General questions and answers about Pix Brook Academy
What facilities will the Pix Brook building on the Etonbury site have (such as a dining area, play area, toilets?)
Within the Pix Brook area there will be four classrooms, breakout spaces, meeting room, dining space, library, car parking, cycle store, hard play area and sports field.
What facilities will Pix Brook share with Etonbury, and can Etonbury cope with the strain of extra students, staff etc on its site?
Pix Brook will be largely self contained on the Etonbury site – on a separate site with separate dining and break time facilities. There may be some limited shared site usage where it is unavoidable, but this will be carefully planned and coordinated with Etonbury.
BEST is confident Etonbury will be able to cope. There have been significant changes since the Ofsted inspection and Etonbury is much stronger now, with a new principal in place.
Will the Pix Brook principal be present at the open evening on 19 November?
Yes, we are expecting the new principal to attend – however as the person is only just appointed (interviewed on 6 November) they are only expected to be an observer rather than a presenter at this event.
When will Pix Brook teachers be recruited and will this include SEN and support staff?
BEST is working on an education plan and have agreed a timescale for this with the Department of Education (DfE) – this will outline the vision for education, the draft curriculum offer, staffing numbers and will be the basis for what the school will teach from opening in September 2019.
The new principal will be key to driving this education plan and will become increasingly influential in shaping this plan – until they are fully on board the Director of Education, Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at BEST will be developing this plan.
Will there be a board of governors to support Pix Brook and if so, will this be implemented for September 2019?
Yes, it is a requirement to have effective governance in place prior to opening – the Department for Education has asked BEST to submit this late 2018 / early 2019. BEST will look to appoint a suitable chair first (and is required to do so) then build up the governance arrangements – in line with the overarching BEST Governance Handbook and it will include at least two places for parents.
Will Pix Brook opening at Etonbury have before/after school provision and extra-curricular activities; where will this be situated and who will run this?
It is not yet clear what extra-curricular activities Pix Brook will offer – the education plan and the new principal will be key to developing these plans.
Will Pix Brook have a different uniform to Etonbury?
Yes – BEST will develop a new uniform for Pix Brook in 2019.
How will places be offered at Pix Brook going forward, i.e. where will siblings be in respect of allocation order?
The 2019 admission policy for all BEST academies prioritises siblings as the second oversubscription criteria (it is mandatory for all looked-after and previously-looked-after children to be the highest criterion for all schools and academies). Should any changes be proposed for the oversubscription criteria for Pix Brook in the future, then BEST (as the admission authority) would be required to conduct a public consultation in line with the admissions legislation. Parents, neighbouring schools, us and other community groups would be consulted on proposed changes.