St Martin’s Multi Academy Trust

Our trust is not about making all academies the same. Whilst there will be some things that will be delivered from the centre, most academies will be able to operate as they currently do. It is important that any school within our Trust will retain its own unique identity.

We ensure there is peer-to-peer support by using local networks and by sharing best practice.

Where academies require intensive support for which there is additional funding or where the academy budget is used, this will be brokered by the trust through agreements with other schools and academies.

The trust will co-ordinate some central school effectiveness provision to monitor academy performance/ achievement and ensure support is provided and matched to need, mainly as brokerage, within the system leadership structure.

Local governing bodies will be responsible for standards in their academies in line with scheme of delegation and will report to the trustees.

It is the DfE’s expectation that existing educational provision in the school will transfer to the academy. The local authority (LA) will need to agree the transfer of land and assets (if applicable, for example in the case of separate SEN Units) with the school. The LA will therefore be part of the conversion process and will have the ability to influence the outcome of that process.

As an accountable body, the trust will have more power to advocate on behalf of its academies. Some school collaboratives are looking to employ their own SEN support, e.g. speech therapy, and this is something the trust could facilitate on behalf of its academies.

No. Academies are not required to teach the National Curriculum but rather a broad and balanced one that includes English, Mathematics, Science and Religious Education and promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils preparing them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Within the trust individual academies will be responsible for their own curriculum development in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation and in line with expressed aims and values of the trust.

The trust will co-ordinate and promote its academies to work together more closely to encourage curriculum innovation and sharing of good practise. There will be a curriculum working group of school leaders that will commission and co-ordinate specific curriculum development work across all academies in the trust.

There are many benefits being part of the trust will bring to small schools:

• The additional work involved in operating an academy would be managed by the trust. The workload of headteachers in small schools is already significant with teaching commitments and all the other responsibilities they have. The trust would be able to take some of this bureaucracy away from schools, releasing more time for heads and staff to focus on teaching and learning.
• There are concerns as to what might happen in future if the current leadership of a small school changes and whether a new head could be found when recruitment is so difficult. The trust will be available to support a new headteacher and the possible reduction in workload that this brings makes membership of the trust an attractive option. The trust would also be able to be more flexible in supporting the school with appropriate interim leadership arrangements.
• The sustainability of small schools is being threatened by budget changes and falling pupil rolls. Being part of the trust will make it easier for schools to support each other e.g. to share headteachers and staff. Where necessary the trust can be a strong voice for individual schools. The trust will have a clear policy on school organisation, recognizing the vital contribution of schools to their local communities and that school closure will always be the last resort. Alternatives to closure can be better managed within a trust structure.
• It will be easier for schools of differing contexts within the trust to co-operate, share resources and work together to bring about an improvement in outcomes for pupils.

Through the supplementary funding agreement, schools budget allocations will be ring-fenced.

Positive balances remain with the school though the Education Funding Agency (EFA) currently limit the level of balance a school can hold. We would expect the trust to do the same but, because there is one Funding Agreement, there can be more flexibility in how this is achieved.

Those schools with a deficit budget will need to demonstrate that they have a robust plan to reduce their deficit.  It is hoped that the economies of scale that the trust can generate will help, as will the potential to introduce more flexible staffing arrangements.

It is expected that the amount retained from schools budgets to manage the trust and deliver services would be less than the cost of activities currently purchased. The trust will look to procure value for money services.

Rules for conversion to academy status mean that Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations apply and all staff will transfer on existing terms and conditions to the trust as the employer.

Academies are not bound by the Standard Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document therefore the trust is responsible for setting the pay and conditions of its staff.

The trust will be honouring the national teachers’ pay and conditions and Teachers’ Pensions Scheme arrangements for as long as they continue to exist and will also ensure that the Local Government Pension Scheme arrangements stay in place for non-teaching staff. As part of the conversion process, the LGPS scheme’s administrators will undertake an actuarial assessment to determine how much the trust will need to contribute.

Full union recognition agreement and acknowledgement of union duties and reasonable time off for trade union duties will be given.