River Hill Federation & Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST)The Consultation for the River Hill Federation to join Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) as academy members of the Multi Academy Trust is now closed.
The Communitas Group of schools have gone through a consultation exercise and confirmed their intent to join NEST. With the Department for Education they are finalising the arrangements, which were due to complete in February 2022. They have experienced a slight delay, but are still intending to join NEST and form the South London Hub. Therefore, please note that in our letter we stated that they have joined, but due to this delay this is now inaccurate. It is still the intention of Communitas to join NEST.
NEST will support our schools to continue to operate as they do now. This is of benefit because what we are doing is working well in terms of student progress and attainment. NEST will also provide more opportunities than we have now for collaboration and learning from staff in other schools. This will be of benefit because of the professional development this will bring to our teachers and other staff.
NEST is a teaching-hub and all staff will benefit from the high-quality training opportunities that are available. They also run their own National Qualifications Programme and staff have access to this. The training will enhance the quality of teaching and learning for pupils within the Federation. All leaders across the MAT are involved in cross schools’ monitoring of teaching and learning and senior leaders have opportunities to observe and evaluate across schools within the MAT. This will in turn ensure that good practice is always shared within all the schools in the MAT
NEST will support our schools to continue to operate as they do now. This is important in providing stability and consistency to the children at a time when some things would be changing. The improved professional development and collaboration opportunities for staff within the NEST MAT has the potential to bring gradual change that would be of benefit to children’s wellbeing and experience.
Working within this MAT will allow for economy-of-scale in terms of provision. If more schools within the MAT buy into a service, for example a Therapist, then the schools can share this between them and it becomes more cost effective.
There are a number of ways in which the schools will benefit in terms of resources and equipment. The lower cost of central services in the MAT will help the school’s financial position, making more funds available for other things. The scale of NEST means that there will be opportunities to be part of larger contracts that reduce costs, and that we will have a number of schools with which to share recommendations.
For example, NEST has an IT rolling programme. All schools within their MAT are upgrading on a rolling programme which allows for most up to date IT equipment in each school. This is provided from the MAT and will not come from the school’s budget.
The way in which the schools receive SEND funding for students will remain the same. The staffing structure in each school and the way in which SEND students are supported will remain the same, at least initially. Working in close collaboration with other NEST schools will benefit staff in terms of training and sharing expertise. This professional development and collegiate and supportive environment for staff will bring benefits to SEND children.
NEST has their own SENCo hub and provide support for all SENCos within their MAT. They work closely with the Local Authority to ensure that pupils with SEND are supported effectively.
The governing body looked at a number of MATs that operate locally. A very important factor was to identify a MAT that supports the uniqueness of its member schools and one which shares our focus on the children, their learning and their safety. This is what we believe we have found with NEST.
NEST was most closely linked to our Federation’s values and vision. The MAT also allows schools to keep their own curriculum provision and staffing structures which allows consistency and continuity for our pupils and staff.
The reason for having one local committee across the two schools, rather than two separate ones, is to provide continuity. Our current governing body is experienced, works well together and knows the two schools well. There’s no reason to change this model at present. If in future we felt it would be beneficial to separate into two local committees this would be an option.
NESTs approach is very much focussed on not changing things that are working. They do not want to standardise things between schools, preferring to support autonomy so that schools can do what works for them and their communities.
NEST only intervene when it is needed or required.
There are two schools within NEST that share one local committee, so we would not be unique in this.
OFSTED ratings of Schools in NEST:
Schools in South London Hub, joining Feb 2022:
Since joining NEST, the below schools which have had an OFSTED under different frameworks:
Ofsted reports are public documents available online. They contain more detailed information including a section on parents’ views about the school.
No.
A local hub approach provides efficiencies of resourcing, staffing, training and development opportunities. The Hub approach also allows central services to be delivered efficiently and will allow for widening curriculum offers, for example in PE, Music and Modern Foreign Languages.
Career development and cross school working enables staff to remain and develop within the organisation, sharing good practice and ultimately improving pupil outcomes.
There will be no changes to the terms and conditions of employment for staff. This means that maternity pay and rights will remain the same for any staff members who are pregnant now or who will be pregnant in future.
The NEST admissions policy states that: “Each individual school may at its discretion admit children of members of staff in what the school considers to be appropriate circumstances, where: a) Where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time at which the application of admission to the school is made and/or b) The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.”
Any changes to joining schools’ admission policies require a local consultation. If the River Hill Federation joined NEST, we would need to consult to change our admissions policy to align with NEST. Therefore, this would not be implemented until at least 2024/25.
A Multi Academy Trust (MAT) is a group of academy schools overseen by an educational charity. It is a legal entity that governs a group of schools through a single set of directors. The day to day running of the individual schools within the Multi Academy Trust is delegated to ‘local committees’ which are similar to governing bodies.
A business makes profit for its shareholders. An academy is a charitable trust which cannot make profit.
Changes in the educational landscape now mean that many schools are no longer under Local Authority control. Our Local Authority and the Government see the long term future for schools as developing collaboratively through local groupings.
Schools can use the strong collaboration and accountability afforded by a Multi Academy Trust to drive up standards and share best practice and services across the trust. The Government believes that all schools, including those performing well, will benefit from being in a multi-academy trust. They want schools to operate in strong, resilient structures which raise standards.
Multi academy trusts bring together leadership, autonomy, funding and accountability in a single structure, and are currently the best long-term formal arrangement for schools to collaborate and support each other. Because of these benefits, the Government expects that most schools will form or join multi academy trusts as they become academies, helping to secure their long term success.
There is a drive from central government towards schools becoming academies, rather than being maintained by local authorities. Over recent years increasing numbers of schools across the UK are converting to academy status.
Primary schools in Southwark are run in a variety of ways:
Amongst secondary schools there are:
There are rules regarding how a Multi Academy Trust is funded as well as legal requirements but the way in which the Multi Academy Trust operates, its governance, structures, vision and ethos are defined by the Multi Academy Trust directors. Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) encourages autonomy of individual schools and collaborative working. The Governors of the River Hill Federation believe that the way the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) Multi Academy Trust is run is closely aligned with our own ethos for our schools.
Academies are required to follow the law and guidance on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions. These will still be held by the Local Authority even after academisation.
Academy funding agreements state that they must ensure that the school will be at the heart of its community, collaborating and sharing facilities and expertise with other local schools and the wider community. Dog Kennel Hill and Rotherhithe primary schools will always be Southwark schools, working in and for our local communities and having an outward looking approach.
Over the past year, the Governing Body of the River Hill Federation have been considering the advantages of joining a Multi Academy Trust. They have been working to explore the best fit for our schools within a Multi Academy Trust structure.
After careful consideration the governors have agreed that the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) will be our preferred Multi Academy Trust partner.
The Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) has been formed from many forward looking schools which joined together to share the same strong ethos and values .
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) allows a collaborative ethos through the structure within the Multi Academy Trust.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) believes that schools working together can transform and make a difference for children, families, staff and our communities.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) schools believe that they have a moral purpose to provide excellence and opportunity for all to enable lives to be transformed.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) values are ‘learning, inclusion, trust, integrity, enjoyment, success, leadership, collaboration, opportunity, commitment and responsibility.’
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) values co-operation and interaction with stakeholders, so that they will have pride and a desire to be involved in its work. Key partnerships with other organisations will offer further opportunities to enhance teaching and learning across its schools.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) has a model which enables a local cluster of schools to work collaboratively together whilst being part of a larger organisation.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) is committed to supporting the professional development of staff and has a Teaching School Hub within the organisation.
These are values that the Governor’s of the River Hill Federation share and believe in.
Associate Partners.
These schools have not joined but are working closely with NEST:
The following schools joined in February 2022 to form a new south London hub. This is the group that our schools would collaborate most closely with:
Funding for schools within the Multi Academy Trust is allocated on an individual academy basis, governed by a master funding agreement between the Secretary of State and the Multi Academy Trust, and supplemental agreements between the Secretary of State and each school within the Multi Academy Trust.
The schools will ultimately receive the same level of funding as they do currently as maintained schools. However, a percentage of each school’s General Annual Grant (GAG) will be paid into a central pot to support central services such as school improvement services, assessment, finance, payroll, accountancy, human resources, legal, premises etc.
With Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) the cost of central services is lower than we are currently paying to Southwark Local Authority, which will be of benefit to the financial positions of our schools.
The schools currently receive support from the Local Authority to help set and monitor our budgets. This includes access to advice and training. In the Multi Academy Trust, the schools will still set and monitor their own budgets but this time with oversight, support and resources from the Multi Academy Trust.
There will be common financial procedures and an agreed scheme of delegation which all schools will follow. Each school will prioritise spending of their own delegated budget on their own school’s needs and have a long term development plan, as we do now. The Local Committee will be accountable for the delegated budget.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) will provide support and monitoring of financial planning and monthly expenditure. The Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) will be audited annually and its schools termly. All accounts for Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST)will be registered at Companies House annually.
The accounts will be externally audited by an accountancy firm. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will also monitor the financial effectiveness of the Trust. Over time there is likely to be further centralisation of service level agreements and financial procedures, resulting in possible economies of scale.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) is accountable to the Department of Education and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for monitoring, financial probity and standards.
Special Education Needs (SEN) funding will come directly from the government through the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Funding allocated to a named child would continue to be funded directly by the local authority. Consequently there will be no change in the process of applying for Special Education Needs (SEN) funding should our schools join the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) Multi Academy Trust.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) fully supports the distinguishing characteristics and independence of its academy schools. Dog Kennel Hill Primary School and Rotherhithe Primary School will therefore retain their identity, keeping their own uniform policies, school names and curriculum provision. We will be free to change these things if we choose to do so at a later stage. We will also keep our school values of ambition, creativity, empathy, courage, resilience and respect. The school Leadership Team and the Local Committee members (what our Governing Body will be known as) will continue to update our school development plans for each school each year, setting the priorities for the schools.
When a school converts from a Local Authority maintained school to a new academy, all permanent staff are entitled to transfer to it under the same employment terms and conditions. Staff will be able to meet with the Trust leadership and ask questions, to ensure they have a full understanding of what is happening. The staffing structure will stay the same and the school leadership will manage any natural changes or staff movement in the usual way.
Staff will not notice significant changes in their everyday working lives. The staffing structure and their responsibilities will stay the same. Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) is committed to following the union agreed national pay and conditions for staff.
It is the intention of Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) that staff will benefit from the advantages of partnership work across schools. Professional development would further expand and there would be a greater range of opportunities for career advancement. Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) has in place structures to support staff collaboration and development, that Dog Kennel Hill Primary School and Rotherhithe Primary School staff would benefit from.
Terms and conditions for existing staff would remain the same and pensions would transfer (including pension contributions). As a maintained school staff, contracts would be transferred via TUPE across from the Local Authority to the Trust. TUPE stands for Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment and means that staff keep their length of service (period of continuous employment).
Teachers’ pensions will continue as part of the teacher’s pension scheme, with the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) continuing with the same employer responsibilities as the predecessor school. Non-teaching staff will usually be members of the local government pension scheme and the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) will secure ‘admitted body’ status with the local pension authority to protect the pension rights of employees and take on employer responsibility, both for contributions and administration of the scheme. Staff can opt out of either if they wish to make alternative provision.
The purpose and strength of a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) organisation is to provide support and monitoring across the group of schools. Regular monitoring visits will continue to take place within the Multi Academy Trust structure, as they do now under Southwark to provide early identification of small issues. They help identify mechanisms to support schools if needed, which contributes to maintaining school standards. The structure of the organisation will enable schools to work together to raise standards. There is a strong programme of school support with half-termly visits and termly external evaluation of the performance of all Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) schools.
This support structure makes it unlikely a school would receive a low Ofsted rating. However, if this did happen the school would be supported within the Multi Academy Trust and it would not be to the detriment of other schools.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) is committed to effective governance at all levels within the organisation. This diagram outlines the governance structures.
Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) has layers of Governance throughout the organisation:
The Members: The Guardians of the constitution who monitor the vision and values of the organisation. Their role is to appoint Directors and to ensure the moral purpose of the organisation.
The Trust Board: Has overall responsibility and ultimate decision making authority for all the work of the Academy Trust, including the establishment and maintenance of the Academies. It has a statutory responsibility for the financial probity of each school as well as the overall organisation and the educational standards across the trust group of schools.
Key functions:
– Provide overview, scrutiny and will challenge educational and financial performance; to include pay and conditions, audit, and standards.
Area Hub: Member representation from the cluster of schools’ Local Committees who are accountable for the hub provision and performance.
Key Function
– Support academy leaders and Local Committee members to shape and influence the Trust in achieving its mission: ‘Excellence and Opportunity for all, enabling lives to be transformed.’
– Provide a structure of support and challenge to enable effective development of school improvement initiatives, monitoring and quality assurance through external services and forums.
– Ensure an effective flow of communication between the Local Committees, Area Hub Boards and the Trust Board.
Local committee: Each school in the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) will have a Local Committee, similar to the current governing body. Our schools share a
Governing Body across the River Hill Federation and in Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) we would have one Local Committee working across the two schools.
River Hill Federation currently has one Governing Body that has responsibility for two schools, Dog Kennel Hill Primary School and Rotherhithe Primary School. You can read on our website what the Governing Body currently does. https://riverhillfederation.co.uk/governing-body/
The Governing Body of the River Hill Federation will become known as the Local Committee and will continue to oversee the two schools. It will include representatives of staff, parents and the local community, just as our Governing Body does now. Our structure will continue, with the Local Committee being delegated the relevant authority to oversee the strategic direction and accountability of the two schools. The Local Committee will nominate suitably skilled representatives to the local hub to be allocated to the Trust Board sub-committees. Their role is to hold the Trust to account and contribute to the development of the wider organisation.
The Local Committee’s role:
– To oversee the effectiveness of the schools and together with the Executive Headteacher and the two Head of Schools to provide strategic direction for the work and improvement of the school.
– To support, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of the schools and monitor the budgets.
– To hold the schools to account for the standards achieved and the quality of education.
– To positively promote the Academy to prospective parents, staff and key stakeholders.
– To support the Academy in attaining the educational goals it sets and in keeping pupils and staff safe at all times.
– Provide drive and challenge, through the implementation of School Improvement Plan and self-evaluation framework within the school.
– To contribute and fulfil the vision and ethos of Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST), to achieve the aims and ambitions for all our pupils and workforce and to uphold the benefit of collaboration and mutual support.
– Contribute to the strategic aims and development of the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST).
Local Committee members will also be part of Forums across Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST), whose role is to:
– Generate new ideas.
– Provide networking and build relationships.
– Promote the values and work within the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) group of schools.
– Provide challenge and support.
– Influence policy and development.
– Provide a voice within the organisation.
Each Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) school will retain their own PTA (in the case of Dog Kennel Hill this group is called the Friends of Dog Kennel Hill) and keep any funds raised. PTAs will also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with similar groups at other schools and to share ideas for fundraising.
When a school joins a Multi Academy Trust, the buildings will be transferred from the Local Authority to the Multi Academy Trust by way of a 125 year lease. This would happen in the case of both schools. Rotherhithe Primary School is soon going to move into a new building and would retain the new building for the use of the school and community.
No. All schools will follow the common admission framework as agreed with the Local Authority. Each school’s admissions criteria will continue to apply.
It is by working collaboratively in a multiplicity of partnerships and networks that the River Hill Federation will continue to grow and flourish. As education funding comes under increased pressure and resources are reduced, being part of a larger organisation will work to our advantage. The economies of scale afforded by working in a wider partnership will help us save money on services and suppliers, with improved service delivery at all levels.
In the present climate where there are shortages of teachers and leaders nationally, we will be able to recruit, train and retain the highest quality of staff. We will make our budgets go further so that we can maintain and improve upon the educational outcomes of all of Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) pupils. Decisions relating to staff and resources in Dog Kennel Hill Primary School and Rotherhithe Primary School will remain with the Executive Head and Heads of Schools.
The Governing Body of the River Hill Federation will make the final decision on whether the schools will transfer to academy status within the Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) Multi Academy Trust. We will carefully consider the responses to this consultation process when we make this decision. If we proceed we would expect to join Nexus Education Schools Trust (NEST) in September 2022.
