Academy Consultation

At Hoole Church of England Primary School, we are always looking at how we can develop our school so that we continue to provide the very best learning opportunities for all our children. Our aim is to maintain all the good and great things that we do, improve where necessary and continue to strive for excellence.

Following consideration, our Governors decided that they would like to explore academy status further and recently we have been working with Chester Diocese to explore the possibility of creating an academy trust in partnership with the Diocese and other local church schools. The Diocese of Chester already run a successful Multi Academy Trust, Chester Diocesan Academies Trust (CDAT) who runs 18 schools in Cheshire, The Wirral and Stockport and Tameside.

You can find more information about CDAT here: https://www.cdat.co.uk/

The trust we are seeking to form with Chester Diocese is called Chester Diocesan Learning Trust.

Thank you so much for your participation in the consultation period for the proposed move of our school to a new Multi Academy Trust (MAT) - Chester Diocesan Learning Trust.  The consultation period for Parents and the Community is now closed.

Attached to this letter is the individual response of the parents and community for our school as well as a Frequently Asked Questions Document which covers the key themes and questions asked across the schools who are proposed to make up the new MAT.  

All of this information is available via our school website, as well as every question asked across all of the schools, along with the initial presentation regarding the formation of the MAT.  

Further to the consultation, we would like to invite parents to share their thoughts on the proposal for our school to form CDLT.  Please fill in this short Google Form, which will close on Monday March 10th:

Chester Diocese Learning Trust Parent Feedback Form

What happens next?

The Governing Body will meet with one item on the agenda - Academy Conversion.  They will consider all of the questions and comments posed by the parent body and wider community as part of both the consultation process and from the Google Form responses above. They will then make a decision as to whether to continue the academisation process.  This will be communicated to parents in due course.

Following this meeting, if the outcome is to continue with the process, then Due Diligence will be carried out by the Trustees into every aspect of school life to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each school.

The Interim Board of Trustees will also consider all of the questions raised. 

After Easter there will be a staff consultation period along with a period known as TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations) where staff and unions will be in consultation with current and potential employers about the formation of the new MAT. 

Just because the consultation period is over, this does not mean that you cannot ask questions about the process and what it means for our school and your child.  Please speak to the headteacher or address questions to the Chair of Governors – Mrs Jolene Weaver. These questions, however, will not be used in the decision-making process for the Governors and will be for information only.