swiss foundation trust consultation

1. To join the NUT phone0845 300 1669
OUR AIM: PROFESSIONAL UNITY

2. Trust / Foundation Schools Presentation
This presentation is in four sections.
Questions to ask at consultation meetings.
A look at the 14 week processof becoming a Foundation School.
TRUST SCHOOLS
FOUNDATION SCHOOLS
What we can do.
SECTION ONE
4. Questions you might like to ask as part of the Consultation
5. Questions that need answering...
Question 1
The governors that are appointed by the Trust who are they going to be? How are they chosen?
6. Question 2
Why is this new trust/foundation status needed if the proposed partnership schools are already workingin highly successful relationships with each other?
What are the problems currently being faced that are making the proposed school governing bodies consider going down this route?
7. Question 3
It has been stated that schools in the SWISS partnership can only meet the requirements of 14-19 learning by working in a partnership. If this is the case then:
Are we not meeting the requirements at present?
How is it that the majority of state schools are not trusts or foundation and yet they appear to manage successful partnerships where necessary?
8. Question 4
Linked to the thought from question 3, do you mean that students will have to move between partner schools to cover the 14-19 curriculum? If so:
What will be the impact on school budgets of transportation costs for the students and staff involved?
How is it proposed that this will happen without the cost being detrimental to the education of the students?
9. Question 5
How will school communities and pastoral care be addressed effectively with the institution of multi-school trust/foundation status?
What will be the impact on Every Child Matters for instance?
How is the lost travelling time to be made up?
Will the school day have to be lengthened?
How will this improve the lot of the average partnership student?
10. Question 6
It is amiable that the partnership schools intend to continue the good work of building business links.
Could Foundation Status lead to school fields and property being sold off for development in the future?
What safeguards are in place to prevent this from happening?
Is this how sustainability is to be achieved by the partnership?
11. Question 7
Can schools in a partnership continue to have individual vision and aims? How much room for individual development is there?
If a school does not feel that membership of the partnership is benefitting their school can they opt out of it in the future?
12. Question 8
Please, for the following partners, can you detail exactly what they are going to invest into the partnership schools and what exactly they will receive back from the partnership?
East of England Cooperative Society
Ipswich Town Football Club
ISG Jackson
SNOASIS
Willis
What were the criteria used to select these partners and where were the guidelines for this drawn from?
13. Question 9
How is the greater autonomy that Foundation Schools will have in employing staff and securing services going to benefit the students and staff at the schools, and indeed the wider community?
Will duplicating services and weakening the LEA lead to a hike in costs?
What will be the role of the LEA in this? How will it have changed?
14. Question 10
What efforts have been made to involve the recognised trades unions in these consultations?
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers
The NASUWT
The National Union of Teachers
Voice
Unison
Will these unions continue to be recognised in the proposed partnership schools should they become Foundation/Trust schools?
Is SWISS aware of how many trades union members will be effected by this?
SECTION TWO
16. All the time in the world?
17. Changing status Going Foundation The minimum time for completing the process is 14 weeks
WEEK 1
Information gathering
Agree a draft proposal to put to the governing body
18. Weeks 2-7
WEEK 2
Governing body meeting to agree to consult
Inform the LA by letter of the date and time of this meeting
If you are a VC school inform the Diocese of Trustees by letter of the date and time of this meeting
WEEKS 3 7
Issue consultation document and allow four weeks for responses
19. Weeks 8-14
WEEKS 8 9
Governing body considers responses to consultation and decides whether or not to proceed
WEEKS 10 13
Publish statutory notice start of statutory 4 week representation period
WEEK 14
Governing body meeting to consider responses and make decision about whether to proceed with changing status
20. Weeks 14-15
WEEKS 14 15
Apply for a new Instrument of Government
Inform parents and other consultees of your final decision
SECTION THREE
22. Concerns over Trust Schools
We are concerned that private sector involvement as sponsors of Trust schools could lead to them having control of school land and premises; enable them to shape the curriculum and dominate the governance of schools.

Trust school status could undermine the communities of schools.Local authorities would no longer have the capacity to target, flexibly support and advise schools and the ability to co-ordinate effectively the Every Child Matters agenda.
Each Trust would have its own admissions policy; a situation which could lead to an increase in covert selection.

The NUT believes, therefore, that the Governments promotion of Trust school status will lead to the establishment of a framework which will facilitate the ability of a future government to dismantle comprehensive education.
SECTION FOUR
24. Our Concerns over Foundation Status
Governing bodies in Foundation Schools will be less democratic and less representative.

The foundation will be able to appoint a majority of governing body places.This will require a major change to the composition of the governing bodies of community schools when they change to foundation status.This is likely to reduce the numbers of elected parent governors.Governors elected by parents will be replaced by parents appointed by the Foundation.
Four sponsor governors will be appointed as opposed to the current two.This will compound the reduction in democratically elected places on governing bodies.There is the potential for there to be tensions between foundation and sponsor governors, and the remnants of the directly elected constituency of governors.
The NUT has grave concerns about the influence of sponsors, not least because educational expertise is not a condition of involvement.Individual sponsors may have backgrounds in construction, recruitment, transportation, publishing, football clubs, holidays and leisure rather than education.Even sponsors from religious education foundations or the independent school sector have little experience in dealing with the multitude of social factors facing inner city schools.
Schools will not receive the same level of support and advice from the local authority particularly in key areas such as preparing for school inspections.This can only be to the detriment of the quality of education provided by schools and the work done by local educational authorities.

Schools will no longer enjoy the value-added of local authority services such as EMAG; school improvement support and subject consultancy services but be confined to receiving the purchased contracted time, if they choose to buy.
The streamlining arrangements may enable, or even encourage, schools to acquire foundation status without adequate consideration.There is a clear danger that much time and effort at school and local authority levels will be diverted from the continuing pursuit of improved standards into establishing and supporting new structures.
The Government proposes to make changes so that in future a Foundation School should be able to increase sponsors from two to four.In effect, this will reduce the number of democratically elected governors on governing bodies.There could be potential tensions between foundation sponsors and the remnant of the directly elected constituencies of governors such as parent governors and staff governors.
Divisions considering a change of school category to foundation status should check whether new arrangements are different from the BurgundyBook arrangements.Where governing bodies seek to alter their position and seek to determine teachers conditions of service, the relevant NUT regional office will need to be contacted for advice.
The Governments proposals envisage a major transfer of the stewardship of public assets to school governing bodies and the acquisition of new responsibilities by governing bodies.The Government describes foundation status as ameans to promote, innovation and educational entrepreneurship, giving school leaders more freedom to decide how best to meet the needs of their pupils, parents and wider communities.The Government has yet to publish any evidence that supports its arguments that the quality of education is enhanced by a school acquiring foundation status.
SECTION FIVE
33. What can the Unions do?
As you are probably aware the NUT has major concerns about the proposal to form foundation schools and to adopt charitable trust status. We are urging our members in the schools affected to meet together and to discuss this proposal. Reps should also try to co-ordinate meetings with the other unions in the schools.REMEMBER OUR MAIN CONCERNS ARE:
- the possibility of altering pay and condition for teachers and support staff after Foundation Status has been adopted.- the increased involvement of business in education- the possibility of altering admissions policy and the effect on the future of comprehensive education.- the feeling that this proposal is being rail-roaded without real consultation.As part of the consultation process opponents of the proposal are entitled to write to parents expressing their concerns. The school NUT reps should also write to the governing body outlining their opposition.
34. What can the Unions do?
Your local NUT officers are here to support you, just click on a link to email:

swiss foundation trust consultation

Education

proposed partnership

communities of schools

foundationtrust schools

governance of schools

trust school status

partner schools

sponsors of trust schools

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