Schools plan to work more closely together to enhance pupils' education
Three East Devon schools are launching an exciting educational partnership to enhance their pupils’ learning.
The governors of Farway Primary School have decided to join the successful Jubilee Federation which currently consists of Broadhembury and Branscombe primary schools, which have been working together since 2011.
The three schools say the partnership will help to maintain high standards in teaching and learning and enhance pupils’ overall educational experience as well as strengthening their financial position.
It will be a unique and specialist partnership as all three schools are small, two-class Church of England primaries.
Each school’s unique individual ethos, values and admissions procedures will be maintained.
But there will be greater opportunities to share the skills of individual staff across all the schools.
Farway headteacher Angela Potter, who has been in post for 13 years, is reducing her commitments and Jubilee Federation executive headteacher Katie Gray will lead all three schools from September.
There will be one governing body with representatives from each school.
The decision by the Farway governors was taken after a wide-ranging consultation exercise with parents and the wider community.
Farway chair of governors, Tim Bucknall, head, Angela Potter, and Jubilee chair of governors, Alan Johnson, and executive head, Katie Gray, said: “We have concluded that federating with other like-minded schools is the best way forward to ensure continued growth and success of our school communities.
“Each federation is tailored to the needs of the different schools and communities that are involved. The Jubilee Federation is unique in its commitment to the sustainability and development of small village schools.
“We are convinced that this will provide stability, together with opportunities to keep our schools thriving in future years.”
They say some of the benefits of the expanded federation will be:
- Children in all three schools will benefit from renewed and shared resources
- The children will be part of a larger family providing opportunities for more learning activities, trips and social events such as joint residential trips, video conferencing and collective worship
- The children and staff will benefit from an enhanced leadership structure
- There will be flexibility to concentrate and focus on improving standards in each school
- A wider range of experience, expertise and knowledge base amongst the governors, staff and local communities will support the opportunities for learning for all children
- The schools will be able to enter into more cost effective procurement arrangements for services to schools across the federation such as adviser support, personnel support and the school library service
- It will provide security and stability for the village schools in an uncertain national educational environment.
They continue: “We realise that each individual school’s ‘family feel’ is important.
“Please be assured that this will be protected by a dedicated Ethos Committee for each school to ensure that the unique values, ethos and traditions are maintained.”
