St John Vianney Catholic Primary School

Why merge schools into a larger Trust?
By combining schools into a bigger Trust, staff workload can be reduced, resources can be shared, and schools can focus on delivering high-quality Catholic education. This setup can also create cost savings, which will benefit all schools involved.

How will a larger Trust benefit the schools?

• Large, well-managed trusts have several advantages for the students, staff, parishes and communities: Catholic mission and values:
• The Trust will maintain and develop a strong focus on our Catholic mission and values including outstanding chaplaincy across all schools.
• More resources: Larger Trusts can access more funding and manage it more effectively. This can mean new buildings, better teaching resources, and more support for students and staff.
• Support for school communities: Strong Trusts can quickly provide extra staff or resources to schools that need them.
• Career development for staff: Teachers and staff will have more opportunities for growth without leaving the classroom.

Who will lead the new CMAT?
The CEO of the St Raphael the Archangel CMAT is Sinead Smith. Sinead will be supported by a highly skilled Board of Directors. A list of whom can be found on the trust website.

How have the schools been allocated to the new CMAT?
DES officers, working with Archdiocesan Trustees and the Department for Education, have considered a range of factors including Local Authority, parishes, number and phase of schools and pupils, finances and current academy and voluntary aided status. Primary feeder schools will continue to be allocated to the same Trusts as their Catholic secondary school.

How will we be able to influence decisions in such a large Trust? Will we lose our identity?
No. Schools will remain deeply connected to their communities, and the Trust will ensure that each school’s individuality is respected and celebrated. Local governing bodies will continue to play a key role in making sure the school’s needs and voices are heard.

Will our school feel lost in the larger organisation?
To the contrary, successful Trusts are rooted in the communities that they serve. CMAT leaders will be required to engage with school communities.

What will be the role of the local governing body?
As stated above, successful Trusts and schools are rooted in their communities. In the larger CMAT, the role of the local governing body becomes even more important as a means to ensuring the local community are represented and listened to. Local governing bodies are the eyes and ears of the Board in ensuring the school and CMAT are meeting the requirements of a strong CMAT.

Will there be more money for my school?
Money for school buildings is paid directly to larger Trusts and that opens many doors for the CMAT to work with their schools to grasp the opportunities of managing their estates.

In addition, the significant economies of scale will result in a more effective use of funds across the Academy Trust leading to additional resources for schools and pupils where required. This support can be provided in different ways: SEND, pupil premium, education performance, estates management, administration support, parish and community engagement, and will vary depending on need.

What is the timescale for the new vision?
Trustees, Trust leaders and the DfE will work together to complete this next stage by September 2027.