6th May 2011

Dear Parents and carers,

As part of our ongoing consultation the governing body met last night to consider whether Tidemill School should consider applying to convert to an academy. After a full and lengthy discussion of the detailed documents placed on the school website and other relevant papers the governors voted to make an application to convert to an academy.

The governors understand that this is a key decision in a process and undertake to keep you fully informed.

Best wishes
Mark Elms
Headteacher

18th March 2011

Dear Parents,

Tidemill school and possible academy status

We wrote to you on 18 February explaining that we were gathering information about a possible application for academy status.

We would like to start this letter with a more personal comment. This discussion is about how best to run Tidemill, a primary school in Deptford. The staff and governors are just as keen as ever to keep Tidemill an outstanding school serving your children and the community and as such, we hope that this discussion can progress in a respectful and reasonable way.

We said in our last letter that parents are encouraged to give us their views. To assist you in doing this, Governors have put aside two days for meetings with parents to hear and take notes of your views. The meetings will be with individuals or small groups of 2-3 parents as you prefer, and will be held on Thursday 24 March 6-7pm and Saturday 26 March 9.30-11.30am. Please contact the school office to make an appointment.

Please take this further opportunity to tell the governors what you think about the possibility of Tidemill converting to become an academy. There is no limit to the subjects that you might want to tell us about. You are welcome to tell us how you see the issues, what you think needs to be considered and whether you are in favour of conversion, against or undecided. You can do this in writing (by letter addressed to the Chair of Governors c/o Tidemill School Office) or by making an appointment to meet with us as mentioned above. It will then be for the governors to consider all of your comments as part of their overall decision about whether to apply to convert to become an academy.

Later today, Friday 18 March, we will put some documents or links to documents about the possibility of conversion, onto the school website. Copies will also be available for inspection at the school office.
They include:

		An analysis of the financial issues.
		Material from Lewisham council
		A link to the equality impact assessment that the Department for Education carried out before the Academies Act 2010.
		A Briefing Paper which applies this to Tidemill's situation.
		A link to the Frequently Asked Questions page of the DfE website, which gives information about academies.

We would ask that you let us have your views by mid-day on Friday 1 April 2011. The governors propose to meet soon after that date to consider how to proceed.

We do hope that you will contribute and look forward to receiving your views.

Yours,

Below, you will find a list of relevant links and downloadable pdfs:

1. Parents Letter- 18/03/11
2. An Analysis of the Financial Issues
3. Letters from Lewisham Council dated 15 November 2010, 23 February 2011 and 14 March 2011
4. The government's equalities impact assessment of the Academies Bill
   
5. Briefing Paper on Equalities for Tidemill School
   
6. Link to the DfE FAQs on academy conversion
   
7. Single model Funding Agreement
   
8. The DfE model articles of association for a converting academy

21st JANUARY 2011

3rd DECEMBER 2010

A STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNING BODY OF TIDEMILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

"For over a century, Tidemill School has served the people of Deptford, educating generations of local children.

Ten years ago, Tidemill was a school in special measures, failing local children. Over the last decade, our school has been on an incredible journey, achieving OFSTED "outstanding" status in 2008 and recognised by the former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families as one of Britain's top-performing primary schools. We are proud to provide a world-class education for children in one of the most deprived parts of London.

Last night (Thursday 2 December 2010), Tidemill's Governing Body took the next step of that journey when it was agreed that the school would apply for academy status. This decision was made following an extensive consultation period, which commenced in July, and asked parents, staff and the local community for their views.

Tidemill will continue to provide a quality education for all children in Deptford and the local area. The school remains in the state sector and there are no plans to change its admissions criteria. Tidemill School will continue to play an active role in the local community, alongside our neighbouring schools and local partners, making sure that Deptford children have the best possible start in life."

- Tidemill Governing Body

A printable copy of the letter can be downloaded here.

JULY TO DECEMBER 2010

Tidemill invited to become an Academy
The Department for Education (DfE) has offered schools in England and Wales the opportunity to apply to become academies. It says that becoming an Academy would "…give schools the freedoms and flexibilities to continue to drive up standards". As an outstanding school (OFTSED Inspection 2008), Tidemills' application has been pre-approved by the DfE. The Governors of Tidemill School now have to decide if it is in the best interests of the school, its children and the local community, for Tidemill to become an Academy School.

The school commenced a parent consultation in early July 2010 which to date has included:-

		7th/8th July - Question in parent end of term questionnaire
		20th July - Parent letter and facts
		23rd July – Information in end of term newsletter
		19th August - Letter to unions (GMB, Unison and NUT)
		8th September – parents meeting with representatives from the DfE Academy Team
		13th September - Consultation explanation letter from Chair of Governors
		Two special governors meetings to discuss the issue
		21st October - Parent/Carer and Staff Consultation Meeting
		21st Jan 2011 Academy update letter

We are now extending this process to gather, more widely, the views of the school and wider community. This reflects the changes that have been made to the Academies Bill as it has gone through Parliament to become law.

During this extended consultation process, the governors will continue to listen to the views of pupils, staff and parents/carers and a further parent meeting has been organised for the end of October. Additionally, we are also consulting the wider community by sending out a consultation document giving some of the pros and cons about academies and asking for comments. These comments will be taken into consideration by governors when they vote on becoming an Academy. The consultation will include:-

		Pupils
		Staff
		Parents/carers
		Local primary and secondary schools
		Diocesan Board
		Churches Together
		Local Authority – including the Select Committee and the Admissions forum
		Local community groups
		Local housing residents associations

The final decision will be made by the full board of governors who represent a broad mix of the school and local community and include staff, parents, parents of former pupils and members elected from the local authority.

To help them make the decision, the Governors would like to hear your opinion. We have tried to answer some of the most common questions about what becoming an Academy means on the attached consultation documents. The answers we have provided should be the facts. We do not want to influence you one way or the other, but we do want to hear your opinions after you have read the questions and answers. If you do have questions that are not answered here, then please ask. You can contact the Governors via the school office or by emailing: Chairofgovs.tidemill@gmail.com.

Please return your response to the following address:-
Private and Confidential
Chair of Governors
Tidemill Primary School
Frankham Street
Deptford
SE8 4RN

	Consultation Documentation Click on the link below to download the relevant pdf. •Parent and Carer Consultation Concerning the Option for Tidemill School to Convert to an Academy •Academy consultation information 16th September 2010 •Consultation explanation 13th September 2010 •Parent letter 3rd September 2010