Academy Consultation
Dear Parents, Carers, and Stakeholders of Paulton Junior School,
We wrote to you previously to give you information on our Governing Body’s considerations regarding joining a Multi-Academy Trust. The Governing Board and school leadership have been carefully reflecting on our future plans within a changing and increasingly challenging educational landscape.
Following a period of research and due diligence, governors and leaders strongly believe that joining the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership (MNSP) is the right next step to secure our school’s position and ensure we continue to focus on improving children’s educational outcomes and overall school experience.
To further support your participation in this consultation process, we would like to invite you to an information and consultation meeting at the school on Tuesday 10th November at 5pm-6pm. This will be an opportunity to discuss academy status with governors and the Headteacher, as well as ask any questions of the Trust’s CEO, Mr Alun Williams.
Why do Governors believe Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership is the right Trust for Paulton Junior School?
- Secondary Transition Alignment: MNSP operates Somervale Secondary School & Norton Hill School, which are the secondary schools that the majority of Paulton Junior children transfer to. Joining the same trust will help ensure seamless educational transitions and continuity for our pupils.
- Local Partnership: MNSP already oversees a network of primary schools in our local area—Being geographically close to many of these allows for meaningful collaboration, shared staff expertise, and efficient coordination of support across a wide variety of schools.
- Preserving School Identity: Joining MNSP would not mean a change to our school name, our logo, or our leadership team. Paulton Junior School will maintain its strong, community-focused identity while benefiting from the strength of a wider partnership.
- Sharing Our Key Stage 2 Expertise: Paulton Junior School brings a strong, proven understanding of Key Stage 2 (KS2) provision to the table, alongside deep engagement with the local Paulton community.
- Governance & Leadership Stability: There will be no changes to the overarching governance of the Trust, nor any disruptive local changes. Our Headteacher, Sally Rawlings and the staff team will continue to lead the school day-to-day and prioritise children’s education and wellbeing.
- Financial Resilience & Economies of Scale: Like many schools, we face rising costs across utilities, staffing, and inflation, alongside shifting pupil numbers. By joining MNSP, we will be able to utilise shared academy resources and economies of scale (e.g., centralised purchasing and resource sharing) to keep our budget balanced and focused where it matters most: on classroom resources for our children.
- Continued Local Partnership: Converting to MNSP will not impact our day-to-day relationship or feeder transition arrangements with Paulton Infant School. We will continue to work closely together to support children and families moving from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2.
How to Participate in the Consultation
Please complete the form https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/g3yhJSsu7Y?origin=lprLink to share your views on Paulton Junior School joining The MNSP Multi-Academy Trust.
Please attend the meeting on Tuesday 10th November at 5pm.
Our formal consultation period with parents, carers, staff, pupils, and the local community will continue to take place until Monday 16th November.
We look forward to speaking with you soon and working together on this exciting next chapter for Paulton Junior School.
Kind regards,
Sally Rawlings Sophie Addison
Headteacher Chair of Governors