Caz
Last Chance Saloon
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 836
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 Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:46 am Post subject: ARK Master Funding Agreement |
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| Quote: | Caz: Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:42 pm
From the Master Funding Agreement between ARK and the government.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/foischeme/_documents/DfES_FoI_279.pdf
| Quote: | ARK Academies (the “Company”)
Governance
13) Each Academy will be governed by the Company delegating functions as appropriate to a local governing body (the “Local Governing Body”) who are appointed by the directors of the Company as a committee, in accordance with the Articles. The Company and the Local Governing Body shall exercise their powers and functions with a view to fulfilling a largely strategic role in the running of the Academy and shall consider any advice given by the headteacher. The Company may exercise its powers and fulfil its functions through its servants or agents.
School Development Plan and target setting
17) The Company shall in relation to each Academy set such targets in areas to be specified by the Secretary of State each year. When there are students in an Academy to whom the targets apply, the target areas for the initial year of that Academy shall be:
a) percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C; and
b) percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above at Key Stage 3 in English, maths, science and ICT.
18. The Company shall consult the Secretary of State and the LEA in whose area the relevant Academy is situated each year before setting the targets referred to above and shall take into account (but not be bound by) any comments received from the Secretary of State and/or the LEA.
Teachers and other staff
23.1) It shall be the responsibility of the Company to agree levels of pay and conditions of service with its employees, and to determine and employ such numbers of staff as may be appropriate.
24) The curriculum provided by each Academy to pupils up to the age of 16 shall be broad and balanced. The core subjects of the National Curriculum (being Mathematics, English and Science) must be taught to all pupils in years 7-11 except where, in the opinion of the head teacher, it is inappropriate for an individual pupil or groups of pupils to be taught one or more of those subjects.
29) The Company shall have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State on sex and relationship education to ensure that children at each Academy are protected from inappropriate teaching materials and they learn the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and for bringing up children.
34) c) references to the governing body or the local education authority shall, in each case, be treated as references to the Company;
Provision of Information to parents and others
35) The Company shall publish a prospectus for each Academy annually, shall send it on request (free of charge) to parents of pupils at the Academy and to the Secretary of State; and shall make it available for inspection by other persons at the relevant Academy. Theprospectus shall, except in so far as such information is published in a document known as a School Profile (which would accompany or be incorporated in the prospectus), include:
c) details of any religious affiliation of the school;
SERIOUS INCIDENTS OF MISBEHAVIOUR LEADING TO FIXED PERIOD OR PERMANENT EXCLUSION
o the Academy, and not the LEA, is responsible for making arrangements for independent appeal panels to hear appeals against permanent exclusions where the Local Governing Body does not direct reinstatement (see paragraph 35 and part 5 of the guidance, and below);
o the Local Governing Body is not expected to seek the advice of an LEA officer when considering an exclusion (paragraph 73 of the guidance), although an LEA officer may attend any meeting to consider an exclusion at the request of a parent; and
o part 8 of the guidance (arrangements for money to follow pupils who have been permanently excluded from school) does not apply.
Constitution and conduct of independent appeal panels
ARK Academies will be responsible for carrying out the functions assigned to the LEA in part 5 of the guidance with regard to the management of the appeal procedure. Appeals panels must be impartial and constituted in accordance with the detailed provisions of paragraphs 95-97 of the guidance. ARK Academies will arrange suitable training for appeal panel members and clerks.
The appeal panel’s decision is final and binding on ARK Academies. A parent may seek a judicial review of a panel’s decision. A parent may not, however, appeal to the Commissioner for Local Administration (the Local Government Ombudsman) about maladministration because the Commissioner’s remit is limited to considering the conduct of appeal panels constituted by LEAs. |
Dovetails rather nicely it seems with the charity who is grateful for ARK's assistance, 'Children Our Ultimate Investment', where education on marriage and relationships exceeds English, Maths and Science in significance.
It states above:
| Quote: | | The core subjects of the National Curriculum (being Mathematics, English and Science) must be taught to all pupils in years 7-11 except where, in the opinion of the head teacher, it is inappropriate for an individual pupil or groups of pupils to be taught one or more of those subjects. |
And then:
| Quote: | | they learn the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and for bringing up children. |
For info on COUI (Children Our Ultimate Investment) see here:
http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=15409 |
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| Quote: | Caz Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 3:01 pm
A lengthier summary of the ARK Master Funding Agreement; greed, dictatorial, total power and control, secrecy, and outright lies.
(The now modified website www.arkschools.org used to state: 'Ark schools has no religious affiliation and is committed to non-selective education.' Rather different in the funding agreement below.)
In the following summary of the ARK Academies Funding Agreement, where ever 'the Company' is mentioned, this refers to ARK. from: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/foischeme/_documents/DfES_FoI_279.pdf
| Quote: | ARK MASTER FUNDING AGREEMENT
CONDITIONS OF GRANT
General
12) d) levels of pay and conditions of service for all employees will be the responsibility of the Company;
Governance
13) Each Academy will be governed by the Company delegating functions as appropriate to a local governing body (the “Local Governing Body”) who are appointed by the directors of the Company as a committee, in accordance with the Articles. The Company and the Local Governing Body shall exercise their powers and functions with a view to fulfilling a largely strategic role in the running of the Academy and shall consider any advice given by the headteacher. The Company may exercise its powers and fulfil its functions through its servants or agents.
14) Subject to the Memorandum and Articles, this Agreement and each Supplemental Agreement, the Company may regulate its own procedure and that of any of its committees.
School Development Plan and target setting
16) The Company shall draw up a School Development Plan for each Academy each year in accordance with a format and timetable to be advised by the Secretary of State. The School Development Plan shall, in particular:
a) in accordance with a format and timetable to be advised by the Secretary of State, set out plans for ensuring that all pupils are supported to reach the highest standards of which they are capable;
b) describe the Company’s proposals for each Academy to work with other schools and with the wider community.
17) The Company shall in relation to each Academy set such targets in areas to be specified by the Secretary of State each year. When there are students in an Academy to whom the targets apply, the target areas for the initial year of that Academy shall be:
a) percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C; and
b) percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above at Key Stage 3 in English, maths, science and ICT.
18 ) The Company shall consult the Secretary of State and the LEA in whose area the relevant Academy is situated each year before setting the targets referred to above and shall take into account (but not be bound by) any comments received from the Secretary of State and/or the LEA.
Teachers and other staff
20) The Company shall not engage anyone under a contract of employment or for services to carry out planning and preparing lessons and courses for pupils, delivering lessons to pupils, assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils, and reporting on the development, progress and attainment of pupils (“specified work”) who is not either:-
a) A qualified teacher within the meaning of regulations made under section 132 of the Education Act 2002; or
b) Otherwise eligible to do specified work in a maintained school under the Education (Specified Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1663).
23.1) It shall be the responsibility of the Company to agree levels of pay and conditions of service with its employees, and to determine and employ such numbers of staff as may be appropriate.
The Company shall approve policies for:
a) staffing structure, and staff remuneration
Curriculum, curriculum development and delivery of RE aand collective worship
24) The curriculum provided by each Academy to pupils up to the age of 16 shall be broad and balanced. The core subjects of the National Curriculum (being Mathematics, English and Science) must be taught to all pupils in years 7-11 except where, in the opinion of the head teacher, it is inappropriate for an individual pupil or groups of pupils to be taught one or more of those subjects.
29) The Company shall have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State on sex and relationship education to ensure that children at each Academy are protected from inappropriate teaching materials and they learn the nature of marriage and its importance for family life and for bringing up children.
Charging
34) Sections 402 (Obligation to enter pupils for public examinations), 450 - 457 (charges), 459 (regulations about information about charges and school hours) and 460 (voluntary contributions), 461 (recovery of sums as civil debt) - 462 (Interpretation re charges) of the 1996 Act shall be deemed to apply to each Academy with the following modifications:
a) references to any maintained school shall be treated as references to an Academy;
b) references to registered pupils shall be treated as references to registered pupils at an Academy;
c) references to the governing body or the local education authority shall, in each case, be treated as references to the Company;
e) the Company may charge persons who are not registered pupils at an Academy for education provided or for facilities used by them at that Academy.
Provision of Information to parents and others
35) The Company shall publish a prospectus for each Academy annually, shall send it on request (free of charge) to parents of pupils at the Academy and to the Secretary of State; and shall make it available for inspection by other persons at the relevant Academy. The prospectus shall, except in so far as such information is published in a document known as a School Profile (which would accompany or be incorporated in the prospectus), include:
c) details of any religious affiliation of the school; policy on providing for children with SEN; arrangements for pupils with disabilities (as specified in an annex to the relevant Supplemental Agreement); pupil absence rates; and destination of school leavers;
GRANTS TO BE PAID BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE
General Annual Grant
64) The Secretary of State recognises that:
b) in relation to Academies which open with pupils transferred from one or more LEA-maintained schools which have closed, additional GAG resources will be required to take account of transitional costs including any costs associated with supporting the integration of pupils from the closed schools and, where necessary, to offer a dual curriculum.
Other relevant funding
76) The Company should also receive funding from the LEA in whose area it is located, from the Standards Fund. The scheme under which the Standards Fund money is to be distributed by the Secretary of State to LEAs and schools will permit LEAs to receive grants to Academies in the same way as they can do for maintained schools. The relevant Academy must use any grants received under the Standards Fund in accordance with any conditions specified in relation to that grant. Grants paid to the Company from the Standards Fund are not paid under this Agreement.
Financial and Accounting Requirements
83) The Company shall submit indicative budgets relating to each Academy to the Secretary of State not later than by 15 February before the start of each financial year. Such budgets shall set out clearly the prospective income and expenditure of the relevant Academy and shall differentiate, and give adequate details of:
a) a statement of expected income for that year including cash donations and gifts in kind from sources other than GAG, EAG and grants from the Secretary of State towards capital expenditure, distinguishing between income from public funds including the national lottery and income from other sources. Income from cash donations and gifts in kind from sources other than GAG, EAG and grants from the Secretary of State towards capital expenditure will not be taken into account by the Secretary of State in the calculation of GAG;
86) The Company may also accumulate funds from private sources or public sources other than grants from the Secretary of State for application to the benefit of the Academy as it sees fit. Any surplus arising from private sources or public sources other than grants from the Secretary of State shall be separately identified in the Company’s balance sheet.
Borrowing Powers
90) The Company shall not run an overdraft beyond such amount (to cover irregularities in cash flow) as may from time to time be both approved by the Company in General Meeting and in writing by the Secretary of State, such approval by the Secretary of State not to be unreasonably delayed or withheld, and subject to any conditions he may reasonably impose. The Company shall not borrow except with the written consent of the Secretary of State against future years' current grant, or by using as collateral assets purchased wholly or partly out of monies provided by the Secretary of State. The Company shall not borrow against land and buildings transferred to it for less than the
market price from an LEA or trustees of a voluntary aided school. Provided always that nothing in this clause shall prevent the Company from borrowing (whether by way of overdraft or otherwise) prior to the opening of the Academy nor from borrowing where such borrowing is made necessary by the failure of the Secretary of State to make in a timely fashion payments (whether of GAG or EAG or otherwise) agreed to be made by him under this Agreement.
DISPOSAL OF ASSETS
91) Where the Company acquires assets for a nil consideration or at an under value it shall be treated for the purpose of this Agreement as having incurred expenditure equal to the market value of those assets at the time that they were acquired. This provision shall not apply to assets transferred to the Company at nil or nominal consideration and which were previously used for the purposes of a state funded school or where transferred from an LEA, the value of which assets shall be disregarded.
92) The sale or disposal by other means of a capital asset by the Company shall require the consent of the Secretary of State. such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed, where:
a) the Secretary of State paid capital grant in excess of £20,000 for the asset; or
b) the asset was transferred to the Company from a LEA for no or nominal consideration.
GENERAL
Information
101) Any information of a secret or confidential nature obtained by the Secretary of State or by any officials or advisers or contractors to such person, shall be kept confidential by such persons, as the Secretary of State shall procure, and shall not (except as required by law) be disclosed to any third party (including without limitation any LEA) without the prior written approval of the Company, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
Access by the Secretary of State's Officers
102) The Company shall allow access to the premises of any Academy at any reasonable time to DfES officials. All records, files and reports relating to the running of each Academy shall be available to them at any reasonable time. The Company shall provide the DfES in advance with papers relating to each Academy prepared for meetings of the Local Governing Body, of the Company’s directors and of the members of the Company. The Company need not provide to the DfES any part of these papers which relate to any issues of contention with the Secretary of State or any discussion of bids for funding to the Secretary of State. Two DfES officials shall be entitled to attend and to speak at all such meetings, but shall withdraw from any discussion of an Academy’s or the Company’s relationship with the Secretary of State or any discussion of bids for funding to the Secretary of State.
103) The Company shall ensure that to the extent only that such documents relate to an Academy:
i) the agenda for every meeting of the relevant Local Governing Body;
ii) the draft minutes of every such meeting, if they have been approved by the person acting as chairman of that meeting;
iii) the signed minutes of every such meeting; and
iv) any report, document or other paper considered at any such meeting,
which are to be made available for inspection at the relevant Academy by virtue of article 100 of the Articles of Association are, as soon as is reasonably practicable, sent to the DfES.
104) There may be excluded from any item required to be sent to the DfES by virtue of clause 103, any material relating to:
a) a named teacher or other person employed, or proposed to be employed, at any Academy;
b) a named pupil at, or candidate for admission to, any Academy; and
c) any matter which, by reason of its nature, the Company is satisfied should remain confidential.
Appointment of Additional Governors by the Secretary of State
108) If the Secretary of State becomes entitled in accordance with the Articles to appoint Additional Governors (as defined in the Articles) by affairs of the Company generally, the Company will:
a) replace such members of the Local Governing Body of the relevant Academy as shall have been appointed by the Governors in accordance with article 78(f) of the Articles and/or appoint additional members of the Local Governing Body as, in either case, the Secretary of State may by notice in writing specifying the persons so to be appointed to the Company require, provided that at least one of the members of the Local Governing Body is also a Governor (as defined in the Articles); and
b) upon the replacement or appointment, as the case may be, of the members of the Relevant Local Governing Body, delegate to the relevant Local Governing Body all such powers as may be necessary to ensure that the Relevant Local Governing Body is capable of properly conducting the affairs of the Academy on the Company’s behalf.
109) Notwithstanding the delegation referred to in clause 108 the relevant Local Governing Body will report to the Governors of the Company upon all decisions taken by the Local Governing Body at such intervals as the Company may reasonably require, following reasonable notice from the Company of its reporting requirements.
110) The Company may at any time revoke the delegation of powers referred to in clause 108 by notice in writing to the members of the relevant Local Governing Body. A copy of any such notice will also be sent to the Secretary of State.
ANNEX C
SERIOUS INCIDENTS OF MISBEHAVIOUR LEADING TO FIXED PERIOD OR PERMANENT EXCLUSION
o the Academy, and not the LEA, is responsible for making arrangements for independent appeal panels to hear appeals against permanent exclusions where the Local Governing Body does not direct reinstatement (see paragraph 35 and part 5 of the guidance, and below);
o the Local Governing Body is not expected to seek the advice of an LEA officer when considering an exclusion (paragraph 73 of the guidance), although an LEA officer may attend any meeting to consider an exclusion at the request of a parent; and
o part 8 of the guidance (arrangements for money to follow pupils who have been permanently excluded from school) does not apply.
Constitution and conduct of independent appeal panels
ARK Academies will be responsible for carrying out the functions assigned to the LEA in part 5 of the guidance with regard to the management of the appeal procedure. Appeals panels must be impartial and constituted in accordance with the detailed provisions of paragraphs 95-97 of the guidance. ARK Academies will arrange suitable training for appeal panel members and clerks.
The appeal panel’s decision is final and binding on ARK Academies. A parent may seek a judicial review of a panel’s decision. A parent may not, however, appeal to the Commissioner for Local Administration (the Local Government Ombudsman) about maladministration because the Commissioner’s remit is limited to considering the conduct of appeal panels constituted by LEAs. |
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| Quote: | Caz: Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:33 pm
Seems we can't necessarily hold sponsors responsible for absurd funding agreements.
The Dcsf (used to be Dfes) provides a 'model' funding agreement which sponsors, I presume, use as a template for their funding agreement with the government. Not sure what inspired Dcsf to come up with this.
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/academies/software/0608ModelFundingAg reement.doc?version=1
| Quote: | 34) The Academy Trust shall ensure that the National Curriculum programmes of study for English, Mathematics and Science and ICT for the time being prescribed by the Secretary of State under section 87 of the Education Act 2002 are taught so far as appropriate to any pupils admitted to the Academy in Years 1-11. In any event, the Academy Trust must ensure that such programmes of study have been covered in full at the Academy by the end of the final year of the Key Stage relevant for each Year group.
35) The Academy Trust shall ensure that if the Academy admits pupils in Years 1-6, the curriculum for these Years is sufficiently broad and has such depth as to enable such pupils to be adequately prepared for study at Key Stage 3 whether at the Academy or any other mainstream educational institution, including those institutions not sharing the Academy’s specialism.
36) Despite clauses 35-36, the Academy Trust is not required to teach an individual pupil or group of pupils in one or more subjects where, in the opinion of the Principal, it is inappropriate to do so by reason of the pupil’s or group’s ability or attainment. |
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