A New School for North SwindonDesigned, delivered and driven by the community for the community

Welcome & Happy New Year

My name is Kevin Gray

Some may know me as the Chair of Governors at Isambard

If you do, please forget that as its not relevant

Think of me as an Abbey Meads resident with:a 8 year old who has no secondary school to go to

a 13 year old with no local 16+ facility to go to

I am here because I strongly believe in the need for a new school in North Swindon

Because you are here, I am presuming you are equally interested in resolving this issue

If you want a new school …

There is only one way to get a new school today, that is a Free School bid

It involves submitting a bid to the Secretary of State

If the Local Authority (LA) identify a need for a new school they simply open up a competition to see who should submit a bid for them

The new school will be an academy

It will be accountable to the secretary of state not the LA

The next deadline for submitting a bid is May 9th 2014

This is for schools wanting to open Sept 2015 or later

A Free School BidDefining the process

The basic processWork with New Schools Network to construct a full bid

Submit the bid

A successful application will require a Temporary Governing body

That Governing body will:recruit a head an other key staff

Define the vision and ethos of the new school

Open the school

On opening a Full Governing body will be formed

This meeting is not a public meeting for distributing information

It is the first step in this process

What is in a bid?A clear vision

A detailed education plan including details of curriculum, how success will be measured, staffing structure

A indication of need (in sufficient local provision)

An expression of demand (will)

A demonstrable understanding of what it takes to make a school work

Definition of the Governance structure

Financial plans - budgets for the first 5 years

Statement of Preferred location/location options

What is our job?Our primary job is to define the demand.

for 4 to 16 that means clearly showing parents who are willing to send their children to a new school

for 16+ that means showing that the potential students are willing to go to a new facility in the local area

This is performed through a document/petition

Successful bids need to show at least demand equaling or exceeding 150% of day one places

But they also need to show significant demand for subsequent years

This statement of commitment has to be delivered in a set format

How do we do our job?Although our primary objective is to deliver names we will have to do certain tasks to achieve this:

Define a vision for the school

Raise awareness of the bid in in the local community

Reach parents for their support for pre 16 education needs

Reach young people for their support for post 16 education needs

Engaging with traditional local media

Communicate transparently through social media

Who else is involved?Every bid needs a team that consists of:

Local activistsSet school vision

Agree school ethos

Education specialistsProvide curriculum plans

Define staffing structure

Finance specialistsCreate budgets

Seek additional funding

Planning/Premises specialistsIdentify suitable locations

Work with the local authority to finalise a site

The final pieceEvery bid needs a vehicle to get it through the bid process

Free schools are academies

The vehicles available for academies are:Educational establishments

Businesses

Charities

Faith Organisations

If this vehicle comes with its own funding (even partial) then bids tend to travel a lot smoother.

Some Reading MaterialFree School Applicants Handbook

Free Schools 101

Gathering Evidence Guidelines

New Schools Network

Free School Bid – North Swindon

Thank youPlease make sure I have your contact details so that we can reconvene