22 March 2019

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are writing to explain how you can find out more about the invitation to Round Hill to join White Hills Park Multi Academy Trust, which runs Alderman White and Bramcote College secondary schools, and how you can participate and feed in your questions and opinions.

How do I find information about the White Hills Park invitation?

We have created a new page on the website, entitled “Academy Information”, to which we have uploaded all the information currently available on this issue. This page will be updated with new information as it becomes available. There is a very prominent link to the page from the Round Hill website homepage. Alternatively, you can find it under the “Parents” tab, entitled “Academy Information”.

We will promote this page as widely as possible through correspondence, text messages, email, the school newsletter/bulletins and in all events, meetings and conversations we hold. We would be very grateful if you would direct any parents, who are seeking information, to this resource.

How long have I got to put in my comments?

This period of engagement will last until 30^th April 2019. It will include the opportunity to attend a presentation on the invitation we have received from White Hills Park, meet governors, participate in discussion and complete a questionnaire.

Following the end of the engagement period, Round Hill governors will meet again to decide whether to decline the invitation from White Hills Park or proceed to the next stage of the academisation process, which will require further detailed work on the proposals and a formal consultation with staff, parents and stakeholders.

Will there be an event I can attend?

Yes, there will be an engagement event on April 2, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at the school. There will be an introduction from Round Hill governors, explaining why we decided to register an interest in the invitation to join the multi-academy trust; a presentation from White Hills Park detailing their offer and some frequently asked questions will be put to WHP. The Local Authority has been invited to present but is unable to attend.

Following the presentations and questions, (which will last approximately 50 minutes), we will invite parents to join small group discussions in which they will be able to discuss the White Hills Park invitation in more detail. Governors and School Leaders will capture the views and questions of parents in these discussions.

Is there another way to express my view?

Yes, you can still submit your views via a questionnaire, which will be available online and offline following the engagement event. The questionnaire will be publicised through a letter, text message, email, school newsletter and on the website to encourage the widest possible participation. Copies will be available from the school office for those wishing to participate offline.

How will the views of parents and their questions be recorded and used?

All of the views and questions captured from correspondence, face-to-face meetings, the information event and questionnaires will be logged and published on the school website once it has been collated. As we log your questions, we will also be seeking answers, which we can share with you. We anticipate that this will take a number of weeks and we will be in touch once this process has been completed. All of this information will assist governors ahead of a meeting on June 18^th 2019, when we will decide whether to decline the invitation from White Hills Park to join their multi-academy trust, or continue to the next stage, which would include a formal consultation on the issue with parents, staff and stakeholders.

In recent weeks, governors have received a small number of requests for meetings to discuss the engagement process. We sincerely hope that the information we are now presenting will allay any concerns that parents have about their opportunities to contribute to this process. However, if any parents would like to meet a governor to discuss how they can participate, we will do our very best to facilitate that. Please email the school office at the email address at the top of this letter.

As governors, we are committed to delivering an effective engagement process that is transparent and fair, which encourages discussion and elicits views from parents, in order to highlight areas where more information is required and inform governors ahead of the next decision point.

We look forward to meeting many of you and reading your contributions in the coming weeks.

Yours sincerely                                                 

Joy Miller                                                                            Adrian Nash

Chair of Governors                                                          Head teacher

On behalf of the governing body