Free School Project - November 2010 update

It is only a month since our Open Meeting and we have already made good progress on what is definitely a major project.

We are currently addressing the questions of the application form - this is a very involved exercise and we will have to produce a document that may be around 5,000 words long by the end of it. Our current focus is that of the organisational structure, together with its aims and objectives (this includes the proposed curriculum for the school).

Proposed name

We have had some lengthy discussions regarding the name of the new school. Whilst the above title “does exactly what it says on the tin” it is hardly punchy or inspiring. Many will be aware of the Mulberry Tree Kindergarten and suggest that this should be the name for the proposed new school; there seems to be two arguments against this at the moment, firstly a desire to keep the two distinct and secondly the strength of the name for a school as opposed to a Kindergarten. We are aiming to create something that emerges from a budding beginning - that is beautifully formed and inspiring so the current preference is THE ROSE SCHOOL.

The Mulberry Tree Kindergarten

This distinction does lead one to question about the future of the Mulberry Tree Kindergarten. It is currently unclear at what age Government funding starts at, if we were to assume that this is at 4 or 5 there would clearly be funding that the new school would pass on to the Kindergarten. As explained below, under the funding rules of Free Schools it is necessary to set up a limited company that is ran by trustees, therefore it would be necessary to incorporate the Kindergarten into the new school. We may get to a scenario where we have THE ROSE SCHOOL INCORPORATING THE MULBERRY TREE KINDERGARTEN.

As an aside, this incorporation would fit in with the Kindergarten's constitution which states:

        8.  Dissolution
If at a general meeting of the organisation, a two-thirds majority of members present and voting decide to terminate the existence of the organisation, any funds or equipment remaining after all debts have been paid shall be handed to a similar Waldorf Steiner new initiative in the region.

The organisational structure of the new school

This is a very important aspect of setting up a free school - please find below an extract from the New Schools Network:

How will new schools be governed?

Those wanting to set up new schools must establish a charitable Trust. This is the legal vehicle which will establish the new school, hold its assets, and receive funding from the Department for Education. The Trust's directors make up the governing body of the school.

Those submitting formal Proposals to the DfE should establish a ‘company limited by guarantee’ with Companies House. If the Proposal is successful, then the DfE will make you an ‘exempt charity’ and the entity comprising the Company combined with the exempt charity will form the Trust.

The web link to the above is http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/resources/faqs/question/16

As a comparison you may find of interest the following link explaining how the Hereford Steiner Academy governs itself.

A company limited by guarantee

In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors. The guarantors give an undertaking to contribute a nominal amount (typically very small – say £1) in the event of the winding up of the company.

The members of the company do not own the company but are the decision makers for the company. The members of the company may appoint Directors often called ‘Trustees’, who are given the responsibility for creating and implementing policies for the company. The Directors also enjoy limited liability, provided that they have not acted negligently, or fraudulently, and have not allowed the guarantee company to continue trading when it was insolvent (this is known as “wrongful trading”).

Trustees cannot be teachers

This is because the law states that trustees cannot receive any benefit from their charity in return for any service they provide to it unless. Only the reimbursement of out of pocket expenses is allowed.

Proposed Trustees

We are currently proposing that we start with 3 or 4 Trustees and that their responsibilities will include personnel, curriculum, finance and premises (including health & safety). You will see that other projects have a significantly larger board, however, our current thought is that given the likely size of the school we wish to start with a structure that is flexible and dynamic that is able to work practically with those involved in the day to day running of the school. We are meeting with two potential Trustees on 12 November, both have excellent CVs with a background in numerous projects across the board of Steiner education.

I have been proposed as Finance Trustee and am happy to commit to this role should this be agreeable to interested parties - please find below a brief CV:

Chris Mattos BSc (Hons) FCCA ATT CTA

• Education - GCSEs: St. Benedict's (Cheltenham) / A-Levels: St Edward's (Cheltenham) / Degree: Mathematics (Southampton)
• Professional qualifications – Fellow of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Tax Adviser
• Current role - Tax Manager: Hazlewoods Accountants, Cheltenham
• Chairman of the Severn Valley branch of the Chartered Institute Of Taxation
• I present the annual Taxation lecture to accountancy students at the University of Gloucestershire
• President of St Edward's past pupil association
• Other interests - I play chess for Gloucestershire, Thornbury and Stroud
• Previous events organised - University Ball, Past Pupil Rugby 7's, Chess congresses and events, I have also run cricket, football and chess teams
• My children, Lucy and Flyn, currently attend the Mulberry Tree Kindergarten - in July 2010 we moved to Cambridge (Glos.) from Coberley (nr Cheltenham) to be closer to Cromhall

Members

We will be looking for as many members as possible - please let us know if you would like to become one - this will entitle you to vote at annual meetings

Getting involved

If you are interested in supporting our project, there are many ways that you could help. The easiest way is to sign up to our e-mail list and receive our regular updates – please e-mail Chris Mattos, if you are interested on chris.mattos@btinternet.com.

Alternatively, you may be able to help at our future events and fund raisers or have the time and energy to actively help on our project committee - again, please e-mail Chris is you are interested.