Value for Money Statement
Academy trust name: Kennet School Academies Trust
Academy trust company number: 7543874
Year ended: 31 August 2014
I accept that as accounting officer of Kennet School Academies Trust I am responsible
and accountable for ensuring that the academy trust delivers good value in the use of
public resources. I am aware of the guide to academy value for money statements
published by the Education Funding Agency and understand that value for money refers
to the educational and wider societal outcomes achieved in return for the taxpayers’
resources received.
During 2013-14 the Trust has developed and grown into a Multi-Academy Trust. The
addition of Whitelands Park Primary School, an academy sponsored by Kennet School
took place on 1st January 2014.
I set out below how I have ensured that the Trust’s use of its resources for both schools
has provided good value for money during the year.
1. Educational Outcomes from Teaching and Learning
a. At Kennet School, the Ofsted Inspection in February 2014, clearly set a
challenge for the school to improve the outcomes for two groups of children:
pupil premium and school action. The school has created a stronger culture
and climate focused on championing attainment across the whole school
and for these two groups particularly.
This has been achieved through changes to senior staff and their
responsibilities and laser sharp intervention for vulnerable groups and those
needing intervention and on-going support to secure their potential. The
Summer 2014 results evidence that this is working.
Pupils at Kennet are broadly in line with national averages for prior
attainment but the GCSE results are consistently above national averages.
In 2014, the school’s 5+A*-C including English and Maths outcomes
improved by 5 percentage points and this was against a backdrop of a
decline in national averages. For this same measure, the pupil premium
cohort outcomes improved by 50%. The two groups identified by Ofsted as
requiring improvement, pupil premium and school action have both now
reverted to being above national average from being well below in 2013.
b. At Whitelands Park Primary School, the Key Stage 2 results from Summer
2014 improved on 2013 and were well above the LA measures for all
subjects except Reading. A particularly strong feature of these results were
the school’s outcomes for its pupil premium children where there was no
discernible gap. The school has taken great strides in school leadership,
teaching, behaviour management and also in improving the physical
learning environment and curriculum. All of these steps have proven that it
is a school that is no longer under the shadow of its predecessor LA school
that was placed in special measures or indeed the other adjoining
catchment primaries in Thatcham. That said, much remains to be done.
2. Targeted Funding for Intervention
The Trust receives substantial additional funding targeted to reduce the two key
issues of prior attainment and material disadvantage. A high level summary is
provided here as detailed reports required by the School Information Regulations
2012 are available on each school’s website.
a. At Kennet School in 2013-14 there was significant groundwork in engaging
with all our pupil premium families and building individual pupil challenge
plans.
Since the introduction of pupil premium the school has consistently invested
funding in additional sets in English and Maths and the attainment in these
subjects by our Year 11 pupil premium cohort demonstrates this to be good
value. Alongside this more funding has been directed towards individual
teaching interventions and music tuition and our early analysis after just one
year has shown us that this is right and will receive more focus in 2014-15.
In 2013-14 I also created and appointed to a special post, effective 1 st
September 2014, a senior leader to provide challenge and support for our
pupil premium pupils. This post will work with pupil premium pupils across the
school with a very strong emphasis and focus on mentoring those in Year 11,
particularly boys where there is still underachievement to be addressed.
In terms of the catch up funding for our year 7 pupils, investment in the
accelerated reader programme and kindles have reaped benefits with 85%
conversion to level 4 on reading attainment. Further review of the support and
software used in Maths has taken place as the equivalent conversion was only
55% and those pupils who did not achieve a Level 4 and are now in Year 8 are
participating in our Catch Up+ programme.
b. At Whitelands Park Primary School in 2013-14 there was significant
investment in teaching and learning to support Key Stage 2 outcomes. With no
discernible gap this has succeeded . In addition, the school has invested a
significant sum in a new library and guided reading books as reading is a
target area for improvement.
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3. Collaboration
a. Sponsor Relationship. The close working between Kennet and Whitelands
Park has provided many opportunities for collaboration to the advantage of
both schools both through economies of scale as well as shared knowledge
and expertise. The main areas for 2013-14 have been specialist SEN support,
ICT, finance, HR and governance.
b. Feeder Primary Outreach. Kennet School hosts for its feeder primaries a
number of master-classes for the more able pupils in its feeder primaries,
music tuition and subject specific days. Outreach teachers also deliver a
programme of teaching and curriculum support direct in each of the primary
schools. This outreach teaching covers literacy, modern foreign languages,
maths, music and PE.
c. Other School 2 School Improvement and Support. Many members of school
staff actively work with academies and LA schools on a regularly planned and
ad-hoc basis across many levels, Headteachers, Head of Departments / 6th
Form and Bursars. This collaboration is to share delivery, practice, benchmark
and develop understanding. In 2013-14 this has included class size analysis to
inform curriculum development across the school but particularly for Year 12
and 13 given the impact of the removal of 16-19 transitional protection.
4. Procurement
Effective procurement practices means cost savings that can be reinvested back
in the school and goods and services that deliver what the school needs
effectively. Savings have been achieved in 2013-14 in the areas listed below.
a. Internet provision.
b. Grounds maintenance.
c. Insurance and audit costs for the multi-academy trust.
d. Catering, in particular the cost of free school meal provision for the primary
school which has reduced by 25p per meal.
e. Paper.
5. Community Use
School facilities are made available to hire as much as possible. This is to
maximise income generation but also to provide facilities for a wide range of
activities that are easily accessible to our local community. There has been an
increase in use in 2013-14 with new use including a cookery workshop by the local
foodbank, sequence dances, guitar building workshop and a professional
cheerleading group.
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6. Financial Governance and Oversight
I have a very strong oversight of the Trust’s finances and I am supported in that by
directors with financial skills and expertise. Collectively we have the responsibility
and commitment to securing the on-going sustainability of the Trust in the face of
tightened funding and increased cost pressures from changes to the teachers’
pension scheme and the impact on national insurance contributions from the
removal of the contracted out pension rebate.
Actions identified for 2013-14 are to further rebalance spending of pupil premium
grant in support of teaching and learning, developing further the evidence and
impact of targeted funded intervention, to develop our curriculum provision for
2015-16 and to review the administrative tasks undertaken in school to improve
the efficiency of our communications with parents.
Signed: P G Dick
Name: P G Dick
Academy Trust Accounting Officer
Date: 5 December 2014
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