Academisation Consultation Information

Consultation on academy conversion and joining Lighthouse Schools Partnership

Our Governors have recently voted to explore the option of joining Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP) which is an established Schools Trust.  There are currently 33 schools in LSP including three primary schools from the City of Bristol.  School Trusts such as LSP are not-for-profit charities with the key aim of ‘advancing education for public benefit’. As you may know we have been working with LSP as a support partner since September and have already benefitted from their expertise and resources. 

We see a great many advantages for our children, families and staff in joining this Trust.  If we were to join we would be able to share resources and expertise across the LSP schools.  The central focus of our collaboration would be on the professional development for our staff so that we continually improve in our teaching and learning for the benefit of all our children. We would also gain access to very significant expert support in operational matters and in SEND.  This comes at a time when the capacity of the Local Authority (LA) to support schools is reducing due to an increasing number of schools joining multi-academy trusts. We feel that this path would put Horfield Primary School in the best place to continue to serve our children and our community. 

You are invited to join in with the consultation process to learn more about academy status and Lighthouse Schools Partnership.  We have created an Academy Consultation page on our website where you will find some further information on our proposal and our FAQs document. You can also find out more about LSP by visiting their website www.lsp.org.uk. 

This term our parent forum meeting will be open to all parents who wish to attend and will be an academisation information meeting. This will take place on Monday, February 10th at 6pm and there will be an opportunity to find out more information about the academisation process and LSP. The CEO of LSP Gary Lewis will also be at the meeting to answer any questions you may have. 

We welcome written responses please send these to the clerk to the governors at clerkhorfieldp@bristol-schools.uk. Alternatively you can drop written feedback into the school office in an envelope marked Academisation Consultation. Your feedback is an important part of our decision-making process and final decisions will not be made until after the consultation has closed on Friday14th March.  If the conversion goes ahead, it is likely to take place in late summer or Autumn 2025.

We look forward to engaging with you in exploring this very important step for our school. 

 

Yours sincerely,     

                                        

 

Headteacher                   Chair of Governors 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Schools Trust?

A Schools Trust (sometimes called a multi-academy trust) is a single charitable company which operates a group of schools. In this case, each school or federation would continue to have a local governing body to which key functions would be delegated under the Scheme of Delegation. The Trust is ultimately accountable and responsible to the Department for Education for the performance of all its schools. 

Why are we consulting to join Lighthouse Schools Partnership?

In the current financial and educational climate, where the landscapes of education are rapidly changing, we feel that we would like to be in control of our own destiny and make a positive choice about the partner schools that we would wish to work with.  Remaining as an LA school or trying to work in isolation are not attractive options.  The Governors feel that the opportunity to become an equal partner in a locally based trust directly benefits our children as they would support us in developing more opportunities and continuing to raise standards.

Over the last year the governors have been exploring which trust to join and feel that LSP shares the school’s values including supporting our Christian distinctiveness. They also feel that it has the best capacity to support us both in the short and longer term. Since September we have been receiving school improvement support from LSP through a grant from the DfE. This support has already made a significant impact on our ability to improve things for the children and has confirmed the governors and school leaders view that it would be in the best interest of the school community to join LSP. 

Will Horfield lose its identity?

There would only be changes to our school in ways which we think will improve it. It is unlikely that our pupils and parents would see much, if any, change in their day-to-day school lives. One of the reasons that the school leadership and the governors have made LSP their chosen trust is their commitment to valuing each school’s individual identity on their website LSP say ‘although teamwork and sharing are core values in the trust, so too is maintaining the character and distinctiveness of our schools.’ From our research into other LSP schools including visits and conversations with Headteachers we know this is very much part of the LSP commitment to their schools. The name of the school, logo and uniform would not change. 

Why would a school want to join a Trust?

A Trust, as a single legal entity, allows schools to achieve strong collaboration and to use this collaboration and accountability to improve and maintain school standards.  Having the Trust as the employer of staff also allows flexibility around sharing resources to meet the needs of the individual schools involved. The Trust can also provide a clear, consistent strategy and vision across a group of schools working together. Trusts can often negotiate contracts and services that achieve much better value for money than if each school was to negotiate individually.  As LA services are disappearing a Trust provides central services to its members, for example in School Improvement,  HR or SEND support.

Which Trust are we proposing to join?

We are in discussions with the Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP).   LSP currently includes 33 schools across North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset and the City of Bristol.  They are a partnership of strong schools and already have established economies of scale and a strong offer of services including strength in leadership support, staff development and SEND.   We have considered a number of options and are attracted by the ethos and resources of this Trust.  

Will the structure of the Governing Body change?

The composition of the Governing Body would be maintained as it is now.  We would continue to have elected staff and parent governors.  After we become an academy, our Governing Body would be a Local Governing Body (this is a committee of the Academy Trust’s Board of Trustees, which has delegated responsibility to oversee our school). 

What will be the future responsibility of the Governors?

In a Trust, the Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for educational standards and the business operations of the schools.  LSP operates a Scheme of Delegation so tasks the work of overseeing standards in each school to the school Governors (LGB).  As each school also has its own budget the Governors and Headteacher have to take responsibility for planning and spending funds at school level.  

Will Horfield continue to be a Church of England school?

LSP is fully committed to our Christian character and distinctiveness. The other Bristol schools who are currently part of LSP are all Church of England schools. LSP is a mixed trust which means it has both church and non-church schools. Before the governors started this consultation, they had to get approval from the Diocese board which was given unanimously. The Trust’s Articles of Association are the ones agreed between the DfE and the Church of England.  The Diocese of Bristol and the Diocese of Bath and Wells already have representation on the Trust Board and Members Board in LSP.  LSP is very proud of its status as a Trust for both community and church schools.  

Has the decision to convert to academy status already been taken?

The legal process to becoming part of a Trust has started with a special resolution of the Governing Body.  We have also informed the DfE of our desire to join a Trust and they are considering the potential match with LSP.  We have also had approval from the Diocese to go ahead with consultation. Approval from these bodies has triggered a full consultation across the school community. A final decision to join a Trust will only be taken once the consultation has been concluded. It is feasible that the Governors could reverse their current thinking and they will be carefully considering the responses to the consultation. 

If the Governors decide to convert when would it happen?

We are discussing this with the DfE Regional Director’s office. We would be aiming for a conversion in summer or autumn 2025.  

Who are we consulting with?

We are consulting with parents and carers, staff and their representatives, the Local Authority, other local schools and local community groups. 

Have members of staff been consulted?

We are formally consulting with the staff and their views will be taken into account by the governing body when making the final decision. 

Will staff terms and conditions of employment change?

There would be continuity for staff already employed by the school.  Staff would join through a TUPE (the mechanism that transfers and protects employment rights for staff) process.  Lighthouse Schools Partnership employs their staff on terms equivalent to or better than those set out in the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).  All this would be explored by staff and their unions during the consultation.  You may also be aware that the new Schools Bill in Parliament would ensure that all staff in schools are employed under similar terms and conditions. 

Who receives the funding for an academy within a Trust?

Under a Trust structure, the general annual grant (GAG) in respect of each academy is received by the Trust and would be under the control of the Trustees.  In Lighthouse Schools Partnership this is then passed on to each school who would set their own budget.

 Who would be responsible for setting and agreeing the budget?

Financial responsibility for all schools within the Trust sits at Trust level and statutory accounts have to be drawn up for the Trust as a whole.  However, there is a Scheme of Delegation which charges each Local Governing Body with drawing up and monitoring its own school budget.  

What percentage of the budget would be taken by the Trust?

The LSP Central Services Charge (sometimes called the top slice) is currently 5.47% of a school’s core funding plus a fixed sum of £3,750 for primary schools. This is similar to our top slice that the LA take. This covers a range of services including Trust finances, procurement, HR, Governance support, CPD offer, Estates and Legal support.  The current offer is set out in the LSP’s Core Services document and is considerably more than we currently get from the LA.  

Will our school ethos change?

LSP values the differences and character of each school.  Although we would benefit from significant collaborate with LSP schools our own ethos would be protected by guarantees in the Scheme of Delegation.

How can I find out more?

There is information about academies on the DfE website:

https://www.gov.uk/education/setting-up-or-changing-the-status-of-a-school

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