Consultation Regarding Conversion to Academy Status

21st April 2023

Dear Stakeholder

Re: Proposal to apply to convert to academy status and form a multi academy trust with Newbury Park Primary School.

We are writing to inform you of the Governing Body’s decision regarding this proposal.

We would like to thank you for your responses and engagement with the consultation process, which was undertaken before deciding about whether to begin the application process. All responses were carefully considered as part of governors’ decision making as were requests for an extension to the consultation period. The statutory guidance is clear that the governing body must consult formally about a school’s/federation plan to convert to an academy but does not specify how long the consultation should last. Governors felt that 10% of the school year provided enough time to seek the views on academisation from stakeholders.

The Governing Bodies of both Newbury Park and Opossum Federation have voted to progress development of an application for submission to the Department for Education to convert to academy status. We will now go through further due diligence, taking legal and financial advice and develop an academy application for possible submission to the Department for Education.

The next stage of the process is to complete an application, which may be submitted by our organisations to the Department for Education individually or jointly. If an application is submitted and an academy order is granted we will then share further information and outline the next stages of the process and how we will further engage with stakeholders. This is in line with DfE guidance. The timeframe for this stage of the process is the current Summer term.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Governing Body

Opossum Federation