The Governing Board of the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools is launching a consultation about becoming a local Multi-Academy Trust, starting today, 20 February 2023.

Our schools currently receive their funding via the local authority. As a local Multi-Academy Trust, we would be funded directly by the Department for Education.

We know we do our best work in partnership with our local community and that’s why we would like your views on our proposal.

Please look at our consultation website and share your views through the consultation form.

We believe that becoming a local Multi-Academy Trust would preserve and protect the distinctive identity and ethos of our schools, as well as improve the quality of education we provide. This is because it would enable us to grow carefully to include a few more local primary schools.

Paula Ledger, Executive Headteacher of the Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools, said:

“We are very proud that all our schools have been judged to be either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. Collaboration between our schools already plays an important role in improving the quality of education across the secondary schools in our federation.

We want to increase the amount of formal, focused and consistent collaboration in our primary schools, and for that we need to grow the number of schools in our group. It is difficult to do this as a federation. Today’s education system favours Multi-Academy Trusts.

We believe we have developed skills, expertise and structures that can support school improvement and we are keen to share this more widely with our community.”

As a local Multi-Academy Trust, we would have greater financial resilience and autonomy over our funding. There would be very little difference in terms of day-to-day school life as our schools would keep their names, curriculum, staff and leadership teams. We already run our own admissions, own our land and employ our own staff.

Andy Rothery, Chair of the Governing Board, said:

“Our links to Lewisham are very important to us. Our proposal is to become a Multi-Academy Trust for local schools. Our staff currently play an active role in many collaborative working groups with other schools in the borough and Lewisham Council, and this would continue.”

The Leathersellers’ Company is a 600-year-old organisation in the City of London. It works with charity partners to enable individuals and communities, foster opportunity through education and support a sustainable leather industry in the UK. The Leathersellers’ Company has a long association with our schools.

In 1885, it was approached to provide land for the original Prendergast School in Rushey Green. The Company and its foundation continue to support the schools today and since 2018 have given £1.3m. The money funds, among other things, student grants, scholarships and mentoring. The Leathersellers’ Company’s support would continue whether or not the proposal goes ahead.

According to the latest data from the Department for Education, 80% of secondary schools and 39% of primary schools in England are now academies or free schools. The Government has said it would like “all schools to be in a strong Multi-Academy Trust”.

Our consultation will run from 20^th February 2023 to 31^st March 2023.

Useful links:

www.lsfedmatproposal.com

FAQs

Consultation form