FAQ

An academy is a publicly funded school that receives its income directly from government rather than via a Local Authority.

No. There are many different types of academy. For example, some schools have become academies independently, others have joined together with other schools to form a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) whilst others have joined larger groups and organisations, often known as academy chains. Different academies have a variety of school improvement and governance arrangements.

Church of England schools fall within the remit of Diocesan Boards of Education which are statutory bodies, not just another stakeholder in the expanding education marketplace. The Derby Diocesan Board of Education (DDBE) is responsible for the quality of provision in Diocesan Schools so that they are effective as well as distinctive and inclusive.

The current educational climate is changing and schools nationally are being encouraged to take advantage of academy status. The Diocese of Derby has therefore established Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) including the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) to provide a robust and viable academy option for its schools.

DDAT is a growing family of schools working together to sustain rapid improvement whilst retaining their unique character. All DDAT schools join in various stages of development, some are ‘Outstanding’ schools and some are ‘Inadequate’. Through collaborative working and a robust school improvement offer, all schools who have joined DDAT judged to be ‘Inadequate’ have achieved a judgement of ‘Good’ following inspection as part of the Trust.

Although there is no anticipated time limit for the Diocese to carry on its sponsorship, it has had a long-standing commitment to education and so this is expected to continue.

Pupils in such a position will transfer with the school to the academy without any need for them or their parents to do anything.

Not necessarily. This will be decided on an individual basis by the school.

Not necessarily. There will be no expectation that parents buy a new uniform for their pupils at the point of conversion.

The Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) promotes schools working together in families; interdependence rather than independence. Our academies should continue to be at the heart of a community and collaborate and share with other groups, schools and the wider community in things such as facilities, expertise, support and advice.

The school maintains its status as a Church School so the emphasis would not change. Church schools are already subject to the statutory (section 48) Church School Inspection.

For community schools within the DDAT family, there is no increased emphasis on religion and Christianity.

The Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) believe that school improvement is the absolute priority for our Multi Academy Trust (MAT). For this reason, the whole structure has been designed to challenge and support schools in equal measure. Our MAT offers a minimum of six school improvement visits per year from a school improvement professional, irrespective of whether the school is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Inadequate’.

These visits are not inspections but an opportunity for senior leaders to benchmark their judgments through shared lesson observation, work scrutiny, analysis of data, supported self-evaluation and school improvement planning. Indeed the outcome of these visits will confirm the development state of the school.

Consistently high performing and improving schools are charged less to belong to the MAT. Their Local Academy Committee (LAC) will also be given enhanced responsibility and accountability to make decisions independently of the Trust Board. Such schools will also be encouraged to share their expertise with others and receive additional income to further enhance their school.

Conversely, there will be rapid intervention in schools that are underperforming or on a downward trajectory based on Ofsted criteria. This would be sustainable because the school would be charged more for the services required. The Deputy CEO, supported by the CEO and Trust Board, would have the authority to ensure the delivery of the school improvement in the event of local leaders failing to provide the high quality of leadership required.

Something has gone wrong for a school to be judged inadequate. Becoming an academy with the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) is not a distraction from school improvement but rather the focus of it. It is a solution that is not only designed to ensure rapid exit from Special Measures through pump-priming of additional resources now, but it also provides a completely different structure to ensure that it stays good or outstanding in the future. For example, the Trust Board would provide a minimum of six visits from a school improvement professional even in an ‘Outstanding’ school. These visits would not be inspections as such but supportive visits to ensure that the judgements of the headteacher and leaders remain secure. The Trust Board, through the Deputy CEO, would have the authority to intervene as soon as a school begins to slip rather than wait until it is in special measures. The Local Academy Committee would only have as much power as the Trust Board delegates and this would be in direct relation to the success of the school.

The academy will recognise that each child is different and has the right to be included as a valued, respected and equal member of the learning community.

When an academy is approved to go ahead, it will do so with minimal disruption to the staff and students. This will be ensured by a detailed programme being created in order to outline the step-by-step guide on progress.

There are many different types of academy and this answer would vary from academy to academy. Schools that become an academy within our Multi Academy Trust (MAT) would be expected to continue to offer the full range of National Curriculum subjects. However, highly successful academies within the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) would have the flexibility to further adapt their curriculum providing that outcomes continued to be ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ against Ofsted criteria. This would be assessed by DDAT officers and also agreed with the Trust Board. Ofsted continues to inspect academies and their handbook for inspection is the same one as used in any other school. The academy would be expected to strive to be outstanding in both the statutory Ofsted (section 5) and the Church School (section 48) inspections. In other words, there may be no change in what or how they are taught; except that the move to becoming an academy is designed to ensure sustainable, secure and rapid improvement.

Academies receive a similar level of per-pupil funding as maintained schools. Within the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) the money that would have been provided to the LA to run the school is provided directly to DDAT. All of the money provided by the Government for our academies will be spent on behalf of pupils in our academies. DDAT does retain some of the budget in order to provide services to the academy. Local authorities fund their core services in a similar way.

As employer across a range of academies, the Trust Board may be of particular value to smaller schools by employing staff with specialist skills to be deployed across a range of schools. This may provide specialist provision in areas such a special education needs that might not be affordable independently.

Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) is contractually accountable to the Secretary of State via the office of the Regional Schools Commissioner. The MAT is required to publish procedures of its meetings. As a company limited by guarantee, DDAT must prepare and file an independently audited annual report and accounts with Companies House. DDAT must also hold an annual general meeting. In our consolidated model, many of the requirements that would otherwise fall to an individual academy are met by the Trust Board, rather than an individual academy.

A school’s Funding Agreement requires there to be two parent LAC members (elected) on the Local Academy Committee (LAC). There will be additional members at the sponsor’s discretion, including foundation LAC members, but members could be provided from the community, staff etc. The Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) intends to ensure that there is an effective Local Academy Committee (LAC) in each academy.

Although it is highly unlikely that the school day will be changed, it is the decision of the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust (DDAT) Board to decide this as they have the power to do so. Parents would be consulted on this prior to a decision being made.

Two elected parent members will be represented on the Local Academy Committee.

In our academies, all class groups of pupils will be registered to a qualified teacher, as is the case in schools currently.

On conversion to academy status staff employed by the school will transfer with the same terms and conditions.