Outcomes of the consultation on the proposal to apply for Academy Status.

As you know the Governors of the college are considering applying for Academy Status. As part of this process they conducted a consultation with all parents, staff, Unions and other stakeholders by questionnaire from the 20th June 2011 until the 4^th July 2011. This document outlines the results of that consultation and the outcome decided by Governors following it. 

Responses 

• We received a total of 16 responses.
• 7 were from parents, 1 from a student, 6 from staff and 2 from other schools. We received no response from trade unions. 

Parental responses 

• Of the 7 responses from parents 2 were overall in favour of the conversion to an academy, 2 were overall against conversion to an academy, and 3 expressed no clear opinion. 
• Of those in favour one stated that if it has been proven by other academies that it is a good way forward then it would appear to be a good move for Westbourne.  The other was in favour but said the decision should not be based just on any financial advantage.
• Of those against one simply stated ‘I think things should stay as they are’; the other questioned whether academies paid big bonuses to their bosses. 
• Of those who expressed no clear opinion one stated that it was an irrelevance to what they thought because, as the school day changes, we would do what we want anyway.  One thought the budget was not our strong point and mistakenly believed the college had lost specialist schools status because it had been unable to manage ‘buying in’ services due to lack of funds.  The third expressed no opinion. 

Responses from Staff 

• Of the 6 responses from staff 2 were in favour, 3 were against and 1 was uncertain.  Of those in favour one stated that they felt there were very positive advantages to converting into an academy; the other was in favour if the focus was on raising academic standards and achievements.
• Of those who were against one felt that Westbourne was a historic institution and should remain as its always been and expressed a concern the situation for staff would be one of a case of ‘if the face fits’.  The second questioned how long there would be any additional finance and was concerned that pay and conditions may change after the 3 year TUPE guarantee.  The third expressed strongly an ideological opposition to the principle of schools operating outside of the Local Authority.
• The member of staff who was uncertain felt we should wait to see what the experience of other schools was first. 

Responses from Students  

• The one student who responded was against conversion to academy status. 

Responses from Other Schools 

• Two of the SWISS partnership schools responded to the consultation.  One was fully supportive of the proposal the other, although converting to academy themselves, felt that each school had to make its own individual decision in light of its own circumstances.   

Conclusion 

The extremely low level of responses suggests that the vast majority of stakeholders have no strong opinion either way.  Of the responses overall 5 were in favour, 6 against and 5 uncertain, therefore there is no statistically significant outcome to the consultation.   

Decision by Governors following the consultation 

At the Full Governing Body Meeting of the 11^th July 2011 the Governing Body voted to formally apply for Academy Status. The vote was 8 in favour, 0 against and 4 abstentions.