Anyone at a new style academy since September 2010 ?

[mrsmbuble]

Has anyone got experience of a school that recently converted to academy status ? I have been reading with interest some of the other threads and just wanted to know if anyone has first hand experience.

By the way, why can't you view reports for these schools on Ofsted site, will they be inspected differently in the future ?

I work at a newly converted Academy - what would you like to know?!

Were you initially sceptical of the change from LEA?
How do you feel about it now you have worked in one for some time?

My children's school is undergoing a consultation process to convert to academy status as is most of the other secondary schools in the area. I am unsure of the advantages but worry about the school being left behind if we don't convert. As a parent I have been asked to give my views.Can anyone give advice?

it's really weird but i will give you my opinion

1. the city which i live near (and the county which i live in) converted at least 4 old style secondaries(3 were failing)into three new academy schools, 2 opened last september and one is due to open this september.The 2 that opened last year do seem to be improving(according to ofsted)but one now has asked for voluntary redundancies(and there could be compulsary)and this is fine as it is not overseen as such by the lea.I have a friend that is a teacher and she knows that her position will go as she is part time and they are not very welcoming to any part timers(generally teachers who work part time do so for a reason so can not really be flexible easily-mainly childcare, disability or elderly parents needing care).Secondly they can have different policies(again not overseen by lea)on special educational needs and this as a parent with a child with a disability worries me greatly as the lea are bad enough to deal with, never mind adding in another level of possible barrier.

Other schools in this city are now looking into the process of becoming acadamies(consulting with parents etc) by september or are already on the ay to becoming an academy by september. In the above the county council is supporting all the schools in their decisions. The secondary my daughter will start at in september is not interested at this time in becoming an academy and i am quite relieved about that at the moment(having the feeling of better the devil you know)and it is an ofsted outstanding school. But in my home town where my parents live it is a totally different story-the county council are actively advising schools not to become academies and how bad it will be for the town and especially if only one or two schools do decide to become academies it would create a two tier sysyem.

So sadly, read into that what you may- but i am glad atm the school my dd will attend will not be undergoing any changes especially in her transition years.

On the matter of redundancies -our school has asked for voluntary based on next years budget being awful and they are not an academy.

Killergerbil, just wanted to know if anything has changed for the children: smaller group teaching, more after school activities, teachers having to do more extra-curricular work, more fundraising or donations from parents, increase in curriculum options, change in school timings, ....if I think of anymore I will post.

As you are in a newly converted academy, does this mean you are in an 'outstanding' Ofsted rated school ?

My DD1 is in a newly converted academy. The only difference that I can see so far is that we can no longer benefit from the musical instrumentnpurchase scheme, something which was NOT made clear to parents before the change. But since they didn't even properly consult the parents, and didn't report back any of the arguments made against conversion, I'm not surprised.

Rules have changed again - a school does not need to be outstanding to apply for academy status

DCs school converted to academy status last week. I don't really think it will affect it too much. It is a very well run school which has been turned around from a sink school with just 13% getting 5 GCSEs.

thetasigamamum

The only difference that I can see so far is that we can no longer benefit from the musical instrument purchase scheme, something which was NOT made clear to parents before the change.

You are right, that is just a TINY change that TOTALLY impacts on Every Child Matters and will UTTERLY scupper the chances of children with low income parents from fulfilling their music potential
Time to shout from the rooftops - anybody got music student kids??

We have become outstanding this term - once we applied for academy status, we almost immediately got an ofsted inspection which made us outstanding. Very little will change for the children, the main benefit being that we won't be forced to adopt the new KS3 national curriculum, but can continue to follow the personalised curriculum that suits the needs of our students. By gaining control of the finances from the LEA will will be slightly better off, which hopefully will reduce the need for redundancies and allow us to continue to run those less popular courses and maintain student choice

I work as support staff in an outstanding school, applying for academy status as of 1st august. Most of the resitance seems so far to be from staff concerned about potential changes to their terms and conditions of employment in the future. At this stage the governing body say there will be no changes, very noble to committ to, although that is not in writing, and a bit naive of them or ignorant of the staffs knowledge of how business works. We know this isn't a charity!
The schools with SEN are expected to continue these services where possible. This service provision brings money into the school so as long as it is not loss making, or a detriment to the pupils, I can't see the business managers wanting to ditch it?! IMHO.
Some educators are concerned that the Academy status will take us back decades, with children unable to get a fair equal chance of education. I honestly don't know.
I am 9 weeks pregnant with my first, as yet I have not told work, friends have advised me to leave it as late as possible to avoid potential 'sneaky' outmanoeuvring. I know I have legal rights, but I have also been a PA to many a ruthless Businessman and woman. They generally get what they want, through loopholes and excuses.
I know I am a valued member of staff, glowing reports from line managers, forever doing extra curricular things, unpaid. But I also know that I would be the cheapest by far, to get rid of if they had to make redundancies. I am up against women with 20-30 years of service to pay off!
At the moment I remain positive about the school's commitment to the pupils and ensuring the provision of high quality curriculum and extra curricular, and enhancement. I can not however predict the future. the Head will not be there forever, and the governing body are gentlemen of a certain age, soon enough they will not be there and a more radical/ ignorant team may come on board.

Will keep you posted on how things progress here x

DD's school changed to Academy in the Autumn Term. I haven't noticed any changes, but then she only started in September!

Our local academy (one of top schools in area) just had meeting at which Head proclaimed there would be considerable cuts in public funding which could mean losing staff unless parents were able to contribute. This school converted to academy in September 2010.