FOUR Tameside schools are finalising plans to join forces to form the ground-breaking Tame River Educational Trust.
Mossley Hollins High School, Droylsden Academy, Hyde High School and Alder Community High School will create the trust subject to a consultation which has just got under way.
And subject to those deliberations, the new trust will be established from September 1.
John Denton, chair of governors at Mossley Hollins, believe the positives far outweigh any reservations.
“Mossley Hollins cannot expand further without doing this and I hope the people of Mossley understand why we are doing it. It will be good for the local community and give it a boost,” he explained.
Rather than operating individually, the four schools will, for example, be able to make purchases as a trust and in bulk reducing costs.
Mossley Hollins has for almost six years been in a ‘soft federation partnership’ with Droylsden Academy which has worked well in that area but, with four schools instead of two, they will have more clout.
Mr Denton added that the link with Droylsden Academy enabled the two schools to have one HR manager, one finance officer and one IT manager instead of each having one.
“We will now one each spread over the four schools which will be a big benefit financially,” he said.
Mr Denton added the creation of the trust will mean “very little difference” in the running of each school which will remain autonomous and have its own governing body.
But he explained there will be benefits for the pupils as it will provide flexibility in terms of the curriculum and staffing.
He provided an example, stating: “Just say we wanted to run a photographic course at Mossley Hollins one day a week, that would not be practical.
“However, if we joined together and the teacher was able to spend one day each week at each of the schools that would work.”
Mr Denton added the four schools had been discussing the move, both individually and collectively, for several years.
“We have worked with the headteachers and there has been a sense of commonness between us all,” he said.
Mr Denton also praised the efforts of Drew Duncan, executive headteacher of Mossley Hollins and Droylsden Academy, for his efforts.
“Drew put in inordinate time and skill to put it all together and without his efforts it would not have happened,” he explained.
The document added an extraordinary amount of preparation having been undertaken by the four schools in the last two years.
And the efforts have been praised by the Lancashire and West Yorkshire Regional Schools’ Commission which has commended the concept of the new trust.
“They have said it is exemplary and a template for other schools wanting to follow a similar path,” said Mr Denton.
The Mossley Hollins consultation, essential as part of the legal process, opened on February 22 and runs until April 2.
Mossley Hollins has sent out a consultation briefing to parents and carers describing the overall aims, ambitions and plans for the creation of the Tame River Educational Trust.
The two Hyde schools are also carrying out consultations while Droylsden Academy is consulting on transferring from a sponsored single-academy trust to a sponsored multi-academy trust.
However, the proposal to form the trust has already received the formal approval of Tameside Council, the four school governing bodies, the Lancashire and West Yorkshire Regional Schools’ Commission and the Department for Education.
The sponsor, as is currently the case with the single academy trust at Droylsden Academy, is Tameside College and Clarendon Sixth Form College.
The document stated as with any consultation, there is no guarantee that the new trust will be formed and open on the planned date. This is subject to the outcome of the consultation and to financial and legal arrangements.
It is also subject to the successful arrangements for the private finance initiative (PFI) for three of the schools involved in the conversion process.
Mossley Hollins parents and carers can make their views known by emailing d.webster@mossleyhollins.com marking the subject ‘consultation response’ or by writing to Mrs D Webster at school.
Alder Community High School opened its consultation on February 22 which will run until April 2. Responses to their consultation should be directed to TRET@alderchs.uk
And in their latest newsletter, Hyde High School stated it would begin its period of formal statutory consultation about this proposal after the February half-term.
It will issue further information to parents and carers in due course.