C .A .T.News
FIGHTING FOR FAIRER FUNDING SPELLING IT OUT: Comberton Academy Trust Chief Executive Stephen Munday tells Anglia News viewers why the current education funding formula, which gives Cambridgeshire Schools the least money per pupil nationally, is so unfair.
ISSUE 2, MARCH 2014
The magazine of the
All change at The Voyager
Comberton Academy Trust Chief Executive Stephen Munday has taken charge at The Voyager as the Peterborough School undergoes major changes.
He has stepped into the role of Acting Executive Principal after the surprise resignation of Dr Yvonne Birch at half-term following an unannounced Ofsted inspection the previous week. Mr Munday said: “This is now a pivotal moment in the development of The Voyager within the Comberton Academy Trust. “Circumstances have forced certain developments, but it does provide a remarkable opportunity for all of us now to ensure that The Voyager becomes the great school that we all want. Trustees, governors and staff are all entirely committed to this. I add my own unequivocal commitment to that.” His new role at The Voyager is in addition to his roles heading the Trust and as Executive Principal of Cambourne and Comberton Village Colleges, although he has stood down as Chair of Governors at the Voyager. Andy Coles, the previous Vice Chair, is now acting Chair. The Heads of School at Comberton – Peter Law and Paul Lawrence – and Cambourne – Claire Coates – will play an even more significant role in the running of their schools to allow Mr Munday to focus on overseeing developments at The Voyager, which joined CAT in 2011. These developments include: l A major focus on the improvement of student behaviour at The Voyager so that it is immediately raised to a high standard and then kept there. This will include an immediate insistence that every student wears full and proper uniform at all times. l Closer and more significant joint staffing arrangements between The Voyager and the other Academies in the Trust, especially Comberton Village College. This will present staff at all of the Academies with some exciting opportunities for development and joint working. It will also be a mechanism for ensuring that standards of teaching are raised further still at The Voyager, building on some of the recent improvements that have occurred. l A further focussing on raising achievement further still this summer and beyond. Achievement has risen considerably at The Voyager in the last
REMOTE TEACHING AND LEARNING: Voyager Sixth Formers are taught maths from Comberton’s meeting room by AST Mark Dawes.
New maths Lync is set up When it became clear last summer that there were some A-level students at The Voyager Academy whose timetable couldn’t neatly accommodate their choice of Further Maths modules, a new link was set up. Their lessons take place during the school day on Friday with the students in a classroom in Peterborough, while their teacher, Mr Dawes, is in a room in Comberton. The Lync video-conferencing software allows the teacher and students to discuss the topic, to give explanations and for work to be
transferred between the two. This virtual classroom has been a first for the Comberton Academy Trust and is something that has a lot of potential. One of the students, Philippa Whieeler, said: “I am very grateful for the support of Comberton Academy Trust. It has been very beneficial to use the video conference to get extra teaching support. Mr Dawes said: “It is great that the students can do the mathematics modules they want and can do them with a teacher rather than merely working through a textbook.”
two years, but we must be certain that it moves on apace again. l A raised profile for the role of Physical Education and Sport at the Academy, both as a desirable end in itself and as a means for securing strong engagement in their general learning by many pupils. This will be pushed ahead through a very strong partnership with the Youth Sports Trust. l A confirmation of the excellence of Performing Arts at The Voyager, seeking to use this long-standing strength as a mechanism for stronger engagement by all pupils in their general learning. l A further development of the international dimension and opportunity in the learning experience of all Voyager pupils, supported by Rachel Hawkes, the International Co-ordinator currently based at Comberton Village College. l Engagement with a national scheme with the Centre for British Teachers (CfBT)that will provide a structure to bring together the leaders of all of the Academies in the Trust to be clear about the standards in each Academy and to confirm mutual improvement plans. l Develop significantly further joint pupil opportunities across the Academies within the Comberton Academy Trust. These include international trips, joint productions, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, opportunities for gifted and talented pupils and student leadership opportunities. l Build further on the real strength of the Sixth Form at The Voyager. This was already seen as clearly good last summer and there is no doubt that it has improved further since then. Applications are up considerably on anything that has happened in the school’s history. We will build on this strength and push to ensure that the Sixth Form is a clear centre of excellence in Peterborough. This will include effective working with the Comberton Sixth Form.
Better together . . .
Key questions for the C.A.T. are how and why all the Academies in the Trust can be better off working together as a group than as individual Academies. There are a number of powerful and clear answers to that question, both educational and economic. One of the answers revolves around the potential to confirm standards in each other’s Academies and plan for improvement together, using each other’s capacity and strengths. The four Academies in the Trust - Comberton, Cambourne, Voyager and Melbourn - have the opportunity this year to lead the way in piloting a new national programme being developed by the Centre for British Teachers (CfBT), an internationally based charity. Seven groups of schools/Academies have been asked to pilot the new ‘Schools Partnership Programme’ and to help design the programme for a national roll-out. The C.A.T. Academies are one of these first seven groups. The essence of the scheme is to provide an effective and powerful mechanism through which groups of schools/Academies can confirm each other’s performance in a robust fashion and then identify key development needs. This then leads to a process of mutual planning for improvement, including how each school/Academy can assist others in their plans to improve. C.A.T. will try out these new processes (including ways of using data) and will help to shape the new scheme. This is an excellent development for us. It gives a mechanism for us to work together powerfully and to contribute effectively to each other’s improvement. It also puts us at the forefront of what promises to be a major new national scheme for schools and Academies. We look forward to taking it forward in the coming weeks and months. Stephen Munday
Why funding is so unfair
C.A.T. Chief Executive Stephen Munday is one of the head teachers spearheading the fight for fairer funding for Cambridgeshire’s schools. Here he explains why the funding is so unjust.
How is a school’s or an Academy’s funding determined? This might seem rather an obvious question that might have an obvious answer. However, the answer is, in fact, anything but clear and reasonable.
located, even though it is not part of that Authority. The Cambridgeshire C.A.T. Academies are therefore among the worst-funded Academies in the country. This begins to look even more extraordinary when remembering that Cambourne Village College was established as a Free School. This is a national programme. A fundamental determining factor Each Free School is approved in how schools and Academies are through a national process. Howfunded is down to an historical acever, as you might have guessed, cident. More than 30 years ago, a somehow, funding for Free baseline was established for every Schools also reverts to be in line Local Authority’s educational with the particular Local Authority! spend/income based on the Two further points within C.A.T. amount that was allocated/spent bring home further the entirely at that time. unreasonable nature of the curUnfortunately that amount was rent funding system. Both The particularly low for CamVoyager and Comberton Village bridgeshire. That is now locked in College have Sixth Form stuas the amount allocated all these dents. Sixth Formers are funded years later. Not very fair and not through a national funding sysvery rational it might well be artem. gued. Why this can happen but it canOf course, becoming an Academy not for pre-16 funding seems an means being part of a national impossible question to answer. system. None of the C.A.T. AcadeThe Voyager is, of course, also mies reports to its Local Authority. located in Peterborough. That Rather, each reports directly to means that each 11-16 pupil is Central Government and ultifunded at a higher level than in mately to the Secretary of State. the Cambridgeshire Academies. All Academies are also funded diThere is only one reasonable way rectly from the Education Funding forward. We need a national Agency (EFA). funding formula for Academies Given this, one might reasonably (and for schools) and we need it guess that there is a standard, naquickly. tional way of funding all AcadeOne is promised for 2015-16, but mies in an even way. There is not. Funding is still determined by the FUNDING CRISIS: Stephen Munday points out the facts to Anglia News re- there are not yet any details. In truth, we need it right now. Authority in which an Academy is porter Elodie Harper.
MVC prove top class!
Students at Melbourn Village College held a three-week Readathon just before half-term knowing their school gives them the best chance of making progress in English in the country. Students in Years 7-9 took part in their marathon reading challenge for three chosen charities as the college celebrated being named in the top 5% nationally for progress in English between Key Stage 2 (the end of primary school) and Key Stage 4 (the end of Year 11). Initial reports from Raiseonline, which compares data nationally from all schools, showed that Melbourn students made progress significantly above the national average. The data, which is used as a starting point for OFSTED before an inspection, showed that more than 90% of Melbourn students made the expected progress, compared to the national average of 69%. Reading is one of the key skills in English and Melbourn used that in a threeweek push to raise money for CLIC Sargent, the children’s cancer charity, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, for seriously ill and disabled children, and Readwell, which provides
new books and storytellers for children in hospital. This charity has recently provided a £30,000 grant to fund Addenbrooke’s Children’s Ward for three years through the Barbara Ward Children’s Foundation, so will help local families. Melbourn Principal Simon Holmes said: “We are always looking to encourage a love of reading in our students; there is strong evidence to link reading for pleasure and literacy to academic success as well as personal happiness. Readathon enabled us to have a focus on reading whilst supporting great causes at the same time.” The English progress results were not the only cause for celebration at the college, which is the newest member of the Comberton Academy Trust, having joined last September. Students at Melbourn are also making excellent progress in maths with the latest figures putting them in the top 10% nationally. This continues an upward trend over the last three years where figures show that 83% of MVC students achieved the Government‘s ‘expected’ progress from KS2-KS4 compared to 70% nationally.
READ ALL ABOUT IT: Melbourn’s English results are cause for celebration.
Student voice will be heard The Comberton Academy Trust has been chosen to take part in an innovative pilot project called ‘Space for Dialogue’.
together. At the meeting we discussed the Backed by Norfolk & Norwich Festival significance of being able to work with the Bridge, the project encourages students to Trust and talked about a future event we express their views and for those views to will be organising. Working alongside two be listened to. artists, we plan to hold an event that incorMembers of the newlyformed Trust Student Council are already working together on ‘Space for Dialogue’, which will allow pupils at all the Trust’s Academies to find their creative voice and to develop ways that students can communicate across the Trust. ‘Space for Dialogue’ will be led by students, facilitated by artists from UROCK creative, which specialises in championing young peoples’ voices and leadership TALKING: Student leaders skills through the use of meet at The Voyager, creative activities. The student councils and UROCK made a joint bid porates both art and the message that to be part of the project. young people have a voice. We have not yet Student leaders from Comberton Village decided on the nature of this event but as a College, Melbourn Village College and The student body we are excited to be able to Voyager Academy have already met in the be part of something that brings together Peterborough school, where they used the so many positive ideas.” artwork displayed by Voyager students to The students are already linking up to each inspire discussion about the importance other's council meetings and the Trust Stuand diversity of student voices. dent Council will further develop ideas Anna Norgett, one of the Comberton stusuch as shared arts and sports events, dent representatives, said: “The purpose of joint trips and learning experiences. There our visit was to form an academy council to are also plans to organise a conference and voice a range of students' opinions and orenter a competition to win a Speakers ganise events to bring the four academies School Council Award for innovative school
council projects.. The CAT project, which has received Norfolk & Norwich Festival Bridge Culture Chain investment, aims to develop a model for student-led conferencing using creative new technologies and space for dialogue to develop students as engaged future citizens. Rosalind Scott, in charge of developing partnerships across the Trust, said: “Staff are delighted that students are leading the development of a Trustwide community by working together in this way. This will empower students to make their voices heard in school and to contribute or even lead debates about education and business.” Di Goldsmith, artistic director of UROCK, said: "This is a real opportunity to develop a collective voice across all ages of the student population of these schools. We will be using creative questioning and provocations based upon their environment, culture and identity. “We will be working towards a cultural change to find new ways of listening to and working with young people. “This is a pilot arts business model based upon connecting organisations empowered by young people's leadership, and what's exciting is it could work in a variety of settings.”
Making progess on a global scale!
The Comberton Academy Trust’s International dimension is making rapid progress as greater collaboration between the schools takes place. One of the five core principles of CAT states that education must have a strong international outlook and there is clear evidence that this is happening across all the schools. The International Working Group meetings are now Trust-wide and there are a number of joint projects. Comberton and Melbourn are running three trips together this academic year; the successful Spanish immersion course to Comillas in October half-term, the Spanish Year 10 work experience visit to the same city in July and the German Exchange, which welcomes visitors from Bad Hersfeld this half-term after the English students went there just before Christ mas. Cambourne has already held several international events, including the International Talent Evening, Spanglovision and the Spelling Bee. In May, 40 Cambourne students will travel to Comillas for the Spanish immersion visit. In addition Comberton, which holds the British Council Full International Award is working with The Voyager, Melbourn and Cambourne so they
can also achieve this. Voyager recently took their first step on the ladder by achieving the Foundation (bronze) award and are currently pursuing projects to help them obtain the InJOINT termediate grading, while Melbourn are TRIP: Comberton just setting out on this route. Both Voyager and Melbourn are already outand Melward-looking and have long standing bourn students on a international projects that enhance the life and curriculum of the schools. Spanish Comberton Assistant Principal and Inimmersion ternational Co-Ordinator Rachel trip to Hawkes said: “We all see the value in Comillas. working together across the Trust to support each other in making the most of the international dimension within our schools. “Each school has something unique to offer the others in this respect. For example, we hope to link Portuguese-speaking students at Voyager with Comberton students who are set to go to Rio for the World Cup. “I am delighted that The Voyager already has their bronze award, which recognises the value of their existing international work. “Schools that hold the full international award have to collaborate to support other schools in their international work to maintain the award, and I hope we can continue to do this with the Voyager, Melbourn and Cambourne.”