WyvernAcademy Project – School Closure Process

Public Consultation

Wednesday10thFebruary 2010

40 Stakeholders in attendance (signed in)

Presenting:

  • North Somerset Council (Local Authority)
  • Cabot Learning Federation (Sponsor)

In attendance:

  • Local Authority Representatives
  • Sponsor Representatives
  • Project Management Company
  • School Governing Body members
  • Staff
  • Parents
  • Students
  • Union Representative
  • Community members

Presentations

Paul Jacobs (Head of Learning, North Somerset Council) chaired the meeting and introduced the speakers.

David Carter (Cabot Learning Federation) gave the main presentation about the Academy Plans including a short presentation from Steve Taylor who is a current Federation Academy Principal (at BristolMetropolitanAcademy). During the presentation Char Tucker (Chair of the school Governing Body) and two students from the student council provided their views of the project

Sally Varley (North Somerset Council) then gave a short explanation explaining the process for school closure (subject to the Academy opening).

Questions

Attendees were invited to write any questions they had for the panel. These questions were then presented to the panel by Tony Pearle.

Q: Will there be a 6th form?

A: DC - The Academy will be 11-16 (so no 6th form), however it is intended that the existing links to Weston College will be maintained and developed so that students can continue in some circumstances to be educated by Weston College but within the Academy.

Q: Where will the new buildings be built?

A: DC – that has not yet been decided but it will be on the existing site. It was noted that transition from the existing building to the new building would be carefully managed to limit disruption to the students.

Q: Regarding uniform – what colour will it be and will it be free?

A: DC explained that the Academy will get a grant that covers the first set of uniform (core items at least) for all students. Student consultation will take place regarding the uniform. It is likely that the uniform will be smarter than it currently is. Steve Taylor explained how consultation with students regarding uniform worked for BristolMetropolitanAcademy.

Q: What will happen to students currently making choices about their courses / options?

A: DC re-assured everyone that continuity will be managed for students, particularly those in critical years (such as year 11).

Q: How will students with SEN be supported (noting the excellent current support)?

A: Tony Pearle explained that as part of the school closure process a SEN ‘test’ was applied to ensure that students with SEN continue to receive the support they currently get and to also improve it.

Q: From a family who lives 4 miles away from the school, asking whether they can attend the Academy?

A: The LA explained that the process for managing admissions (including oversubscription criteria where necessary) was being reviewed to ensure that it was fairly applied.

Q: Will start and finish times for the Academy be the same as currently?
A: This will form part of the consultation process. It is likely that the school times will be similar to what they are now but this will also require staff consultation.

Q: There have been some excellent sales pitches, but can we have a more objective view?

A: Paul Jacobs explained that whilst the school is improving, becoming an Academy sponsored by CLF was considered to be the best way to accelerate progress and provide the ‘step change’ that the Local Authority feels is necessary.

Following the above questions, Paul Jacobs invited the audience to ask any final questions that hadn’t been answered already.

Q: Will the Academy be its own Admissions Authority?

A: yes the Academy will be its own Admissions Authority, but will wok with the Local Authority to manage admissions. Therefore it is expected that applications will still be submitted to the LA as currently the case.

Q: What will happen to Mr Russell?
A: DC took the opportunity to pay tribute to all the work that Mr Russell had done for the school over the last 6 years and asked Mr Russell if he would be prepared to answer the question himself as he was at the meeting.

Mr Russell explained that when he joined the school he said he would stay for 5 years and he has now stayed for 6. he also made commitments about the improvements he wanted to make in the school and he felt that he had met these, reflected in the OfSTED inspection reports and the schools Contextual Value Added (CVA) score. So he feels that he has achieved what he wanted to achieve and so he is ready to move on and won’t stay at the school (although in a way he is sad to not be part of the exciting future for the school).

Q: When the new buildings are being designed will the access and exit of the site be considered, as they are currently not safe?

A: This will be considered during the design phase and all options for access will be considered.