Redland Green School in Bristol one step closer to becoming an academy

A consultation if underway to discuss the potential move for Redland Green School to become an academy.

Staff and Governor's at Redland's newest school are considering applying for academy status, which would see them join over 1,500 educational establishments across the country.

Academies benefit from greater freedoms to innovate and raise standards. These include freedom from local authority control, the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff, freedoms around the delivery of the curriculum and the ability to change the lengths of terms and school days.

A Governors' Working Party, which has been exploring the proposal for more than a year, last week presented a detailed report and recommendation at an extraordinary Full Governing Body meeting. It was decided that the school would now register an interest with the Department for Education in becoming an Academy.

A spokesman for the school said: "Redland Green School's Governing Body has, for some time, been considering whether or not it is appropriate for Redland Green to convert to Academy status in order to build on the school's many successes to date."

They added: "It is important to note that no decision has been taken at this stage in relation to a final decision on whether to convert or not. 'Registering an interest' enables the school to access and consider more detailed information and consult all stakeholders on their views – including parents, staff and students – to inform a final decision. "

Details of the planned consultation will be revealed at the next Governing Body meeting on February 7th. The school says there will be a range of opportunities for stakeholders to express their views, including meetings for parents/carers and staff to discuss and understand the issues more fully.

Governors will then have a further decision to make – whether or not formally to apply to become an Academy. It is currently envisaged that this decision will be made by the end of March - once the consultation and any further investigations are completed.