A period of public consultation in to the proposal for the merger of Cambridge Primary Education Trust (CPET) with Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT) has been completed.
This proposal would see CPET and its five Cambridgeshire primary schools – Hatton Park Primary School, Histon & Impington Brook Primary School, Histon & Impington Park Primary School, Somersham Primary School and Trumpington Park Primary School – join with CMAT.
The six-week consultation (20th October 2021 to the 1st December 2021) allowed members of both academy trust’s communities – including staff and parents – to find out more about the merger, ask questions, and share their feedback.
There was a range of options made available for people to either speak to members of both trusts in person, or to share comments online.
These options included to:
- Fill in an online survey to formally gather views. A form was set up for both CMAT and CPET.
- Make contact via a consultation email address which was set up for each trust.
- Attend a parent and community consultation event – both in person and online.
- Letters were also sent to staff, parents and key stakeholders linked to both CMAT, CPET and their schools. A meeting was also held with the Trade Union Councill’s Joint Consultative and Negotiation Committee (JCNC).
The outcome of this communication:
- 67 responses to the online CMAT survey – 63% agree to the merger; 12% don’t agree; 25% unsure.
- 44 responses to the online CPET survey – 30% agree to the merger; 30 per cent don’t agree; 40% unsure.
- Three in person community consultation events were held and two events held online, with 36 people attending.
- The estimated number of people that received the consultation letters across CMAT and CPET is in excess of 30,000.
- The response from the JCNC to the proposal was positive.
During the live and online events, parents and the community were given the chance to ask questions to the CEOs of both Trust, Mark Woods (CMAT) and Lesley Birch (CPET).
With the online CMAT survey, more than 40 of the respondents to the online form provided comments and the majority of these were supportive. For the online CPET survey, there were 35 comments, and these were mixed.
Those that were more unsure centered mainly around a misunderstanding of the academy or merger process, with many querying whether this meant that their school logo or uniform may change.
To give examples of positive comments:
- “Having worked very closely with Lesley Birch and Mark Woods in both a teaching, leadership and teaching school capacity I think that this is a timely and beneficial merger which will benefit all the students in their care.”
- “This is a fabulous opportunity for both trusts to grow and develop, embedding the strong working relationship that has existed for many years and ensuring that they can continue to make a significant contribution not only to the opportunities and experiences of staff and students in each Trust but also in the wider system.”
- “The two trusts complement each other and will be stronger and more effective together.”
The low number of negative comments were raised by staff or parents concerned over the impact the merger may have on existing, and more particularly the recently joined, CMAT schools and fears that further growth could reduce efficacy or quality of provision in each individual school.
The outcomes of the consultation will now be presented formally to the Trustee boards of both trusts.