Committee: Cabinet Date: 4th April 2012 Agenda item: 3 Wards: All Subject: Bishopsford School Lead officer: Yvette Stanley, Director of Children, Schools and Families Lead member: Councillor Peter Walker, Cabinet Member for Education Forward Plan reference number: 1134 Contact officer: Jan Martin, Head of Education Recommendations: A. Cabinet agrees that as a result of Bishopsford School being placed in special measures following their recent Ofsted Inspection, the LA statement of Action should request the Secretary of State to consider making an Academy Order in relation to Bishopsford Arts College and endorses Harris Federation as the Merton’s preferred sponsor. B. Cabinet notes that consultation commenced on 16 March in respect of replacing the Governing Body of Bishopsford Arts College with an Interim Executive Board to drive school improvement and to facilitate the smooth transition to Academy status and agrees that the Director of Children, Schools and Families should, after consideration of the consultation responses and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education, decide whether to apply for consent for an Interim Executive Board to be put in place and, if consent is received, appoint an Interim Executive Board for the school. C. Cabinet agrees that in view of the requirement to submit the Council’s finalised Statement of Action within statutory time limits, the decision is urgent and should not be subject to call-in subject to the agreement of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission following the Cabinet meeting. 1 PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 This report advises Cabinet that following an inspection of Bishopsford Arts College by Ofsted, in accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) is of the opinion that the school requires special measures. (Ofsted Report Appendix 1). 1.2 This report sets out for Cabinet the expectations on the Local Authority when a maintained school is so designated and provides officers’ recommendations for action which have to be included in the Local Authority Statement of Action (SofA) to be returned to the Secretary of State within 10 working days of receipt of the Ofsted report. The SofA recommendations must cover the future status and governance of the school and arrangements for governance during the 3 transition. The SofA must also summarise the action taken since the inspection to support the school during the transition period. Given the timing of the publication officers have produced a draft SofA which is attached as Appendix 2. Officers will finalise the SofA in the light of Cabinet comments and further detailed work within the 10 day timescale. 1.3 The Secretary of State has made it clear in policy statements that when a school goes into Special Measures changes of governance and the option of Academy status will be considered. Further it is ultimately a decision by the Secretary of State as to whether or not to make an Academy Order and to decide on the appropriate Academy sponsor. 1.4 In this context LA officers and Bishopsford’s Governing Body acknowledge that the school has no option but to transfer to Academy status. The advice of officers is that their recommended sponsor should be the Harris Federation for reasons set out later in the report. The Governing Body has invited the Harris Federation and the Academy Education Trust to meet them to consider making a preference to the Secretary of State and have advised that their preference is for Academy Education Trust. 1.5 Whilst the decision to make an Academy Order and to appoint a sponsor rests with the Secretary of State who will be advised by DfE official, it is proposed that officers make a recommendation in their SofA and Cabinet are asked to endorse this recommendation so that the Council’s view can be considered. 1.6 The leadership and management of the school has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. In this context and combined with the need to effectively manage the transition to academy status it is therefore proposed that an Interim Executive Board (IEB) replaces the Governing Body. A two week consultation period is advised for responses to the IEB proposal to be received and considered. (Appendix 3). 2 DETAILS 2.1. The Council must submit a Statement of Action (SofA) within 10 working days of receipt of notice from HMCI of publication of an inspection report which places a school in special measures. As officers’ recommendations include action to comply with the expectation that the school converts to academy status and the imposition of an IEB to manage the transition, it is appropriate for Cabinet to decide these matters. The Ofsted report was published on March 26th 2012 and a decision is required to enable officers to submit their statement of action by April 11th 2012, hence the need for urgent consideration of these issues. Members of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel have been invited to attend the relevant Cabinet meeting. In the light of the Department for Education (DfE) deadline and the need to provide certainty, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission has been consulted and has agreed that following the Cabinet meeting he will consider waving the right to call-in. 4 2.2. Officers are recommending that the Cabinet asks the Secretary of State to consider using his powers to make an Academy Order and recommend to the Secretary of State the Harris Federation as the Academy sponsor for Bishopsford Arts College. The reasons for this preference are set out under the headings of performance, professional development, partnership, and popularity with parents and pupils. 2.3. Performance: Harris took on Tamworth Manor in 2006, since when rapid and sustained improvements have been made in all aspects of the school. Pupil progress and attainment have improved year on year and are now very good, as is attendance. The Academy was designated as Outstanding by Ofsted. 2.4. The track record of improvements across the wider Harris Federation of schools is very impressive with 7 of 9 academies which have been inspected under Harris’ management being designated as outstanding. This is significantly above the national average and all the more impressive considering many of the predecessor schools were in need of significant improvement. It is clear that having an outstanding local school, such as Harris Merton, available to support Bishopsford Arts College has many benefits for pupils. Evidence from across the Federation indicates that pupils’ outcomes will improve, attendance will improve and students will have access to all of the extensive broader opportunities the Federation provides. 2.5. Professional development: In Harris academies there is a strong focus on supporting all staff to develop their skills and expertise and professional development is well resourced as resources and development opportunities are able to be developed across the 14 schools in their federation. Harris can bring experienced and strong teachers and leaders from its Federation schools to help secure rapid improvement as well as drawing on its advanced skills teachers and curriculum experts. 2.6. Partnership: Harris Academy Merton already works closely with Merton Council and other Secondary and Primary Schools in the borough. The Head chairs the Secondary Heads’ Hard to Place Panel. The Academy has strong links with its feeder Primary Schools many of which would also be feeder Primaries for Bishopsford. Harris also hosts the Merton School Sports Partnership. 2.7. Popularity: The Harris Academy Merton is very popular with parents. It is heavily oversubscribed and has a waiting list of several hundred pupils. Bishopsford has been undersubscribed for a number of years and has vacancies in all year groups. It is anticipated that given both the Harris track record and its strong local brand and popularity that a second Harris Academy should generate greater pupil numbers which would have a beneficial effect on the school’s budget and therefore its overall resourcing. 5 2.8. More generally Harris has local knowledge and experience serving the Merton school population and similar populations in London. 2.9. The Academy Education Trust (AET) is an established sponsor of secondary schools but to date only has very few secondary schools in London and none in this area. It is officers’ view that a very strong local partner is needed to ensure that rapid progress is made at Bishopsford and that cannot easily be provided by AET. Their track record of success in London is not as evident as that of the Harris Federation and they are not a known provider in this area. The views of the governing body will be circulated when available. 2.10. Interim Executive Board: Given the inspection findings, the improvement agenda and the need to smoothly manage the transition to academy status, officers advise that the LA should use its powers to put in place an Interim Executive Board in place of the governing body of the school. The consent of the Secretary of State is required to the appointment of an IEB. The Board would be comprised of experienced governors, education professionals and community representatives and would oversee the improvement plan including the change of status. Once the Secretary of State has named a sponsor it would be expected that the sponsor also had a representative on the IEB. The Director wrote to the Governing Body and the Trust on 16 March advising them of the proposal to consult on an IEB. The Governing Body and Trust were given until 30 March to respond. Officers will advise members after 30 March of the consultation outcome and have recommended that the matter is delegated to the Director in consultation with the Cabinet Member as detailed in recommendation 2.