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Polehampton C of E Schools Federation
In September 2011, Polehampton C. of E. Infant School and Polehampton C. of E. Junior School formed a Hard Federation. The schools went through a thorough and lengthy consultation process to establish the Federation. 
A Hard Federation means that there is one Executive Headteacher and one Governing Body across both schools. For Polehampton, Miss Helen Ball, the previous Infant Headteacher was appointed to this role. The two governing bodies of the Infant and Junior Schools re-constituted themselves to form one new Governing Body.
Each school remains a separate institution, with its own budget, admissions and Ofsted inspections. 

What does this mean for Polehampton Pupils now?
The vision for the Federation is for Polehampton pupils to have an even better learning journey across both schools. 
  • We ensure that we provide an excellent curriculum across Infants and Juniors that is planned with clear progression and continuity. 
  • There are more opportunities for the children to work together in projects in each other's schools, to learn and play from older and younger children. 
  • There is even better transition for the pupils from Year 2 to Year 3, as staff work in each other's schools to build familiarity with names and faces as they move on. 
  • We have improved the quality of our teaching by having joint training to ensure we follow the same teaching styles. 
  • We have the capacity to have additional staff on our Senior Leadership and Senior Management Teams, leading the improvement plans. 
  • Both schools have a Head on site each day, whilst the Executive Headteacher can plan strategically across both schools. 
  • We have a shared values cycle so our pupils receive the same inspirational messages about respect, resilience and responsibility. 
With both schools judged as OUTSTANDING by Ofsted, we feel confident that our pupils are receiving an excellent education, which is served by our Federation. 
However, we are not complacent and regularly review our practice and look for opportunities to improve our provision even further. 

Background Information - Letters to parents about the Federation
When the federation was first proposed by Governors in September 2010, there was a steady stream of information from school about the federation proposals - through the school newsletter, meetings with parents and letters home. We have gathered the details together here to provide a background showing how the federation process evolved - see below.

Letter to parents announcing decision to Federate 7th Dec 2010 


Dear Parents and Carers,
 
The Governing Bodies are pleased to announce that the proposal to federate the two schools was passed unanimously on Monday evening.  Helen Ball will assume the role of Executive Head with effect from 1st September 2011.  Until then, Helen Ball and Paula Montie will continue within their current roles as Head Teachers of the two schools.  

We would like to thank you for your comments and support through the consultation process.  We have been pleased with the level of trust and confidence shown in the proposed arrangements and recognise that this commitment will be key to ensuring the success of the Federated Schools.

There is now a considerable amount of planning and discussion required before September. The priorities for the Governing Bodies, working in liaison with Helen and school staff, are to : 

• establish a Joint Steering Committee to guide the two schools through the process;
• develop a new leadership model and management structure; and
• maintain clear and constant communication with the school community.
In January we will be publishing a timetable of key dates and deadlines for the rest of the school year.  If you have any questions in the meantime please contact either Debbie or Allistaire via the schools.
We would like to congratulate Helen on her appointment.  The decision to federate is a great compliment to the leadership of both Paula and Helen, who have worked so hard to ensure we have two excellent schools and to develop a shared ethos and vision that has enabled this next stage in the schools’ development.

Kind regards,

Debbie Richards and Allistaire Leighton-Young
Chairs of the Infant and Junior Schools Governing Bodies

Newsletter Update 14th Jan 2011 

This morning, we held the first meeting of the steering committee – a group of staff and governors from the Infant and the Junior School who will guide the schools toward Federation in September this year. We have agreed terms of reference for our group and a plan of action to take us forwards. Main agenda items include governance and staffing issues, looking at how our budgets will support our work and how will we communicate throughout the process. 
We will keep in touch with you as this important work as it progresses.

Newsletter Update 4th Feb 2011 

The Steering Group had its regular meeting on Wednesday this week. We’re pleased to report all items are progressing in accordance with our plans.  If you have any questions at this stage or in the future, please contact the Chairs of Governors for either the Infant or Junior School via the school office – thank you.

Newsletter Update 1st April 2011 

The Steering Group met again this week. We had another very positive, moving forward on areas such as a model for governance, staffing and finance. The committee would like to thank Mrs Kate Beauchamp for her work guiding us through the statutory instruments for federations. And we wish Kate and her family (Anna in orange) good luck in their Washington adventure!

Newsletter Update 13th May 2011

As the federation of the infant and junior school is now less than one term away, we are very busy planning the Autumn term in light of the new organisation. I thought I’d just give you a few examples of the meetings being held to make our plans come to life.
• The Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers are holding regular meetings to discuss staffing, organisation, the budget, policies, delegation of duties and diary dates.
• I have met with both secretaries to look at shared organisational issues, such as newsletters.
• I have met with both finance officers to ensure financial compliance will be well managed from September.
• Both SENCOs have met to plan for transition and shared knowledge of our children.
• There have been many meetings about the Governing Body’s future plans and policy reviews so there is one plan across both schools in terms of policy and development.
These are exciting times! We will be looking for feedback from parents to ensure we stay on the right track, so we will ensure we have opportunities to gather your views and opinions of the schools under the federation.

Newsletter Update 10th June 2011 

The Steering Group would like to up-date you about the process for forming the Federation Governing Body (FGB) and how we’ve decided to proceed.

The new FGB  will be legally formed on September 1st 2011.
In light of the new Federation status of the two schools, it is crucial that the stability and experience of the governing body be protected as far as possible.  To allow for this to happen, all existing governors will be part of the new FGB. This will require some governors to take new categories. 
This will take place through a nominal election process on 1st September 2011.
The terms of office of all governors shall, however, be restricted to the length of term of office remaining immediately prior to that nominal election.  This is to ensure that the integrity of the election and appointment process is protected as far as possible and that new candidates  wishing to stand for election or appointment as governors of the FGB have that opportunity at the same time they would have had, if the original terms of office of all governors had run their natural course.

The new FGB will start with one parent governor vacancy and we intend to hold an election in the Autumn term to fill this position.

If you have any questions or comments then please contact one of the school offices and a member of the Steering Committee will respond to your enquiry.

News - End of Summer Term 2011

Following the decision to create a Federation between the Infant and Junior School in December 2010, the schools have been working hard to create a plan for the future.

The decision to stay as two separate schools under a Federation, rather than become one school as an amalgamation, allows us to keep the strengths and differences of each school, whilst allowing closer links to develop more easily.

For the children and parents, I believe little change will be apparent. We are going to start with all the current arrangements as normal. 
Changes will only take place as and when we decide to, as schools might normally develop and change over time or as we think it might be appropriate with the closer links.

What will be the same?
  • There are no plans to change the House system at the Junior School or to introduce it at the Infant School – this is a great, age appropriate team building system that works very well at the Junior School.
  • We will be keeping 2 websites and 2 newsletters in the Autumn term. Websites will sign-post each school as they do now. Newsletters will have a section for each school and a joint section so parents with children at both can easily see which parts are repeated. 
  • There are no plans to change the uniform. 

What will be different?
  • There will be one Executive Headteacher working across both schools. I intend to alternate my days between the Infant and Junior School in the Autumn term. However, with special events and external meetings, I might have to adjust these times to suit. As I know nearly every child in both schools, this will enable great continuity for the children. 
  • There will be an out-of-class “Head” in each school. Miss Perkins at the Infant School and Mrs Litson at the Junior School will be responsible for much of the day-to-day running of the schools. Many parents are already used to working with Miss Perkins and Mrs Litson and, with no teaching commitment, they will have more time to work with parents, children and staff. 
  • There will be one Governing Body, working across both schools, which will allow for a greater overview of our children’s education from 4-11.

We will be consulting with the whole school community as this process develops. 
At the end of the Autumn term, we will ask how things are going and give parents a chance to have their say and make suggestions. 

Of course, you don’t have to wait for then – we are always keen to hear your views and opinions, so do keep in touch with us as we start this new joint working. 

Best wishes 
Helen Ball
(to be) Executive Headteacher
Polehampton C. of E. Schools Federation