across the academies so that unnecessary bureaucracies are avoided, releasing more money to be spent directly on students.
5. Would the proposed new Academy be called Axtane Academy?
Not necessarily. The Sponsors are shortly to appoint a marketing and branding company to work with the students at Axton Chase School to establish an appropriate name for the new Academy. The name ‘Axtane’ is currently used but may not be the final name for the new Academy.
6. Why would the current Executive Principal of Leigh Technology Academy assume the role of Executive Principal of both Academies?
With a number of years experience of running a successful Academy, the Sponsors believe that the current Executive Principal of Leigh Technology Academy is the best person suited to run both Academies successfully.
7. Why has the consultation been so slow to get going? What consultation has there been with ACS before now?
Consultation on the proposals for an Academy cannot formally commence until there is an agreement between the Sponsors, Local Authority, Governors of the existing school and the Department for Children Schools and Families as to the outline proposals for the Academy. This agreement is referred to as an Expression of Interest. Once the Expression of Interest is agreed the project moves into what is called the Feasibility Phase and this triggers the commencement of the consultation process.
The Expression of Interest was agreed and signed off by all parties in January 2008. It set out an agreement to establish the Academy, subject to successful conclusion of the Feasibility phase, in September 2008.
Prior to the parties agreeing to the Expression of Interest, proposals for Axton Chase School to become an Academy were discussed in an initial meeting with the ACS headteacher and Chair of Governors in June 2007 where they signed off the EOI and had opportunity to comment on it.
8. Where can we find information on the benefits of an Academy?
More information on the benefits of Academies can be found on the Standards Website.
9. How will feedback and views from the consultation be used?
The feedback, views and questions raised at all consultation meetings will be captured and reported to both Sponsors, the Local Authority and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This information will assist both the Secretary of State and the Local Authority in making a decision on whether to proceed with the proposal for Axton Chase School to become an Academy.
10. Is it true that there would be large class sizes i.e. with up to 60 students?
There will be no change to class sizes in September 2008. However, there is increasing evidence that larger groups with 2 or 3 teachers can be more productive in some areas of learning. We would expect to explore options with the staff and other stakeholders as to what options might be best for teaching and learning at Axton Chase School. We would also look at the proposed timetable for any changes to be introduced.
Updated: Friday 13th June 2008
1. Admission Policy
The sponsor will continue with the current admissions arrangements and nothing will change for September 2008. However, admissions arrangements will be kept under review going forward and would be subject to consultation with school stakeholders.
2. Governance
The new Academy at Longfield would operate in a Federation with The Leigh Technology Academy under a single Chief Executive and a joint governing body.
It is proposed that the governing body would be normally 16 strong but an additional 3 governors may be appointed from time to time to assist in managing specific projects. These governors would come from the existing two bodies in the first instance and would include equal representation from each school’s staff and parents. At the start of Year 2, elections would be held for a parent and a staff governor at each Academy to hold these posts for a 4 year term.
As well as joint Resources [Finance] and Academic Standards Committees of the governing body, the sponsors propose to establish a bespoke Academy Development Group which would oversee the transition and new Academy design and building project. This group would have certain powers delegated by the governing body and would be a governors’ committee which would also include Sponsors and parents and staff from Axton Chase.
3. Leadership arrangements
The ACS Governors have agreed that Neil Willis, the deputy headteacher, take over the running of the school until the end of this academic year.
In the transition period (next 2-3 years from September 2008) the Academy would be led by an Interim Principal (also Neil Willis, subject to any statutory requirement for advertising of the post) reporting to the Chief Executive (Frank Green) of the Federation.
The Sponsors are keen that the existing members of the school Senior Leadership Team remain in the school to work to develop the Academy.
Once the new Academy was built, it would operate along the “small schools within schools” model, with three College Principals reporting to the Federation Chief Executive. One of these Principals would be designated as the Lead Principal, in a similar arrangement to that which operates at Leigh Technology Academy already.
4. Class sizes
There will be no change to class sizes in September 2008. However, there is increasing evidence that larger groups with 2 or 3 teachers can be more productive in some areas of learning. We would expect to explore options with the staff and other stakeholders as to what options might be best for teaching and learning at Axton Chase School. We would also look at the proposed timetable for any changes to be introduced.
5. The Spectrum Centre
The Spectrum Centre, serving the NW Kent area, will continue to be sited at Longfield. Capital and running costs will be provided by KCC (and will be built to the same standards as the rest of the Academy), but the Centre will be operated as part of the Academy. Plans for the Spectrum Centre will be based on discussions with key personnel at the school regarding the size of overall space needed, the size and number of rooms and the relationship to other areas of the Academy; as with earlier plans it is proposed that the Centre will be part of the overall building but will have its own separate entrance as well.
6. Stakeholder involvement
Stakeholder Reference Groups are being established as follows:
- Parents’ Council
- Students’ Council
- Staff group
- Community Users and Extended Schools group
In the first instance these groups will report to the Project Steering Group but should the school become an Academy these groups will feed into the proposed Academy Development Group of the Governing Body.
It is proposed that the Parents’ Council will also meet monthly with the Chief Executive, Interim Principal, parent governors and others as appropriate, to inform decisions, raise issues, and contribute to the planning and operation of the Academy. All parents will be entitled to take part. The Parents’ Council will elect its own Chair, who may, or may not be a parent governor.
To read the latest update on Academies from the DCSF please click here to download.
Updated: Friday 6th June 2008
1. What are the plans for the Spectrum Centre?
The Spectrum Centre, serving the NW Kent area, will continue to be sited at Longfield. Capital and running costs will be provided by KCC, but the Centre will be operated as part of the Academy. Plans for the Spectrum Centre will be based on discussions with key personnel at the school regarding the size of overall space needed, the size and number of rooms and the relationship to other areas of the Academy; as with earlier plans it is proposed that the Centre will be part of the overall building but will have its own separate entrance as well.
2. How will the children of the Spectrum Centre cope with any changes?
Young people who have more difficulty coping with change [whether on the roll of the Spectrum Centre or not] will need extra care, support and sensitivity in handling the changes. The Spectrum Centre staff will transfer over to the Academy and provide continuity for the young people in their care.
3. Is it true that, as with Leigh Technology Academy (LTA), teachers, unions and their national pay scale will not be recognised?
- If so, how will the new Academy attract and keep the best teachers?
- Will the number of cheaper teaching staff such as teaching assistants or partially qualified staff be increased?
The LTA will formally recognise teachers, unions and the national pay scale and staff transferring will be protected under TUPE legislation. The LTA currently has its own pay scales and contracts for teachers; if staff want to have union recognition it may do so. The LTA understands that ACS staff may wish to do this and are very happy to ensure that rights are properly protected for all staff. ACS staff transferring into the Academy would do so on their existing terms and conditions. Any subsequent changes would be implemented after proper consultation with staff.
An academy, as an independent school, has greater discretion in how it spends its money. We would hope to be able to increase both teaching and support staff to meet the educational needs of the students.
4. Will some of the facilities at the two sites be pooled, meaning that our children will have to commute between them for certain lessons?
The new Diploma structure that the Government is introducing does not demand that a school has to offer all 14 diplomas but that every student, from the age of 14, must be able to access all of them. There is therefore an expectation that those students opting for certain diplomas after Year 10 may have to travel to access them. This will apply in any type of school, not just Academies. We will aim to provide as many of the 14 diplomas as possible within the two Academies to minimise the need to travel elsewhere.
With regard to 6th Form AS/A2 courses, we would expect the majority of courses to be offered at both Academies. It may be that some minority subjects would only be offered at one or other site and that some students move more between the two Academies to access a particular course.
5. Why are you proposing to change the school when its grades are better or on a par with LTA?
LTA’s educational attainment shows that over the last four years the average results at 5 A*-C, including English and Mathematics, are 34% at the Leigh. At ACS the figure is 22%. This year the expected result at LTA is 40%.
Last year the result for 5 all A*- C GCSEs at the LTA was 93%, at ACS 48%.
Contextual Value Added (CVA) measures are another indication of progress for schools.
These measures were introduced into the secondary Achievement and Attainment Tables in 2002, to give a better and fairer measure of school effectiveness than raw results alone. CVA allows meaningful comparisons to be made between schools with different intakes, by taking into account prior attainment, the biggest single predictor of pupil results.
It also takes into account a number of other factors which are outside a school's control, such as gender, mobility and levels of deprivation. This allows us to reflect more realistically, and therefore more fairly, the impact a school makes considering the particular circumstances of its intake. CVA produces a single measure which can be used when comparing schools against the national average, or against each other.
The Valued Added score for progress from Key Stage 2 to 4 for The Leigh was 1039 (top 50 schools nationally) and was 998 for Axton. These last figures are the most reliable comparative indicators between schools since they are not based on raw scores (1000 means average progress, no additional value added).
One of the key drivers for the Sponsors is to effect education transformation through sharing of best practice and expertise that the LTA can bring.
6. Is the proposal predetermined as KCC has already put the school up for sale for a residential development site?
A condition of the sale is that a new school at Axton Chase would need to be built before the existing buildings could be demolished and replaced by housing. If the Academy were not to go ahead, then any new development would need to wait for the arrival of BSF funding to Longfield.
7. Will we still have diversity in education and trust between ourselves and the school?
You will certainly have diversity at the school since Axton has its unique features and culture that must be preserved and enhanced through this process. Trust is something that is built up between people over time. We all need to understand what matters most and ensure that confidence, reliability and integrity, as well as the capacity to listen, are demonstrated strongly by all parties. From this trust grows.
The role of the parents and the wider community in how the
Academy will be run is central to its success and is a fundamental feature of Academy policy set out by Government.
8. What are the proposals for the admissions policy?
It is Government policy to encourage all Academies to consider a policy of fair banding to ensure a comprehensive intake of students. The Sponsors want the new Academy to be a local school for local children and to ensure that there is a comprehensive intake.
9. What are the proposals for exclusions?
All Academies have to adopt a model policy on SEN and appeals which forms part of their Funding Agreement.
We would expect to have discussions with key personnel over the whole range of behaviour and exclusions policies to ensure they were consistent, and aligned with the ethos of ACS and the LTA and with Government and legal expectations and requirements.
10. Where do the Sponsors stand on RE policy?
The Academy shall make provision for the teaching of Religious Education and for a daily act of collective worship.
RE will be taught based on a moral imperative that derives from our laws and culture as a nation but that develops awareness and tolerance of other laws and cultures that exist in our global village. |
