Expansion of the Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust

The Newman Catholic Trust was formed as part of the Bishop's vision for all Catholic schools to be within a Multi-Academy Trust.

We are thrilled to update our communities that the Trust has successfully completed its fourth expansion and added two further schools to the Trust family. St Bonaventure's (Bishopston) and St Joseph's (Portishead) have completed the necessary formal and legal process and are officially members of the Newman Catholic Trust as of January 1st 2025:

LETTER NOTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS OF EXPANSION JANUARY 2025

This expansion is following the recent expansion to include St Patrick's (Redifled) from the 1st of September 2024.

LETTER NOTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS OF SUCCESSFUL EXPANSION APPLICATION (JUNE 24)

Stakeholder engagement:

The Trust has completed several meetings with stakeholders and has visited each school to engage with parents, staff and governors. The Trust is committed to ensuring that its engagement is accessible to all and has considered the impact of this expansion and engagement in relation to the Equalities Act. For this reason, the Trust has held meetings at different times and across different platforms in order to ensure all stakeholders have equal opportunity to engage.

A copy of the PowerPoint we have used in such meetings is below for people to refer to:

EXPANSION MEETING POWERPOINT

FORMAL STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION MEETING

The Trust recently conducted a public formal consultation and stakeholder engagement meeting on the 27th of November in relation to the proposed expansion of the Newman Catholic Trust - with St Bonaventure's (Bishopston) and StJoseph's (Portishead) joining. This is the final stage of the consultation process and the PowerPoint is below:

CONSULTATION POWERPOINT NOVEMBER 27TH

If you would like to learn more about joining the Trust, please see the helpful documents below. We have created a comprehensive "FAQs" document and guide explaining some of the key information. Please note, this information may change as the Trust grows and develops.

- Joining the Newman Catholic Trust FAQs.

- Guidance from NGA on joining a MAT

- Guidance for staff regarding TUPE and TUPE FAQs.

- TUPE PowerPoint for school staff

There are lots of questions schools, their leaders, staff and governors will want to ask before joining. This is natural as joining a MAT is a significant decision.

These questions often centre around finance, staffing, curriculum and governance. Some of the questions you will wish to consider may include:

How does funding work in the MAT?
What financial efficiencies have schools achieved by being part of the MAT?
Does the MAT have centralised services and functions that help to reduce costs? What does this look like?
How does the MAT support schools to generate income?
How will the MAT ensure that our school remains unique?
How do schools in the MAT maintain their individual identities?
How will our relationship with other local schools change?

We are happy to discuss and answer any questions.