The academies programme

FAQS FOR SHEFFIELD GOVERNING BODIES

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  agree to deliver city wide services in consultation with the Sheffield “family of schools” and sign up to the City Wide Learning Body, for the benefit of all children across the city;
  

• 
  remain part of the common admissions policy, allowing for fair access and inclusive treatment of all children and young people;
  

• 
  act as the custodian for the land and premises, whoever owns the land, ensuring access to facilities for the children of the city as well as the local community;
  

• 
  welcome community and Local Authority representatives onto the school governing body and allow staff the right to trade union membership;
  

• 
  before making a decision to convert the Governing Body consult thoroughly with parents, prospective parents, the local community and their feeder primary schools on the plans and hold a parental vote.
  

An academy is a state-funded independent school. It differs from a Community School in the following ways:

• 
  Sets its own admissions policy
  
• 
  Employs staff and sets pay & conditions
  
• 
  Responsible for land & buildings
  
• 
  Not linked to the Local Authority
  
• 
  Funded directly from DfE
  
• 
  Required to teach broad and balanced curriculum including English, maths, science and RE – not the national curriculum
  
• 
  Freedom to change lengths of terms and school days
  

An academy has greater responsibility as noted above. It will be directly liable for matters such as insurance, employment liabilities, support staff pensions, health and safety, and property maintenance (PFI contracts are maintained). However, as noted above, academies receive more funding from central government to help them meet these additional costs.

Staff are employed by the Local Authority and part of national and local pay and conditions agreements. The LA is responsible for pensions, redundancy, and maternity benefits.

If the school converts to an academy, all staff currently employed by the local authority will automatically transfer to the new academy under TUPE regulations.

Teachers and support staff working within an Academy fall within the scope of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and the South Yorkshire Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) just as if they were employed in a LA maintained school. This means that their entitlements will continue on transfer. However the Academy will be the employer and responsible for remitting pension contributions and for all other administrative responsibilities that fall to employers under the regulations of the two pension schemes.

The Academy is covered by the ‘Redundancy Modification Order’ (RMO) therefore continuous Local Government service accrued before transfer will be maintained for existing staff although the liability for redundancy costs transfers to the academy from the LA. Continuous Local Government Service will also transfer to other schools or LA’s under the ‘RMO’ therefore staff will not be disadvantaged through transfer to or from an Academy.

Staff entitlement to maternity benefits will transfer for existing staff under TUPE. However, the Academy could choose to implement new terms and conditions for new staff in the same way they can in respect of pay and would need to negotiate this with the staff and trade unions.

Rights of trade union recognition do not automatically transfer on conversion however the unions will be seeking assurances from the Academy that they will continue to have such recognition as they currently have with the LA. The LA has offered Academy’s the opportunity to contribute to the funding of trade union facility time through the LA arrangements to avoid the need for separate agreements and increased funding.

SHEFFIELD ‘ASK’

Allow staff the right to trade union membership.

Central Government, through the DfE provides Local Authorities (LA) with a sum of money each year known as the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The LA uses this grant amongst other things to:

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  Fund nursery provision in their area
  
• 
  Fund individual school budgets
  
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  Provide a range of support services to schools such as behaviour support, special educational needs services etc.
  

The LA is responsible for setting its own schools funding formula and for determining each school’s fair share of the total money delegated to schools. After the LA has set aside the necessary DSG funding for support services, the vast majority is given to schools to be spent on things such as staffing, premises, equipment etc

Academies are funded by the DfE through the Education Funding Agency (EFA) from 1 April 2012. The EFA provides academies with two main sources of funding:

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  General Annual Grant (GAG): This is the funding which the academy will receive in place of the former delegated budget from the Authority. The academy’s current level of GAG funding will be based on the Authority’s funding formula and should generate a funding settlement that is more or less the same as the previous school budget.
  

• 
  Local Authority Central Spend Equivalent Grant (LACSEG): This is additional funding per pupil which the academy receives from the DfE in order to purchase of discretionary support services, which prior to academy conversion the Authority was responsible for providing. This funding is deducted from the Authority and is calculated using selected centrally retained lines on the Section 251 statement in order to generate a funding rate per pupil. On receipt of this funding, the academy would need to decide how and where to buy the discretionary services that it needs and which are currently supplied by the LA. Statutory services will still continue to be provided free of charge to the academy.
  

The DfE have indicated that they intend to continue with LACSEG funding over the longer term and are currently reviewing the calculation methodology with a view to change.

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  DfE On Line Academy Calculator: Currently schools becoming academies can receive extra funding as estimated on the DfE’s on line academy calculator. The current level of additional DfE funding generated by the calculator will not be available after 12/13, so it would be prudent for schools becoming academies to take this into account in their plans. In the long term it would be prudent for academies to budget just for the LACSEG funding mentioned above.
  

The financial accounting and reporting requirements are considerably different for academies and a number of significantly different financial statements will need to be produced by the academy. In addition the academy’s annual accounts and financial statements will need to audited by independent external auditors.

As a community school, admissions arrangements are set by the local authority. The local authority applies the following criteria for allocating school places at Reception and Year 7 where there are more applicants than places available in a school:

2. Children living in the school’s catchment area and has a sibling at the school;

3. Children living within the school’s catchment area

4. Children will have a brother or sister is on the school’s roll on the date of admission;

5. Children attending a linked primary school (secondary only);

6. Any other children.

A

The Governing Body is responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the site and buildings and for targeting devolved formula capital budgets. The Local Authority owns the land and buildings and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring accommodation remains sufficient and suitable.

A

School Governors bring a range of experience and interests from many walks of life. They work closely with others to make informed decisions about school aims and policies. Governors work as a team of volunteers who are responsible for setting the strategies to make sure the school provides a good quality of education. They do this together with the Headteacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school. Every school has a Governing Body. It should include:

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  Parents elected by other parents in the school;
  
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  Staff Governors elected by the teaching and non-teaching staff;
  
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  Local Authority governors;
  
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  Community governors appointed by other members of the Governing Body;
  
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  The Headteacher.
  

The number of governors may vary depending on the school’s type or size. Governor appointments are for up to four years.

The pre-Academy Governing Body would be responsible for establishing an Academy Trust. The Academy Trust (a charitable company limited by guarantee) would then enter into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for the running of the academy. The Academy Trust has a strategic role in running the academy and would be responsible for appointing the Governors to the Academy Governing Body (they can equally remove the governors). The key responsibilities are to:

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  Ensure the quality of educational provision;
  
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  Challenge and monitor the performance of the academy;
  
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  Manage the Academy Trust’s finances and property;
  
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  Employ staff.
  

It would be for the members of the Governing Body of the school to decide and agree, in discussion with the Secretary of State, who among them would wish to be members of the Academy Trust and which of them would wish to be Governors of the Academy Trust. It is possible to be both a member and a Governor.

1. 
   A maximum of one LA governor
   
2. 
   A minimum of two parent governors
   
3. 
   A maximum of 1/3^rd of the total GB from staff, including the Principal
   
4. 
   A maximum of three co-opted governors
   
5. 
   Unlimited numbers of partnership, sponsor, community governors
   

There is a limit of 19.9% of the GB that can be Local Authority Associated Persons (LAAP). There are six key responsibilities most of which are those already held by current governors:

1. 
   Ensure provision of quality education
   
2. 
   Challenge and monitor performance
   
3. 
   Discharge role as critical friend
   
4. 
   Manage finance and property
   
5. 
   Employ staff
   
6. 
   Co-operate with other staff and institutions
   

The Local Authority will offer some support around the consultation, fulfilling the ‘asks’, and is involved in the latter stages around land and staff transfer. A diagram outlining the Sheffield approach to the conversion process is attached at Appendix 1.