Newsletter Friday, 8th March 2013 Dear Parent/Carer Following the end of the consultation period, the governing body met on Tuesday, 5th March 2013 to discuss the feedback and outcomes of the consultation process. Only 1 formal objection from a parent to the proposal has been received. Several parents had written to governors with questions. Those parents who wrote to the governing body will receive a written response to their queries directly from the Chair of Governors. Contained within the newsletter this week are the questions raised and the responses. After lengthy discussion and due consideration of the points raised during the consultation process, the Governing Body voted unanimously to begin the formal process of converting to an Academy under the Aspirations Academies Trust. The views of our parents continue to be important to us and the end of the formal consultation does not mean that we do not wish to continue to hear your views on this subject. We will answer any questions you continue to raise. The newsletter will keep you informed of the progress being made on this exciting journey towards achieving our vision to be an outstanding school. Nadine Powrie, Headteacher Year 10 Mock Interview Day On Wednesday 6th March every student in year 10 attended a 30 minute interview with a local business leader. For most Year 10s this was their first ever formal interview. The aim was to support the Year 10s in developing key interview techniques and skills. In preparation each student completed a covering letter and a CV which was given to the interviewer prior to the interview. Students were asked to apply for a job that they have an interest in. The experience proved to be invaluable for the students and the business leaders. ‘Firstly, I would like to state how amazing the Year 10 students have been all day during their interviews. They were clearly nervous, which meant they were taking the experience seriously. All our business leaders were extremely complimentary of the students, and would not hesitate in offering the same experience again in the future. On evaluation, the students commented on the amount they had learnt and how valuable the experience was’ Suzanne Lewis EBP. ‘I was very nervous before the interview, but soon settled once I had been introduced to my interviewer. He was very informative and gave me some excellent advise on how to further improve my CV. A great experience’ Year 10 female student’. World Book Day—7th March 2013 We were delighted to welcome author Andrew Lane to school on World Book Day. Andrew is the author of a series of books about Young Sherlock Holmes. Year 6 pupils from Wallisdean Junior School joined our Year 7 students for an interesting and informative talk from this exciting and entertaining author. The perfect way to mark World Book Day. Harlem Shake for Comic Relief The PE department are organising a whole school Harlem Shake for comic relief and this will take place on Friday March 15th (non school uniform day). We will be holding auditions for the lead dancer on Friday 8th and Monday 11th March in the Gym at Lunchtime. Auditions will start at 1.15 if students/staff are late they will not be able to enter! The audition will be open to students and staff, it would be great to have a member of staff as the lead dancer! Auditions will cost 50p and the money will go to comic relief. Students and staff will be expected to dance freestyle to selected music all at the same time. The PE staff will then select the top 10 dancers to compete in a dance off!
Newsletter Friday, 8th March 2013 Dear Parent, Carer The Governing body would like to thank all parents who attended the two consultation evenings held during the recent consultation period. We would also like to thank the many parents who sent in their forms in support of the move to become an Academy. We anticipated that parents would have many questions about the proposed changes and over the next two pages have provided the answers to those we received in writing. The answers provided will hopefully answer any lingering questions you may have. Please do contact the school if you think of anything that parents need to know and that has not been covered in this section. The governing body voted unanimously at their meeting on 5th March 2013 to start the formal process of conversion to Academy status. The process has now begun with Fareham Academy becoming a reality in September this year. Thank you for your continued support of the school. Elizabeth Webb, Chair of Governors
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Will all current pupils be automatically accepted into the Academy? Yes. Will the current rules regarding catchment areas also apply under the Academy and will there be a new admission process, for example, will pupils have to take am exam or have an interview in order to be accepted into the Academy? The school will continue to be inclusive but parents will apply directly rather than via the Local Authority. Will there be any private investors involved. If so, what would their terms be in for ongoing repayments and interest on their investments? There will be no private investors involved. Will the school still follow the National Curriculum currently set out and what changes if any are being looked to change? The school continually review the curriculum on offer in line with government guidance and regulation. Will the current subjects being taught in options remain the same? The school regularly review the curriculum to ensure the best possible outcomes for students. This will continue to be the case. Why have there been a number of notable resignations recently. Is this relating to proposals being considered under the Academy? No members of staff have left the school due to the proposal to become an academy. Staff turnover has decreased. What is the plan to encourage higher quality of teaching staff to join the Academy, as it would appear a number of the well regarded teachers have left the school in the last year/18 months. The school will fill teaching vacancies with staff who are good and outstanding teachers. Is the decision to convert motivated by extra funding? The school will receive additional funding that previously went to the Local Authority and this will enable us to purchase services previously provided by the LA. Why does the school have to change it’s name when it is a school with a good reputation? In the past the school has had a poor reputation which some residents of the area continue to refer to. The change of name will allow us to build upon our recent rapid and sustained progress including our record breaking exam results. Will the Logo Change? The school logo will change to reflect our new Academy status. Governors, staff and students were all consulted on the choice. The logo has been designed by a professional agency used by AAT across their Academies. Will becoming an Academy assist the school in its vision for the future and continuing successful outcomes for all students? Becoming an Academy will give the school autonomy and allow us to seek expertise from sources worldwide to improve the outcomes for all our students.
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Will teachers have the same say and powers in the teaching methods used, the way the school is being run and other inputs they currently have? There will be no changes to current practice except to improve the outcomes for our students. I feel schools achieve results depending on the standard of teaching. Will an Academy improve the results and achievements of the school, or is a higher standard of teaching required? Ofsted May 2012 noted that teaching at the school is good with an increasing proportion outstanding. The move to Academy will enable us to access quality training from experts to continue our uncompromising drive towards outstanding. How will the academy choose to spend the additional money? Money received will form part of the school budget and the use of this will be to the benefit of all students. Will the Academy still provide the same or improved level of assistance to students as it currently does? For example, additional English classes in place of foreign language classes, provision for exams in smaller groups, alternative lunchtime facilities for those that need them, after school clubs and other such facilities that are currently provided. There will be no changes to provision currently in place other than to make improvements. Will the current governors remain in place and, if so, how will the Academy help them to adapt? As part of the move to Academy the governing body will have to be reconstituted. Training will be provided to all governors. It is down to individual governors to decide if they wish to continue to be a governor at the school. Who would be in control of the new Academy. Currently this is by the board of governors, which is represented by the Local Authority, teachers parents and other parties, what changes would happen The school would continue to be the responsibility of the Governing body but they would be represented on the board of the Aspirations Academies Trust. The school performed very well under Mr Dewhurst, however, since he left the school has not been performing so well. Why under an Academy would this improve given that there would be the same people in control, or would there be a change in leadership/governors. When Mr Dewhurst retired in 2008 the school was classed as ‘coasting’ and the results were not improving year on year. In September 2008 Ofsted graded the school ‘Satisfactory’. In August 2010 students achieved 45% A* to C including maths and English. Mrs Powrie was appointed as new Headteacher in September 2010.The last two summers have seen record breaking results for our students and in August last year 5A* to C results were 74%. There is an uncompromising drive within the school to ensure that our students perform exceptionally well and recent results have confirmed this progress. Ofsted in May 2012 move the school to ‘Good’. What level of opposition from the parent/guardians would be required to stop the transfer to an Academy or would this go ahead in any case. There have been 15 forms returned in support of the change and 1 opposing the move. On transfer to Academy there will be a large injection of money from the Government. What amount is this likely to be and how is this money intended to be spent. The amount from government is £25,000 which is intended to covers the legal costs of the changeover. The residual monies from this expenditure will support the provision of uniform for students to relieve the pressures on our parents. What other Academy options were considered? Governors looked at a number of options available. Becoming a stand alone Academy was not an option. Larger Academy groups can be cumbersome and we wanted to choose an organisation that shared our Aspirations for our students. The capacity that AAT will offer will assist the school on the journey to outstanding. Will existing staff be involved in the applications for extra grants that will be required to make up the budget from opting out of the Local Authority? The school will benefit from extra funding that previously the Local Authority kept. The AAT will assist with the applications for grants as this is an area of expertise for them. How do the Aspirations Academies “Trust” fund their operations? The AAT is a non-profit organisation . Monies are reinvested in the schools. Will we see a change in the school day duration and the timing of holidays? There are no plans to change the school day which currently proves effective. Will poor behaviour of students and disruption in some classes be managed better? The school has a zero tolerance policy on behaviour and will continue to adhere to this.
Newsletter Friday, 8th March 2013 PE News Year 9 Boys Rugby Result: Another great result for the year 9 team who beat Bridgemary 34-10. It was a solid team performance with points being scored by Mikey Godliman, Lewis Wills, Matt John, Chandler Harris and Cameron Robertson. Notable performances from a number of the usual suspects including Matt John, Chandler Harris, James Cloutman and Jacob Pilley however it was James Spratt who really caught the eye tonight playing at scrum half. Bridgemary only had 12 players so 3 of our boys played for them which demonstrated brilliant sportsmanship. These students were Stephen Cumming, Andrew Pearson and Charlie Clark Year 10 Boys Rugby: Bridegmary 0 Neville Lovett 77 Another comprehensive victory with some delightful rugby being played in the process. Wave after wave of attacking play was fired at a lacklustre Bridgemary defence. Our forwards dominated the scrum winning every ball against the head and our backs showed that they really can pass the ball and attack the gaps created. An excellent team performance and very difficult to pick out a Man of the Match, however Kye Wilson did score his first try for the school during this game! Year 10 Girls Netball : The year 10 netball tournament took place on Tuesday at Brune Park school. We had so many girls that wanted to play we took two teams. They won many of their games, including beating Cams Hill, Brune Park and Crofton but lost to Bay House. The year 9 tournament is next Tuesday at Brune Park. Rock Challenge: This annual event is now only 8 weeks away and rehearsals are going well. Students will perform at Porstmouth Guildhall on Wednesday, 24th April 2013 and we hope that many parents will be able to attend this event. PE Staff Raising Aspirations: Sports Visitors 13th March 2013: Anthony Clark recently retired from international badminton, having excelled at the highest level in the sport. He is one of Badminton’s most prolific and respected players gaining over 100 caps for England, winning seven Commonwealth medals, two World Championship medals and representing Great Britain at two Olympic Games.
22nd March 2013: Five time Paralympian, Ian Rose will be visiting the school on Friday 22nd March. His primary focus will be working with our gifted and talented PE students. We are also looking for Ian to speak to as many of our students as possible.
Dates for your Diary 8th - 12th March 11th March 11th March 12th March 13th March 15th March 19th March 22nd March 28th March 15th April 19th July
French Exchange Trip (Year 10) Visit by Councillors Sean Woodward and Roy Perry Year 7 bring a parent to Science evening 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm Governor Finance Committee meeting 4.15 pm to 5.30 pm Year 8 Parents Evening 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm Non uniform day for Comic Relief - Theme is “Wear something red” Full Governors meeting 9.00 am to 11.00 am Visit by Paralympian Ian Rose Headteacher Last Day of Spring Term Address: First day of Summer Term Last Day of Summer Term Website: Telephone Email:
Nadine Powrie MA ED St Anne’s Grove, Fareham, Hampshire, PO14 1JJ www.nevillelovett.co.uk 01329 318003 adminoffice@nevillelovett.hants.co.uk