Dear Parents and Legal Guardians,

CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED ACADEMY CONVERSION

Following many months of research, the Trustees at Hilbre High School have taken a decision to consider applying to join Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust. We strongly believe this would benefit our students and staff enormously.

RATIONALE:
In the publication of the recent School White Paper, the Government vision is for all schools to join multi academy trusts by 2030. In anticipation of this, the Trustees have decided to now look more closely into whether joining an academy trust would be in the best interests of the students, teachers and staff at Hilbre High School. The Trustees are keen that Hilbre High School have full control of when and how they go forward with joining an academy trust, without pressure from Government departments. Our Trustees believe that joining Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust now will be a positive step for the school.

THE PROPOSAL:
The Trustees at Hilbre High School believe that the best plan for the school is to join Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust.
The Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust was established in June 2017, with four schools joining initially; Church Drive Primary School joining later in 2019; and Brackenwood Junior School joining in 2021. The most recent school to join the Trust is Greasby Junior, which converted on 1st January 2023, bringing the total number of schools to seven. The Trust was set up to enhance the good working relationships and practices built up over a number of years between the schools; all schools were judged at least to be ‘Good’ in terms of OFSTED category.
Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust have received significant interest from other schools across the area who would like to join the Trust; demand has been high especially from those schools that are judged to be ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. Strengthening our partnerships with these schools would have clear benefits for Hilbre High School, particularly as a number of the schools within the Trust are feeder schools to Hilbre.
The proposal is that Hilbre High School joins Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust on 1st September 2023.


QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK:
Trustees are now entering the consultation phase. We would like to make sure that the entire school community has had an opportunity to give their opinion on joining Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust. The consultation period will run from 9th January 2023 to 6th February 2023.
We would be grateful if you could submit by 6th February 2023 any questions, comments, or concerns you may have via the dedicated email at parentsconsultation@hilbre.wirral.sch.uk.

We also enclose below, with this letter, a copy of some Frequently Asked Questions which you may find of interest. Information about the consultation and the feedback form can be found HERE. Any future information, feedback or responses can also be found on this website. The website will go live on 9th January 2023.

Finally, we would like to thank you for your continued support of Hilbre High School. We believe that we have a truly wonderful school here and we are committed to ensuring we provide the very best for our community.

FAQ's

WHY ARE WE LOOKING AT BECOMING AN ACADEMY?
1. Why are we considering joining a Trust now? The current educational climate is changing and many schools nationally are choosing to take advantage of joining Trusts rather than standing alone. Many schools wish to make the move now to determine their own destiny and to make the changes when it is right for their own school.
We have been in discussion with Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust about joining their Trust and Trustees feel that now is the right time to take this forward.

2. What is Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust? The Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust was established in June 2017, with four schools joining initially; Church Drive Primary School joining later in 2019; and Brackenwood Junior School joining in 2021. The most recent school to join the Trust is Greasby Junior, which converted on 1st January 2023, bringing the total number of schools to seven. The Trust was set up to enhance the good working relationships and practices built up over a number of years between the schools; all schools were judged at least to be ‘Good’ in terms of OFSTED category. All schools who joined the Trust at the outset had equal rights, and a large amount of due diligence was carried out in order to ensure that this ‘equal footing’ was appropriate to the founding schools.
As a Trust, Oak Trees would welcome other schools joining the Trust, as long as the time is right and it was felt that it would be to the benefit of the Trust and the interested school. This would be after due diligence was carried out, considering a number of factors such as finance, performance, Governance and assets, including buildings.
Our Trust values are:
You can find out more about the Oak Trees MAT at www.oaktreesmat.co.uk.

3. Are any other schools in our local area in the Trust? Yes, there are a number of academies in our local area.
Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust currently has seven-member schools:
Poulton Lancelyn Primary School (Bebington, Wirral); Church Drive Primary School (Bebington, Wirral); Egremont Primary School (Egremont, Wirral); Brackenwood Junior School (Bebington, Wirral); Stanton Road Primary School (Bebington, Wirral); Great Meols Primary School (Meols, Wirral) and Greasby Junior (Greasby, Wirral).

4. What are the advantages of being in a Multi Academy Trust? In addition to the advantages mentioned above, as Trustees and Headteacher of Hilbre High School, we believe that the opportunity to work with new partners and schools, working together to ensure standards across the Trust are consistently high, is an exciting new proposition. However, we will continue to actively work with all local schools and current partners, ensuring the best of both worlds. Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust has made it clear that joining the Trust will not change the things that work so well for our school.

WHAT DAY-TO-DAY CHANGES WILL HAPPEN?
5. Will a move to join the Trust mean a new name for the school? No. The school will continue to be called Hilbre High School. Other schools that have chosen to become academies with Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust have also chosen to retain their existing names.

6. Will the school have a new uniform? No. Parents and legal guardians will not need to buy a new uniform.

7. Will the school still be open to the community? Yes. There will be no change to the current provision and use of the school by different groups to hold events.

8. What will be the impact on our children with special needs? There will be no change to the level of support provided. Hilbre High School will continue to recognise that every child is different and has the right to be included as a valued, respected and equal member of the school community.

9. If we move to join the Trust, will this change what is taught? We would be expected to continue to offer the full range of National Curriculum subjects. OFSTED continue to inspect academies and their handbook for inspection is the same one as used in any other school. The academy would be expected to strive to be ‘Outstanding’ in the statutory OFSTED (Section 5). In other words, there may be no change in what or how students are taught.

WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF?
10. What are the Terms and Conditions for staff? On conversion to academy status, teachers and staff employed by the School will transfer with the same terms and conditions, via a formal TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) process. In addition, conversion will not affect any union memberships.

11. Who will employ teachers and staff following conversion? At present, Hilbre High School teachers and staff are employed by Hilbre High School. Following conversion, teachers and staff will be employed directly by Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust.

12. Will Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust employ Non-Qualified Teachers? All class groups of students will be registered to a qualified teacher, as is the case in schools currently.

WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR STANDARDS?
13. Does Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust have the capacity to support our educational standards? Oak Trees Multi Academy Trust has established its own school improvement capacity for those schools choosing to join the Trust, which include a School Improvement Lead and regular use of education consultants.

Collectively, the team is experienced and qualified to support and challenge schools in data analysis, teaching, behaviour, safeguarding, students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, special educational needs and disabilities, and leadership and management. The school improvement package will include support and challenge for governance and the team are able to draw on further support from National Leaders in Governance, as appropriate.