The school has applied for and now been granted an academy order by the Department for Education. We are now opening a formal consultation to seek your views on our school converting to become an academy and joining Moorlands Learning Trust.
Our decision to become an academy is very much a positive one and is one taken from a position of strength. We believe that our work in shaping the next steps of Moorlands Learning Trust’s development with other local primary schools will be mutually beneficial
in upholding the highest possible standards.
Our priority remains one of ensuring we continue to provide a high-quality education for our pupils. We believe joining this local academy trust, one which respects schools’ individual identities and shares our own ethos will be mutually beneficial to enable
each of our children to flourish during their time with us before transitioning successfully to the next stage of their education.
Moorlands Learning Trust is a Multi Academy Trust set up by Ilkley Grammar School and is at an exciting time in their own expansion and development. Ashlands Primary School has committed, caring and expert staff, focused on the best possible outcomes for
our pupils and we have strong financial management. By joining the trust at this stage, we will be joining with other effective schools in a strong trust to create a partnership that will help us to improve our school further and enhance the outcomes and experiences
of all members of our school community. We expect to achieve this through the sharing of best practice and high-quality staff development; increased flexibility of staffing and shared expertise; financial benefits through centralised costs and a greater range
of career progression opportunities to develop and retain staff.
Becoming part of a Multi Academy Trust will mean that the formal, legal status of our school will change. However, we confirm our school will still retain its unique character and identity, with our own local governing board and Headteacher overseeing the
operational running of the school as we do now.
Before proceeding with the conversion, we are inviting you to share your views and ask any questions you may have as part of this formal consultation. The consultation period will begin on Wednesday 24 May and end on Wednesday 21 June, at which point, the
governing body will consider all responses received as part of their final decision on academisation. Any comments and questions can be submitted via this link https://forms.office.com/e/Dnm7m0Sd8xor sent
by post to the school marked ‘Academy Consultation’.
We have already held informal consultation meetings with parents and staff at the school, but should there be sufficient further demand as part of this formal consultation then we will seek to arrange a stakeholder meeting with representatives from the school
and Trust.
We believe this is an exciting opportunity to shape our future and bring about further positive change. We welcome your views in this formal consultation. Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any specific questions.
For further information please see: https://www.ashlandsprimary.org.uk/moorlands-learning-trust/