PARENTS and carers are being invited to consultation events on plans to create a Multi-Academy Trust comprising five primary schools and Wilmslow High School.

The primary schools involved are Alderley Edge Community Primary, Ashdene Primary, Lindow Community Primary, St Anne’s Fulshaw C of E Primary and Styal Primary.

A public consultation on the proposals runs until January 31, and parents and carers will have the opportunity to attend consultation meetings next week at the schools involved.

A consultation event takes place at Wilmslow High School on Tuesday, January 23 at 6pm in the main hall.

Feedback from the consultation will be reviewed by the governing Body of each of the schools involved, and they will decide individually on whether to proceed with the application for academy status.

A spokesman from The Collaborative Educational Trust of Wilmslow said: “A number of the local authority-maintained schools in our district have decided to explore whether a geographically-based, community-focused Multi-Academy Trust would be in the best interests of the young people of our district, their families and the wider community as a whole.

“We are now seeking views on the establishment of The Collaborative Educational Trust of Wilmslow.

“This will formalise the existing collaboration between these local schools and ensure we can work together, now and in the future, in the best interests of those within our school community.

“Many factors have been carefully considered in developing this proposal - learning outcomes and opportunities, teaching, staffing, finance and governance.

“The governing board of each school involved remains absolutely committed to its own individual character, ethos and values, allowing us to offer a great education to all learners in our community.

“We all believe that creating the new trust together and being founding schools will allow us the best opportunity to maintain and further develop the excellent educational opportunities we currently offer for all of our pupils.”

More information can be found at the web page //sites.google.com/site/tcetwilm/

The community can get involved by emailing a response via the relevant school email addresses found on the ‘contact us’ page of the web page.

If the proposal is agreed all schools seeking to apply to convert to academy status and to join the MAT will then work together to further shape these proposals and agree the final MAT structure and its operational arrangements.

St Anne’s Fulshaw CE Primary School has an agreement in principle to proceed from the Chester Diocese, and will need to apply to the Diocese and the DfE if the governing body decides to proceed with the application for academy status.