Issue - meetings

This report sets out a review of the Council’s Policy on Academies and Free Schools.

The Director of Education Transformation introduced this report to the Panel. She explained that the school landscape in Bath and North East Somerset is changing rapidly and that from the 1 September 2018, 70% of schools will be academies and 79% of children and young people will be taught in academy schools.

She stated that the current Council policy on Academies and Free Schools, established in 2014, no longer reflects the current school landscape and that with a further 10 primary schools expressing a desire to join a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) as soon as it is possible, it is vital that the current policy is reviewed to reflect a new relationship with local schools in the future while making sure the Council meets its statutory duties as set out in education legislation.

She informed the Panel that nine schools (8 primary and 1 secondary) have not yet made a decision to join a MAT.

She said that the Policy Statement has been discussed at Informal Cabinet, Senior Management Team (SMT), with Head Teachers and Chairs of Governors.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that she felt that the Local Authority was abandoning schools that do not want to become academies and that enough of a service was still available to be provided.

She informed them that she had recently read an article from the LGA (Local Government Association) that showed that MATs are not delivering as planned and that maintained schools were improving more than MATs.

She queried the logic of encouraging schools to join a MAT at a time when schools are experiencing huge pressure on their budgets knowing that they will be top sliced to support the pay of chief executives who will be earning more than the Director of Education of B&NES would ever have been paid.

She said that the B&NES School Standards Board has a vast amount of responsibility, but no power and no money.  

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty said that she shared the views of Councillor Hardman and was concerned by the content of the report as she believed she had previously been given assurances that support for schools that do not want to become academies would be retained.

Councillor Paul May said that he agreed with the comments made but the Council has to work within the policy set down by the Government. He added that he would be happy to receive additional recommendations from the Panel.

The Chair stated that the Panel were not being critical of the Director of Education Transformation and that she applauded schools that do not want to convert.

The Director of Education Transformation commented that at the meeting with Head Teachers they proposed that the following bullet point be removed from the statement.

·  Encourage the remaining state maintained schools to join a MAT of their choice at the earliest possible opportunity.

She added that from September 2018 there will be three local Teaching Schools whose remit is to provide high quality professional development for school staff including  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25