Latest on Winterbourne International Academy

The uncertainty surrounding the future for Winterbourne International Academy has been resolved with news that the Department for Education has confirmed that “in principle” approval has been given for Winterbourne to join the Olympus Academy Trust. You can read more about what this means in this letter from the Interim Leadership.

On Friday 1st September Yate International Academy joined Greenshaw Learning Trust, as had already been agreed earlier this year.

Fair Funding for Schools campaign

Claire Young recently joined thousands of people marching for fairer funding for our schools - parents, children, teachers and fellow Lib Dems - at the Fairer Funding for Schools rally.

The Liberal Democrats would invest £6.9bn more in our schools and colleges over the next parliament, to ensure no school and no child loses out. That would mean £26m more in schools and colleges in South Gloucestershire, including £1.3m to protect the Pupil Premium, introduced by the Liberal Democrats to help the most disadvantaged children.

In contrast, the Conservative government is proposing deep cuts in many school budgets - schools with the most disadvantaged children are likely to face the biggest funding cuts. According to figures from teachers' unions NUT and ATL, local secondary schools face cuts equivalent to up to a dozen teachers. Primary schools face cuts of 1, 2 or 3 teachers.

You can look up the impact on your local school here: http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk - it's noticeable that although Claire has pledged to support the campaign against the school cuts, at the time of writing neither the Conservative nor the Labour candidates for this constituency have even responded.

Claire has been continually pressing for clarity about the situation at Winterbourne and Yate International Academies and supporting parents campaigning for better funding for schools. Please support our campaign by signing our petition at www.claireyoung.org.uk/schoolcuts

The photo shows Claire with fellow Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates Stephen Williams and Karen Wilkinson at the Fair Funding for Schools rally.

YIA to become part of Greenshaw Learning Trust

It's been announced that Yate International Academy will be re-brokered into the Greenshaw Learning Trust. You can read more here.

Winterbourne International Academy will remain the responsibility of The Ridings’ Federation Academy Trust, who, with the support of The Olympus Academy Trust and Castle School Education Trust, will take responsibility for responding to the issues identified by the Department, EFA and Ofsted.

Interim head announced for Winterbourne International Academy

Peter Smart, Headteacher of The Castle School, Thornbury, will be seconded to the post of Interim Principal at Winterbourne International Academy, from 16th January to 31st August 2017. More information is available on the WIA website.

Latest on Winterbourne International Academy

Will Roberts, CEO of The Castle School Education Trust, and Dave Baker, CEO of The Olympus Academy Trust, have written a joint letter to parents about the interim leadership arrangements for Winterbourne International Academy. You can read it on the WIA website. They have invited parents to a rolling programme of presentations followed by questions starting at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 7pm on Wednesday 11th January.

Latest statement from The Ridings Federation Trust

The Ridings Federation have announced that from 3rd January 2017 Dave Baker, CEO of Olympus Academy Trust (OAT), and Will Roberts, CEO of Castle School Education Trust (CSET), will jointly provide interim leadership support for Winterbourne International Academy, with a view to appointing an Interim Principal before the end of January. You can read their full statement here.

Response from National Schools Commissioner

Today Claire Young received a response from the National Schools Commissioner, Sir David Carter, to her email of last week regarding the problems at The Ridings Federation. You can read her original email here and his response here.

Oasis withdraw Winterbourne International Academy bid

Oasis Community Learning has withdrawn its bid to take over Winterbourne International Academy. You can read their statement here.

This is welcome news for the many local people who have been campaigning to stop their bid. Last Saturday, hundreds of parents and students were joined by teachers and community representatives, at a peaceful demonstration outside Winterbourne International Academy. Well done to all involved in the campaign.

This is not the end of the story. Last month, the Education Funding Agency sent The Ridings Federation a Financial Notice to Improve. The Federation must get a recovery plan in place within the timescales set out. It's important that everyone locally comes together to ensure a bright future for both Winterbourne International Academy and Yate International Academy. The commitment shown in recent weeks suggests they will.

This process has also thrown up wider issues about the process for "re-brokering" academies that face difficulties, which lacks transparency and formal routes for parents to have their say . Earlier this week, before the announcement from Oasis, Claire Young wrote to the National Schools Commissioner asking questions about this situation but also asking for him to feed the wider concerns into the review of Multi-Academy Trusts currently being conducted by the Commons Select Committee on education.

Huge turnout at Save our School demo

On Saturday hundreds of parents, students, teachers and community representatives, including local councillor Claire Young, attended a peaceful demonstration outside Winterbourne International Academy.

They sent a clear message that they want a say in the future of their school. They want transparency and local accountability, not a huge national chain of academies imposed on them by the Department for Education.

Having written to the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State last week, Claire has now written to the National Schools Commissioner to raise parents' concerns about the re-brokerage process.

"Save our school" campaign

Over 300 parents, teachers and community representatives attended a meeting in the Zion Church on Tuesday to discuss the current problems at the The Ridings Federation. Claire Young and Pat Hockey were there from your Focus Team.

The Ridings Federation, which runs Winterbourne International Academy and Yate International Academy (including Woodlands Primary School and Nursery) is looking for a new Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to take over to tackle its leadership and financial problems. The Federation is projected to have a £1million deficit at the end of the academic year and is currently without a Chief Executive Principal.

There have been three expressions of interest - from Oasis Community Learning, The Greenshaw Trust and a joint bid from Olympus Academy Trust and Castle School Academy Trust. Oasis have made it clear they are only interested in taking over WIA.

Parents are unhappy about the speed of events and a lack of transparency. Many at the meeting were particularly concerned at the prospect of Oasis taking over. They have launched a "Save our school" campaign - you can sign their petition here and find out more on their website. If you are a parent, you can request to join their Facebook group. On Saturday 26th November they will be holding a peaceful demonstration outside WIA at 12 noon.

Claire has written to the Secretary of State, Justine Greening MP, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System, Lord Nash.

The Federation have published a survey that has to be completed by 3pm next Wednesday. Parents are unhappy that it does not cover the issues they would like to raise and are making extensive use of the other comments box.

Parents concerned as academies seek new sponsors

The Ridings Federation, which runs Winterbourne International Academy and Yate International Academy (including Woodlands Primary School and Nursery) is looking for a new Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to take over to tackle its leadership and financial problems. The Federation is projected to have a £1million deficit at the end of the academic year and is currently without a Chief Executive Principal.

Concerned parents and staff from WIA are holding a public meeting on Tuesday 22nd November from 7-9pm in Zion United Church, Woodend Road, Frampton Cotterell.

Meetings were held at both secondary schools this week at which the Chair of the Board answered questions from parents, teachers, students and community representatives, including local councillor Claire Young. Three MATs have expressed interest - Oasis, Greenshaw and one as yet unnamed as they wish to communicate with the parents at their existing schools first. The Chair explained that after the Board had decided to "re-broker", it was the Department for Education that sought the expressions of interest, not the Board, and it was up to the MATs whether they made proposals for one or both schools.

Academies are regulated by the Government, not the Local Education Authority, so South Glos has no role in deciding what happens next. Normally the decision about which MAT should take over would be taken by the Regional Schools Commissioner, but due to a conflict of interest the decision is being made by one from another region. There is no formal consultation and parents will not see the proposals from the MATs. The Board will be putting out a questionnaire for parents and concerned members of the community to feed in their views through them. The decision is expected to be made before Christmas, with the new arrangements in place by September 2017 at the latest.

Time running out for primary school applications

If your child is due to start primary school in September, you only have until 15th January to apply for a place. You can find out more about applying here and apply online here.

Apply online for school places

If you have a child due to start in reception, move to secondary school or move to a school that has its first admission in year 10 (for example, the Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy), you can apply online now. The closing date is 31st October for secondary school applications and 15th January for primary school applications.

Last chance to apply for 2014 primary school places 15 January

Is your child due to start primary school this year? The deadline to apply for South Gloucestershire primary school places is 15 January. Applications can be submitted online or by post - for further information and an application form, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/primaryadmissions

School admissions consultation

South Glos Council is currently asking for your views on its proposed schools admissions policy for 2014/15. This is that policy that will state how school places will be allocated for that year. Last year some local residents felt they were disadvantaged because of where they lived. You can view the proposed policy and comment online.

Beat the school application deadline

If your child was born between 1 2007 and 31 August 2008 you only have until midnight this Sunday (15 January) to apply for their school place for this September. The easiest way to make sure your application arrives in time is to apply online. You can call 01454 868008 for further advice and support.

Deadline for applying for school places looms

If you have a child due to start infant or primary school in September 2011 (born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007) you need to get your application in by 15 January. You can make your application online and also view the Council's Admission to Schools booklet, which gives more advice on the process.

If you do not submit your application by the closing date of 15 January 2011 your application will be treated as late. This will mean that all on-time applicants will be considered before your application is considered, which may make it less likely that your child will gain a place at your first choice school.

£371,000 extra for schools in Thornbury & Yate constituency

The government has unveiled further details of the Pupil Premium – a key Liberal Democrat policy which will ensure the most disadvantaged children in our country get the help they need.

From April next year every school in England will get £430 for each child in their school on Free School Meals. Based on latest estimates from Sarah Teather MP, Minister of State at the Department for Education, this will mean at least an extra £371,520 for schools to spend on the students who need it most in the Thornbury & Yate constituency.

Each year between now and 2015 the amount spent in our constituency will rise – by 2015 we will be spending a total of £2.5bn nationally on the pupil premium.

This is money on top of what is already being allocated for schoolchildren – no school will lose money as result of the Pupil Premium. And it will be given to Head Teachers to spend at their discretion on what they think works best for their school – be it extra one-to-one classes, breakfast clubs or after-school clubs.

The Pupil Premium was one of four key front page manifesto commitments on which the Liberal Democrats fought the last General Election. Making it a reality will help improve the social mobility and life chances of hundreds of thousands of children from less privileged backgrounds over the coming years.

That is the real difference our party is making in government.

Celebrating Brockeridge School

At the end of this term, Brockeridge Infant School will close to become part of the new Watermore Primary School. On Thursday 16th December the school will be holding a Victorian Open Day to celebrate Brockeridge and its place in the heart of the community since 1846. There will be an exhibition in the hall from 9.30-11.30am and 1.30-5.30pm, where you will be able to look at photos of past pupils and staff, read the old log books to find out what happened in the olden days and meet staff and governors, past and present. Refreshments will be available. Anyone who has ever had an association with the school will be welcome to attend.

At 5.30pm there will be a short closing ceremony where the children will be singing the "Brockeridge Song" for the last time.

Threat to Westerleigh-Pucklechurch transport

On Monday, Claire Young and other Lib Dem Councillors asked South Gloucestershire Council’s ruling Tory cabinet to abandon proposals to cut school transport for primary school pupils from a number of villages including Westerleigh.

Claire had spotted that the figures for the Transport review, published in the papers for the most recent Planning, Tranport and Strategic Environment Select committee, included a saving of £75,000 by ending some rural school transport. After it became clear that the officer presenting the report at the meeting had no further details, Lib Dem Councillors pursued the issue with officers outside the meeting and eventually discovered that the routes in question were:

Westerleigh - Pucklechurch Primary
Tormarton - Trinity Primary, Acton Turville
Badminton - Trinity Primary, Acton Turville
Tytherington, Itchington, Earthcott - St Helens Primary, Alveston

At Cabinet, Claire called on the administration to honour the commitment made by a previous Council to provide the Westerleigh-Pucklechurch service, highlighting the benefits both for pupils and the school of continuing the service and the problems that would be caused if the parents used cars instead or had to remove their children from the school at short notice.

One very important fact that appears to have been overlooked is that if the service to Pucklechurch was stopped, the Council would have to provide free transport to the nearest schools in Yate instead. This may well cost as much, if not more than, the current service as multiple schools may be involved. Certainly the Council could not expect to save anything like the whole cost of the current service.

Although initially the Executive Member for Planning, Transport and the Strategic Environment said the cost per pupil was huge and it needed to be looked at, after a lengthy discussion, the Leader of the Council promised that all parties on the Council would be consulted on the details of how savings would be made before the Cabinet made a decision. Watch this space for further updates.