OUR ‘MULTI ACADEMY TRUST’ PLANS Dear Parents/Carers Over the course of the current school year, Mrs Cook and the Governors are delighted to inform you that our school will be working towards becoming an Academy, working in partnership with 5 other excellent, villagebased Church of England schools, as part of a Multi-Academy Trust. We are all very excited about the prospect of creating a trust that is locally-based and run by leaders who have the best interests of local children and their families in mind. The Grantham Region Academies Church of England Trust (to be known as The GRACE Trust) will consist of a group of like-minded schools with a long track record of working together. Our Governors believe that conversion to academy status will enable Ropsley School to build on the collective strengths of the member schools and provide enhanced opportunities for collaboration, support the development of excellent teaching standards. It will also ‘future-proof’ our ability to self-govern and make vital financial decisions, which are in the best interests of the school. Many schools in Lincolnshire and across the country have been making the change to academy status and seeing the benefit of joining forces with other likeminded schools. Huge changes in funding structures and a continued downgrading of Local Education Authority resources being made available to schools, mean that maintaining our status as a voluntary controlled school will leave us increasingly vulnerable to poor funding decisions. Working as part of a Multi Academy Trust means we can share resources with other schools reducing costs and the administrative burden. The Governing body would like to reassure all our parents that in converting to academy status and seeking to form a larger academy structure, we believe we can strengthen our ability to protect and develop both our academic standards and our Christian distinctiveness. Our vision is of a Trust working collaboratively on behalf of all of its pupils across all member schools, united in a strong sense of moral purpose, shared values and a passionate commitment to the development of inspirational, excellent learning and supported by the Diocese. The schools forming the academy (see attached information sheet) are all Church of England schools, with their own distinctive ethos, which will not be impacted by the formation of the Multi Academy Trust.

In terms of the ‘day-to-day’ experience of life at the school, we can reassure you that the changes will be fairly limited;      

Our name ‘Ropsley Church of England Primary School’ will not change; The school uniform will not change; Term dates will not change; The School Governing Body will remain in place and continue to be as active in ensuring the school is continuing to achieve high standards in all areas; We will retain our Church of England status and we will acadamise with the support and cooperation of the Diocese of Lincoln and the Local Authority; All children and members of staff will continue to be part of the school as they are now.

School leaders are now meeting together to share information with governors and staff so that everyone has the opportunity to participate in discussions and prepare for the change in a coordinated way. A timeline is being drawn up, which we hope will enable us to launch as a new Multi Academy Trust in April 2017. More information about what this means for our school and for your children is attached to this letter. Please do read through all of the attached information and let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Feel free to contact either Mrs Cook or any member of the School Governing Body about these changes. Included in this letter is a form, giving you the opportunity to pass back your comments and questions to Mrs Cook in the next week or two. This is an exciting development for the school, which will give us a fantastic foundation from which to continue to develop and improve the learning experience for the children for many years to come.

Mrs Ann Cook Fred Mann (Chair of Governors)

The GRACE Trust And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. Luke 2:40 The GRACE Trust is proposed as a multi academy trust with the following initial members:  Barrowby CE Primary School 

Denton CE Primary School

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Gonerby Hill Foot CE Primary School

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Great Ponton CE Primary School

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Harlaxton CE Primary School

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Ropsley CE Primary School

The core focus of The GRACE Trust will be learning – whether that is children’s learning, teacher’s professional learning or continuous learning for members of the wider school community. We will continue to support and develop the teachers and other staff members already employed in our schools and help them to develop excellent, inspired teaching. We will continue to be a good employer – where people are inspired to be the best that they can be and an organisation in which people enjoy working. Many members of our staff are already working together – in moderation cluster groups or in looking at ways in which we can improve teaching and learning through joint staff training and meetings. We want to grow that aspect of our shared working. Our business managers also work closely together and we want to enable them to do even more of that, finding ways of driving down the costs of the goods and services we buy so that we can spend the largest amount possible on teaching and learning. Within The GRACE Trust each school will keep its own individual identity and ethos, deciding its own priorities for the children and families it serves. Each school will have its own local governing body, with elected parents and elected staff, focused on the needs of that school. The Trust itself will have a board of skilled Directors who will oversee and support the activities of all schools in the Trust – but will not interfere when things are going well. The thread that links academies within The GRACE Trust is a shared commitment to provide a truly excellent education for all of our children.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is an Academy? Academies are state maintained schools free to all children. They are run separately from the local authority and have an agreement with the Government, which provides funding directly to the Academy Trust. They follow the same rules as all other state-funded schools over admissions, pupils with Special Educational Needs and exclusions. They are inspected by Ofsted.

What is a Multi Academy Trust? A Multi Academy Trust is a company established to be responsible for a number of Academies. Each Academy remains a separate school, with its own Local Governing Body, but the governors are responsible to a board of (unpaid) directors established for the Trust as a whole. This model is becoming more common, particularly as more primary schools seek academy status and the Government has encouraged primary schools to choose this route. The Trust itself will have a board of skilled Directors who will oversee and support the activities of all schools in the Trust - but will not interfere when things are going well.

Who will be the members of the local governing body? A number of governors will be appointed by the Directors of the GRACE Trust, primarily for the skills they bring. But the local governing body also includes two elected parents and one elected member of staff as well as the head teacher. The first governors will be many if not all of the existing governors. How does our current governing body continue to function within the Multi Academy Trust ? Each school will continue to have its own local governing body, with elected parents and elected staff, focused on the needs of that school.

How can I find out more? More information on Academy status and on multi academy trusts is available on the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk.

The Grace Trust Consultation Response Form Thank you for your interest in the proposal for Ropsley Church of England Primary School to convert to academy status, to establish The Grace Trust and for your school to join the Trust. Having considered the information available, please say whether you agree that your school should move forward in this way, using the following scale: Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Please add any comments or questions here, including if there are elements of our current provision which you believe should be retained.

Please continue overleaf and add an extra sheet if necessary Please indicate here which school you are associated with and tick the box that best describes your connection to the school. A postcode is helpful and if you would like a specific answer to a question, please also give your name. School name: ……………………………………………………………………………. Parent/carer

Staff member

Wider community

Other

Postcode ………………………

Name (optional) ………...……………………

Please return this form by Monday 7th November at 3pm in hard copy to the school in an envelope marked ‘Academy Conversion’.