Vandyke Upper School - Vandyke Education Trust

Vandyke Education Trust

The Governing Body of Vandyke Upper School is proposing a change of school category from a community school to a foundation school which will acquire a charitable trust to be called the Vandyke Education Trust. This is a new type of school that, while still being part of the local authority, has the opportunity to be supported by a Charitable Trust set up to help continue their drive for improved standards for the students in school and the work with the wider community. To provide continuity and stability for the Trust, the Governors of Vandyke Upper School proposed to formalise, through a Trust, their partnerships with:

• The University of Bedfordshire
• Central Bedfordshire College of FE
• MK Dons Sport and Education Trust
• BEAerospace
• VT Education
• Central Bedfordshire Council

The partnership will devote itself to:

• achieving excellence through co-operation and the sharing of expertise to create a wide

range of high quality learning opportunities for the benefit of our students and the local community; and

• enhancing the leadership and management of our organisations through collaboration,

innovation and shared learning with a focus upon quality. The Governing Body will gain new powers and responsibilities. It will become the employer of staff, although existing pay and conditions arrangements will be unchanged as the school will remain in the maintained sector and be subject to national pay and conditions agreements. The Governing Body will also become responsible for student admissions, but will work jointly with the Local Authority to administer the provision of student places within the requirements of the National Schools Admissions Code. The Trust will hold the land and capital assets for the school and the Governing body will have (as now) day to day responsibility for managing these assets. The full consultation documents, Booklet One "Changing to Foundation School Status andAcquiring a Charitable Trust" and Booklet Two "Questions and Answers" together explain in more detail these proposals and outline the functions of the partners who will add capacity to the proposed Trust. Stakeholders have the opportunity to comment on these proposals during the consultation period which runs from Monday 14 June 2010 to Friday 16 July 2010, 3 pm (5 weeks). At an extraordinary meeting of the Governing Body will be held on Tuesday 20 July. Governors will consider feedback from the consultation and then decide whether to proceed and to publish statutory proposals on changing category and acquiring a charitable trust or to remain a community school. Details of the consultation process and how to respond are included in Booklet One "Changing to Foundation School Status and Acquiring a Charitable Trust".