The Governors of St Helen’s and St Mary’s are pleased to launch our joint consultation on the proposal that we create a Federation of St Helen’s and St Mary’s Primary Schools. On this page you will find a link to our consultation document, which sets out in more detail what a federation of our schools would look like. (The document has been circulated to parents/carers and staff at both schools, and to others. If you are having issues with accessing the document, you can visit the office of one of the schools where a printed version will be available.)

The Consultation Document explains what would change (primarily the way in which the school is governed)and what would stay the same (almost everything else: both schools would remain separate entities, and will retain their own identities and individuality, their own uniforms and admissions criteria, and so on).

It also explains why we think this is the right time for our schools to consider joining together in a federation, and the benefits we think this would bring to the school. Unfortunately, while our existing partnership arrangement has served us well, it is not sustainable in the longer term. In particular, it limits our ability to recruit a permanent Executive Head Teacher, and has implications for the recruitment and retention of other staff members, and for other matters.

Moving to a federation will make it easier for us to recruit a permanent Executive Head Teacher with suitable ability and experience. The more permanent nature of a federation will enable a new Executive Head Teacher to make and implement long-term strategic plans and decisions, to the benefit of the schools. And importantly, there is a lot of evidence that schools in federations provide greater opportunities for staff to develop and innovate, and for children to flourish and succeed. We also think that the changing landscape for schools, and an ever-increasing push towards collaborative working and academisation, mean that both schools will be better placed to face the future as a federation, rather than as two separate schools.

This is a significant decision for both schools, and we would be extremely grateful to have your opinions on the proposal. The Consultation Document sets out the ways in which you can give us your views, including through an online survey (the link is available on this page). We plan to arrange consultation sessions at both schools, and will provide further information about those sessions soon.

The consultation will close at 6pm on 19^th May, and governors will then consider your responses and make a final decision on whether to form a federation.

We look forward to hearing from you. If, in the meantime you have any questions, you can contact the governors in your school in the usual ways (including by email: sthelensprimary@sgmail.org.uk or office@stmarysyate.org.uk).

Please click the link below to access the survey, to gauge thoughts on the proposed federation. 

https://forms.gle/ECpBx2PR8tP9FzUa8