Below are a list of some questions that we think people may have. We will be updating this list regularly with responses to questions posed via the online survey - so please do keep checking in to find out more.
What is an academy?
An academy is a non-fee paying state-school which is funded by, and accountable to, the Government rather than a local authority (LA). To help the running of that school, there is a board of independent trustees or governors, and the money for the running of that school is paid directly to the school.
What is a multi-academy trust?
A Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) is a group of academies that has come together under a single legal and governance structure.
Will joining SJBF makes our schools less accountable to our community?
This is something that we will be considering in depth. Different Trusts operate in different ways, and we have been careful to ensure that the Trust we have identified has:
Will any of the schools have to change its name, uniform or identity?
They won’t. SJBF has confirmed that there is no intention to change the name and identity of the schools.
Will each of the school's vision and ethos change?
Each school will shape its own vision and ethos, reflecting its unique character and community, in line with the Trust’s vision and ethos, so that together we share a common purpose and direction.
Will the curriculum change?
Everyone recognises that our schools are in a good place. Our primaries will continue to work together to do what is right for our children and our community.
Irrespective of this proposed merger, our curriculums would be changing anyway. The Government has recently announced the outcome of a curriculum review - and all schools in the country will have to make changes.
Will any staff leave if we merge Trusts?
We hope not. In fact, a major drive to is to provide better CPD (continuing professional development) and enhanced career opportunities for all of our staff.
Will staff have changes to their contracts, pay, pensions or working conditions?
If the transfer went ahead, staff would become an employee of The Sir John Brunner Foundation, as per the TUPE process and associated protections. The Sir John Brunner Foundation is committed to the national pay and conditions.
Staff would continue to access their existing pension schemes - including TPS and LGPS.
Will there be any change to admissions policy?
The current arrangements, which are determined by the local authority, would remain in place.
Will the term dates change?
This is not anticipated. Any changes to current arrangements would always go out to full consultation with all stakeholders as we appreciate and understand how difficult that would be if you had children at more than one school.
Will a parent’s and carer’s right to complain be affected?
No. If the merger takes place there will be, as there is now, a complaints policy which gives an avenue for parents or carers to complain. Every outside agency currently available to parents and carers will remain unchanged.
Will our schools get more funding?
Our schools will still be funded on a per-pupil basis irrespective of what our governance arrangement is.
This is less about will we get more funding, and more about whether we can do more with the funding that we do have. Being part of a larger organisation will support our operational resilience and we will have access to greater support.
Being part of a larger MAT will, however, potentially give us access to some additional funding streams.
Why haven't we been informed of this sooner and been given the opportunity to air our views before?
Trustees have been thinking about this for some time. Before raising it with the wider community, we wanted to ensure that the community was presented with a sensible and viable option that we believe has the potential to be beneficial.
We started this listening period ahead of any formal decision being made by our stakeholders.
What does the time scale look like? Will there be any dramatic changes?
Timescales are not wholly determined by either Create or SJBF – but it is our hope that this process will be concluded by September 2026.
All mergers have to be agreed by the Department for Education through what are known as Advisory Boards. These meet monthly and, once we have consulted, we then have to put ourselves forward for our academy conversion to be reviewed.
What benefits will the children see as part of a larger MAT?
Children will see changes, but these might be more indirect than those seen by staff and school leaders. For example, staffing, classrooms and the curriculum will largely be unchanged. Stability is important, particularly in ‘Good’ schools like ours.
What we hope is that things such as giving staff access to enhanced professional development and more collaborative working will really benefit pupils.
Why have other local MATs been ruled out? Why is a secondary only Trust being considered?
There are lots of good multi-academy trusts in the area, which is why Create’s Trustees have considered different possible options. We looked at primary only MATs, mixed MATs (both primary and secondary) and secondary only MATs – and each have different strengths.
Ultimately, we felt a secondary/college only MAT offered us the greatest mix of stability and opportunity. Not only would we benefit from being part of a larger organisation, but the experiences we will potentially be able to offer our children is also exciting.
Not only would we benefit from being part of a more resilient financial and operational model, but we can also be in the driving seat for what that Trust’s primary offer looks like. We have a group of strong primary schools, and we want to build on our strengths – not have to go through further evolution and change.
Alongside that, we also looked at ethos and values – and that is why the SJBF increasingly came to the fore.
Will SJBF support the work of our school’s PTA? Will any monies raised by the PTA stay with the schools, or will they be taken by the Trust?
Everyone recognises the invaluable work that PTAs do, and it is fair to say that SJBF have been impressed by the strength of support our schools receive.
It has been confirmed that any monies raised by a PTA will always stay with that school it was intended for.
We have strong local governance in place. Will that continue if the Trusts were to merge?
Every Trust has what is known as a Scheme of Delegation. This is a document that outlines the roles of responsibilities of the Trustees, the Executive Team and Local Governance.
As part of the due diligence process we will be closely exploring SJBF’s Scheme of Delegation to understand what differences there are between our two approaches for local governors. However, on initial inspection, it looks as though many of the key components of our Scheme of Delegations are similar as both Trust’s put equal value on the important role local governors play.
SJBF’s commitment to Local Governance was also noted in their recent (July 2025) External Review of Governance. The report stated: "At SJBF it is recognised that each school within the group has its own unique character, serving the distinct needs of their communities and as such the Trust has a strong commitment to local governance.”
Will after school clubs/holiday clubs remain?
The Government is asking schools to do more to support working parents, and SJBF recognises how vital wraparound care is for many primary parents.
As long as the clubs have enough people to access them, then they will remain as is.
Is there a MAT joining fee?
There are no fees to join a MAT, but typically they do keep a small percentage of a school’s budget to provide central services – such as HR, finance and payroll. Create Learning already operates a model like this.
These are services that we already access and we already pay for in different ways - so in some respects it is less about how much (although that is a consideration) but more about the quality, depth and robustness of the services that we can access. We want our school leaders to be able to focus on what matters most – and that is what happens in the classroom.
Will any schools be closed?
As long as there are enough children who want to go to our schools, then everyone is committed to keeping them open.
Will our relationship with our local secondary school change because of this?
In short, no. It will always be down to the parents and children to select which secondary school is right for them. No admissions arrangements will change, and our primaries will still work closely with other secondaries that our children go to – even if they are not in the SJBF.
Will my child still be able to go the secondary closest to me (not part of SJBF)?
Of course.
Would you still let children access things, likes sports competitions and science days, at secondaries that are not part of SJBF?
Yes. We don’t want any children to miss out on any opportunities.
Will Create schools become a named feeder schools for Leftwich?
Leftwich is committed to serving its local community, and the school is currently oversubscribed.
There are currently no plans to change Leftwich’s admissions criteria to include Create schools. If this changes, this is a long process and would require a full public consultation with that school’s community.
How would SEND children benefit from this merger? Would there be a Trust SENDCO, or would each school have their own?
This will be a key part of the due diligence process as we would look to understand how a merger would facilitate the sharing of expertise - particularly in relation to SEND.
This integration would create a broader talent pool to ensure best practices are implemented for the benefit of all children. Additionally, as part of the merger discussions, we have already discussed the potential for the possible introduction of a trust-wide role focused on SEND and inclusion.
What might this look like? When would structures and roles be shared? Will career progression be available for CLT staff specifically as part of the merger and new structures emerging?
A larger organisation has more potential to create opportunities and pathways for career progression. While it’s not possible to define specific roles or structures at this stage, because the model is still being co-designed by SJBF and CLT. Opportunities will continue to arise even after the model is implemented.
Career progression will always depend on the needs of the organisation and, most importantly, what is best for the children in the trust. This could include:
Will there be an expected impact to the day-to-day budget at a school level through the Trust joining?
This question is a key part of the due diligence process and something that we are exploring.
What is the sign off process around Trust Selection and is the involvement of local schools and governors just a box ticking exercise within the process – if not how will the final sign off be validated by each school within the Trust and not just the central board?
The decision about if we merge, and which Trust we would merge with, is one that legally sits with the Board of Trustees, Members and, ultimately, the Department for Education through the Regional Director and Advisory Board.
This means that there is no formal voting process or mechanism for local schools / governors to formally sign off the outcome of this process.
However, this does not mean that this consultation is a box-ticking exercise. The outcome of the consultation is a key part of the due diligence process.
Do all schools within the trust legally have to remain together when looking at selecting to join a new trust?
The Trust is one legal entity which the schools are part of. As such, the Trustees have ultimate legal responsibility for each of the schools.
Is there a proposed timeline to potentially joining another Trust and has this timeline been mandated by any external influence following the idea of the merger only existing after external reviews?
This merger is being driven by the desire of the Trustees to do the right thing for our schools. Nothing is being forced upon us and the option to remain as we are still on option for us.
As for a potential timeline, that is not something that is solely in our control as the DfE also need time to consider the plans and proposals. However, if we proceed, it would make sense to aim for the merger to be completed by September 2026.
Are there any anticipated impacts to the existing central support team within the Trusts merging and will key service level agreements and scope for what is included within the Central Team provision be included in any Trust agreements?
This is part of the due diligence process.
Would there be an anticipated change to the SIPs and Audits currently undertaken at school level and will the Trust merger also look at streamlining the number of internal reviews undertaken and documents created?
Again, this is part of the discussions we are having as part of the due diligence process.
Upon looking to join into another Trust are there any pre-requisites or guarantees which can be written into the agreement around retention of number of schools, staff etc. and have these been considered?
This is something that has been considered – however it is impossible to get any written guarantees. For example, in theory, if 50 parents took their child out of a small school then (irrespective of the Trust or structure) the viability of that school/staffing positions would be drawn into question.
What we can do, however, is find a trust that values our own ethos, approach and communities.
Do you have a model that you have developed from other schools joining that support the transition from CLT to SJBF? What can you share about that transition process?
SJBF has an established Onboarding Framework that we will be looking at in more detail if things proceed following due diligence.
What is the current financial position of SJBF and how would joining support CLTs financial resilience? SJBF currently has around £6m in reserves. Joining SJBF allows for economies of scale and greater savings to be achieved, with greater financial resilience to respond to challenges as a larger organisation.
Do SJBF GAG pool?
No
What is SJBF’s top slice? Will there be a different top slice for primaries compared to secondaries?
Currently core top slice is 4.75% at SJBF.
Has the top slice increased at SJBF, or has it remained stable? The top slice was reduced in 2025-26 to ensure it was affordable for the schools, whilst still providing them with the support they need.
What is the Trust’s appetite for infrastructure investment? What has it spent on each of its site’s in the last two years?
SJBF have invested £4.5m on their estates over the last 2 financial years.
What is SJBF’s views on school business managers? Are they in the SJBF structure? SJBF central team work to ensure the schools are fully supported in terms of operations. The current model will evolve as primaries join.
Due diligence, designing future structures and, if required, further consultation will impact decisions as to how the new operating model looks.
How will you ensure Primary schools retain meaningful autonomy and representation in a trust that is dominated by secondary schools? This is key part of the due diligence. SJBF has a scheme of delegation that we will be reviewing closely - but is appears to align closely with our own.
What is the timeline for the due diligence process?
The target is to complete the due diliegnce in January.
What would the local governance structure look like in SJBF?
Local Governance is valued strongly in SJBF as evidenced by its recent External Review of Governance. Local Governance have a strong link and established lines of communication with the trust board, included, but not limited to, the Governance Forum, which meets at least 3 times a year.
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