A watchdog panel of Councillors has called for B&NES Council and local schools to examine creating a ‘partner local Multi Academy Trust’. This initiative is intended to support local schools and retain expert staff currently involved in running them, in light of the government’s emerging policy on all schools being encouraged to convert to academies.

The cross-party Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel for Children and Young People, which is chaired by Lisa Brett, has recommended that the Council works with local primary schools to scope the project. The hope is that B&NES Council staff will transfer over to the partner Multi Academy Trust, and that valuable experience will be retained in the local education system.

Councillor Lisa Brett (Walcot) commented: “While Nicky Morgan insists ‘blanket’ school conversion to academies has been dropped, it is clear the government’s goal has not changed and the intention is still to ensure every school converts by 2020 by creating a critical mass of Academies that will make it non-viable

for the Local Authority to continue to support schools.

“The members of the Children and Young People Panel are very keen to avoid the sort of monopoly over the running of local schools that we’ve seen with the other government-led privatisation of services, hence the proposal for a Local Authority partner Multi Academy Trust. We are asking Council Officers to look at the strengths and weaknesses of three options; doing nothing, facilitating an Educational Trust and supporting a Council partner Multi Academy Trust. The panel will then make recommendations as to which model should be adopted.

“Primary schools within a Council’s partner Multi Academy Trust will be able to opt out and join another Trust, should the service provided prove unsatisfactory. Likewise, schools in other Multi Academy Trusts will be able to opt in to the Council’s partner Multi Academy Trust.”

Cllr Michael Evans, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, added: “I believe that the best governance framework for our schools is one which releases the ambition and energy of as many outstanding educational leaders as possible. Our local area has a number of such leaders, whose influence was previously confined to one school, but who now spread their good practice, drive and influence through the many schools which they are partnered with through the Multi Academy Trust system. These include the leaders of the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership Trust, the Wellsway MAT in Keynsham, the Dragonfly (Writhlington) MAT, Palladian (Ralph Allen) MAT and the Partnership MAT led by Fosseway School.

“But, at the same time, we should remember that there is expertise and leadership among the professionals who look after the school system as Local Authority officers and we should do all we can to retain their expertise in the system. I would be keen to explore the possibility of the council supporting the creation of a new MAT, which might attract schools which have not yet converted to academy status and which could sit alongside the existing MATs which are proving so successful.”