Academy schools are state funded schools in England that are directly funded by central government (specifically, the Department for Education) and independent of direct funding and control by the Local Authority.
Further information on what academies are and how they operate can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/types-of-school/academies
Further information on the Archdiocese of Southwark’s approach to academies is available here: https://www.rcaoseducation.org.uk/academisation/
The Government wants all schools to become academies, although the most recent White Paper stipulating all schools to join a strong Trust by 2030 was withdrawn. Many schools locally and nationally are still choosing to become academies , joining Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs). The strategic direction of our Archdiocese is for its schools to form and/or join local Catholic Academy Trusts, established to meet the needs of its member schools.
Our schools have worked closely with other, like-minded Catholic schools across Merton, Sutton and Croydon for a number of years and we have jointly developed proposals to establish a Catholic Academy Trust called Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust.
There are two routes to becoming an academy, depending on the status of the converting school. Schools that are in need of additional support are called ‘sponsored’ academies. Schools that are performing well and are educationally and financially secure have the freedom to choose when and how they convert – they are called ‘converter’ academies.
Our schools are high-performing and stable schools and therefore choosing to become a ‘converter’ academy.
No, our schools are Catholic schools and must join a Catholic Academy Trust to protect and preserve its unique character and the Catholic education provided. We have an opportunity to contribute to the establishment of a new Catholic Academy Trust where we can influence how this will be formed to suit the needs of our own schools.
Yes, there are a number of academies in our area. Some are part of large national MATs, some are part of the Church of England Diocesan MAT, and some are part of smaller local Trusts
Like all schools, regardless of category, the performance nationally is variable and very much depends on the support provided by the MAT to help the school succeed as an academy. This is why our schools have chosen to join a local Catholic Academy Trust, where we are heavily involved in its development and what it will offer in terms of support for our schools.
No. All schools proposing to join Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust have also chosen to retain their current name.
No. Parents will not need to buy a new uniform.
Yes. There will be no change to the current provision and use of the schools by different groups to hold events.
There will be no change to the level of support provided. School will continue to recognise that every pupil is different and has the right to be included as a valued, respected and equal member of the school community. The local authority retains responsibility for statutory duties such as SEND provision and safeguarding.
Although it is highly unlikely that the school day will be changed, it is the responsibility of the Trust Board to decide this as they have the power to do so. This decision is usually delegated to the local governing body of an academy, so there is no real change from our authority in this regard. As is the case now, parents would be consulted prior to any change in school hours, although no change is envisaged.
No. When an academy is approved to go ahead, it will do so with minimal disruption to the staff and students. Most of the changes will take place behind the scenes with support from a project manager, who has gone through this process before with many other schools.
The Trust will delegate curriculum policy to each academy. As an academy, there are greater freedoms within the curriculum but our school’s curriculum is unlikely to change because of our move to academy status. The schools are still inspected under the same Ofsted framework and CSI framework. Our pupils will still be required to sit SATS / GCSEs / A-Levels.
Whilst on a day-to-day basis the pupils/students, staff and parents/carers will not notice a difference, there are opportunities that working more closely with our partner schools brings. It is correct to say that our schools can work in partnership with other schools now as a maintained school, however the nature of the relationship amongst the schools joining Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust will be different.
Our schools will be part of a larger family that is able to share resources, knowledge, training, costs and capacity to benefit pupils across LA boundaries under a single legal entity. The schools are not becoming academies because it is dissatisfied with the support provided by our Local Authority and we are likely to continue to purchase some support from the Local Authority as we do now. There is an opportunity to join partner Catholic schools in Sancta Familia where we can provide support and receive support from fellow high-performing Catholic schools, balanced with appropriate external scrutiny to ensure that all schools continue to perform well.
In maintained schools, revenue funding goes directly to the Local Authority. The Local Authority (LA) takes a proportion of the money from the school budget to provide essential services to the school and the rest is delegated under the Local Management of Schools. Schools can, and do, buy additional services from the LA and other providers. As a result schools currently depend upon the local authority for many services such as school improvement, HR, finance support, etc.
Academies will receive the same level of per-pupil funding as maintained schools, plus funding to meet additional responsibilities that are no longer provided for them by the Local Authority (LA). With a MAT, the money that would have been provided to the LA to run the school is provided directly to the MAT. The Trust does retain some of the budget in order to provide services to the academy.
No, converting to an academy will not be to our advantage financially. Our schools will be required to pay a ‘top-slice’ to the Academy Trust to cover the costs of a small central team and the support services provided. An analysis is currently being completed on how this will affect the school budget as some of the services we pay the Local Authority to provide will be provided by the Academy Trust as part of the top slice. Funding is available to cover the costs of the conversion process itself. In addition, the Academy Trust is able to submit bids for capacity funding from the Department for Education.
On conversion to academy status teachers and staff employed by the school will transfer with the same terms and conditions, via a formal TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) process. In addition, conversion will not affect any union memberships.
At present, as Voluntary Aided schools, staff are employed by the Governing Body of the school. Following conversion, staff will be employed by Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust.
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