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Federation

Federation. A Guide For Governors. What is ‘Hard’ Federation?. The coming together of two of more schools under a single governing body No limit to the number of schools in a federation Any category of school can federate (there are some issues when VA schools seek to federate with a non-VA)

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Federation

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  1. Federation A Guide For Governors

  2. What is ‘Hard’ Federation? The coming together of two of more schools under a single governing body No limit to the number of schools in a federation Any category of school can federate (there are some issues when VA schools seek to federate with a non-VA) Any size of school can federate

  3. Why should we consider federation? • Designed to maintain or raise standards • Enable the sharing of resources • Offer wider opportunities for children • Enable schools to meet demands of 21st century teaching, learning and curriculum • Enhance CPD opportunities for staff • Share specialist knowledge • Meet challenges of staffing and budget through greater flexibility

  4. Would our school lose its identity? • No! • Each school retains its own: • Name • Category (eg religious foundation or community status) • Budget • DFE number • Staff • Catchment area • Admission number • Inspected as an individual school though moving to inspection of federated schools at the same time • Individual test results

  5. So how does federation help? • Staff can share resources and work together, so less isolation and more opportunities • Flexibility of budget across the federation • Economies of scale for procurement of services • Greater opportunities for pupils • Development of shared policies avoiding duplication of effort

  6. How will staff be affected? • No heads are made redundant • If a head does leave, the school retains the budget for a head even if another head within the federation is appointed to the school • Staff can agree to work across different schools within the federation but cannot be made to do so (to date, staff within federations have welcomed the chance to diversify or to specialise)

  7. Will we lose good governors? • It is true that the governors are those most immediately affected • The governing body (depending on the number and categories of schools federating) is likely to be between 9 and 20 as now, so some governors may have to step down….BUT • Many can be retained as Associate Members so that their expertise and experience aren’t lost and they can continue to make a valuable contribution to the school

  8. What is the most important thing to make a federation successful? • A shared vision for what you are seeking to achieve and strong leadership to take the vision forward • Getting to know and trust each other before entering into the hard federation • A shared understanding that this is the best way forward for all of the schools involved • A federated governing body that accepts full corporate care and responsibility for every school in the federation

  9. What are the implications for church schools? • Regulations set out clear constitution for all combinations of federated governing body • Foundation governors still a minority for VCs in any federation • Risk that all foundation governors may be clergy because of lack of places so: • Need to review best way forward for governance and pastoral support across the federation

  10. For VA schools… • To federate with a non-VA school would mean a loss of the foundation governor majority • Any proposal would be carefully scrutinised by the DBE but not ruled out if it were in the best interests of the school, pupils and the community • The federated governing body would be the employers of the staff at the VA school, the admissions authority for that school and would bear the governors’ 10% liability for the capital work at that school

  11. Church School Distinctiveness • Each church school within the federation would still have a SIAS inspection • The federated governing body would have corporate responsibility for maintaining and developing the church school foundation • The vision for the federation would have to include and affirm the status of any church school and meet any legal requirements set out in the trust deed

  12. How to make it work…. • Clear vision – what you want to achieve and how to do it • Work with all stakeholders, be inclusive and consultative and build trust • Be realistic – it will be hard work, especially in the first year, so • Celebrate successes and • Evaluate after 6 months to see how successful you’ve been

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