Issue - meetings

Review of Medway Local Authority Role in Sponsoring Academy Schools

 

 

Meeting: 28/10/2014 - Cabinet (Item 7)

7 Co-Sponsorship of Academies pdf icon PDF 24 KB

Minutes:

Background:

 

This report set out details of government guidance and a changed national approach to academies.

 

It was explained that Medway Council needed to review the current arrangements as co-sponsor to three academy schools in Medway, so to ensure they were consistent within the new national framework.

 

The report recommended that Medway ceased to be a co-sponsor of one school Bishop of Rochester Academy (BORA) and take forward a review of co-sponsorship with the other two schools Brompton Academy and Strood Academy.

 

Decision number:

Decision:

178/2014

The Cabinet authorised the Director of Children and Adults Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), to take all necessary steps to terminate the Council’s sponsorship of the Bishop of Rochester Academy (BORA) and to support BORA to secure a new single sponsor with a strong track record of secondary school improvement.

179/2014

The Cabinet authorised the Director of Children and Adults Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services (Lead Member), to:

i)              review the co- sponsorship arrangements at Brompton Academy and Strood Academy, to consider the withdrawal of the Local Authority’s sponsorship in the most timely way to meet the new national framework around Local Authority sponsorship of academy schools. This review will need to be undertaken with the other sponsors and the Governing Bodies of both academies. The review will take place over the next academic term and;

ii)            take all necessary steps to implement the outcome of this review.

180/2014

The Cabinet agreed that clarification be obtained on the position of the £500,000 received by all three schools from the Council, which was to be held on trust for educational purposes.

Reasons:

 

The Council’s review of its sponsorship arrangements with these academies is in line with current Government guidance.