Members of the public are invited to share their views on plans for Vickerstown Primary School to join the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

A public consultation meeting will be held at the school on Wednesday 2nd March from 5pm to 6.30pm with a presentation and panel question and answer session about the proposal to academise.

It will be led by Vickerstown Primary School Headteacher David Holmes with Professor Andrew Wren, who is Executive Head Teacher and CEO of the Trust, alongside Director of Marketing and Communications Kathryn Kittley.

David said the feedback from staff and parents had been overwhelmingly positive to date and the governors had voted unanimously in favour of the plan.

“We are really heartened by the favourable response to this move so far,” he said. “Staff can really see the benefits that being part of a bigger organisation will bring in terms of sharing best practice and continuing to move the school forward. It is now important that everyone connected with Vickerstown has a chance to express their views and ask questions about what joining the Trust will mean for our school.”

People can ask questions in person at the event or post them via a form on the school’s website to be asked at the meeting.

The MAT Trustees met and resolved in principle to accept the 170-pupil school on Walney into the SCMAT, the school has submitted a formal application and Cumbria County Council has been informed.

Vickerstown School Headteacher David Holmes said the Trust’s vision fits well with his school’s ethos of giving pupils the best academic start in life and grounding to become successful members of society.

“We believe our school will be greatly enhanced by working in partnership with the SCMAT and the support it will bring across all aspects of Vickerstown life,” he said.

If all goes ahead, Vickerstown Primary and Brambles Nursery will join the SCMAT in September 2022 alongside Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School which is currently going through the application process. They will join Chetwynde School, which was the founding member of the SCMAT when it launched in September 2021.

To ask a question regarding the proposal for Vickerstown Primary and Brambles Nursery School joining the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, please complete the following form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8UD9v3DdoBG8cynkSJJl6X43nfvxGX_bHBskenHbfBH5Cew/viewform?usp=sf_link

A primary school that is connected to the heart of its community will become the third Barrow school to join the newly formed South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust.

Governors at Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School voted unanimously to academise and join the SCMAT, which is led by Furness College.

The 200-pupil school, which is rated Good by Ofsted, is scheduled to join the Trust alongside Vickerstown School in September this year. Chetwynde School joined the SCMAT in September 2021.

Ormsgill Primary School Headteacher Mick Cull said the choice of SCMAT had been an easy one.

“Both Chetwynde and Vickerstown have excellent reputations due largely to their work throughout the pandemic keeping vital education going for the young people of this town,” he said. “The headteachers of both of these schools are forward-thinking, passionate about education and hold the same values I do as a head.

“I have worked with David from Vickerstown for a number of years and admire his approach and passion for education and was impressed at Steve’s leadership of Chetwynde through a period of change.

“I could see that their move to join the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust was the right one and something I wanted our pupils, staff and parents to benefit from too and I am looking forward to working more closely with them.”

“When I approached Andrew as CEO of the SCMAT, I was inspired by his leadership and vision for how he sees the SCMAT supporting schools across the educational spectrum. Senior staff from the Trust were also impressed by and fully supportive of the important role our school plays at the heart of the Ormsgill community.”

Cumbria County Council has been informed and there will now be meetings with the Department for Education and informal discussions with stakeholders prior to starting the formal consultation and application process.

Chair of Governors at Ormsgill Primary School Sarah Kilburn said as more schools are being encouraged to become academies, the governors at Ormsgill were keen to be proactive.

“We wanted to have the choice to join the best Trust which meets the needs of our school and which puts the success and welfare of its young people first and foremost. This is undoubtedly SCMAT,” she said.

“Our vision at Ormsgill is to create a safe, nurturing learning environment where everyone is happy and able to reach their full potential and being a member of SCMAT will only serve to improve the learning experience for our pupils.”

SCMAT Executive Head Teacher and CEO and Professor Andrew Wren said Ormsgill is a great school with an inspirational headteacher and an ethos that aligns well with the MAT.

“I was delighted to be approached by Mick who is keen to further enhance the school’s quality of education and sees joining SCMAT as a way to fulfil this,” he said. “He is dedicated to adopting improved methods of teaching, learning and leadership within the school for the benefit of the school and the wider community with which it is so closely connected.”

There will now be a formal application process and consultation with staff, parents and the wider community.

For more information about the Trust email info@furness.ac.uk.

Congratulations to Chetwynde School who won the Primary MegaMAT Games first indoor netball event this week.

They played a round robin final against competitive school teams from Dane Ghyll in Barrow and St Mary’s in Ulverston and won both matches to take the A League Title with Dane Ghyll second.

The honours in the Novice League were shared by Parkside 1 and Our Lady’s Dalton who ended their final at 0-0 after extra time and shared the winners title.

The competition, held in the sports halls at Chetywnde and Barrow Sixth Form, was backed by the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust and included 14 teams of pupils from Years 5 and 6.

The Primary MegaMAT Games is a full calendar of multi-sports competitions with points accumulated by the participant schools. The next event is a swimming competition in mid-March.

Chetwynde pupils have been enjoying a state-of-the art learning environment for their food technology classes using the catering facilities at the Channelside campus for lessons.

The Year 9s enjoyed preparing cheese, fruit and plain scones as part of the latest lesson and will be visiting with their teachers over the next few weeks developing knowledge and skills in catering and food safety in the college’s industry standard kitchens.

This initiative is the start of facility sharing across the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust, following on from the MegaMAT Games where sports events for schools across the area are hosted at Chetwynde, Barrow Sixth Form and the Channelside campus.

It aligns with the SCMAT vision to working in partnership, offering support across the education sector sharing innovation, expertise and world-class facilities.