BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSAL

Between September 2022 – 2023, at Briefings for Governors and Senior Leaders, by the Local Authority (LA), all  schools within the jurisdiction of the LA were actively encouraged to research the local offer in terms of academy trusts.  The government at that time had issued its intention that all schools should be part of an academy trust by 2030.  Although the government has changed since then, there is a clear indication in the latest White Paper on Education (February 2026) that all schools will be expected to join academy trusts in the coming years.  All the
secondary schools in Cambridgeshire are now in academy trusts and many primaries too.

In 2023 the LA was making a proposal of its own, namely that it was looking to provide a greater range of centralised services to its schools, with a view to becoming a large local academy trust.  A pilot scheme in Essex was being put forward at the time.  This was an attractive proposal to us but nothing materialised.  Since then, the level of services provided by the LA has been considerably reduced and schools, including Mayfield, are required to pay for more out of their existing budgets.  It has been well covered in the press that education spending has not kept pace with rapidly rising costs, such as fuel, IT, broadband, site services, food and transport, as well as pay rises for teaching and support staff, the costs of which have not been met in full by the government. This has meant an increasing pressure on limited resources and the school has now posted a deficit budget for the last two years.

In addition to this pressure on budget and the reduction of central services, the demands on schools are increasing.  Legal challenges and compliance pressures on schools are growing and in a standalone primary school, even a fairly large one like Mayfield, all of these functions must be covered by a small Senior Management Team (Head, Deputy and School Business Manager at Mayfield) and a volunteer body of governors.

In 2023 a working party of governors had been set up by the Governing Body and researched several local multi academy trusts, ACES, DEMAT, CamTrust, Saffron Academy Trust (SAT) and Eastern Learning Alliance (ELA).  At that time, the task was to keep a watching brief but no decision to academise was taken.  In January 2025, after discussions with the Head, it was decided to approach three of the local trusts.  After conversations and meetings with three CEOs, the ELA Trust Board was the most open to our approach and, in our opinion the best ‘fit’, given
geographical location and existing strong relationships with the local schools within ELA.

On 23rd September 2025, after much discussion and further research, the Mayfield GB took the decision to join the ELA, subject to proper consultation and due diligence. The discussions of the Governing Body are minuted and available to read on the Mayfield School website.

 

CONSULTATION

Before proceeding further, the Governors opened a Consultation with parents, carers, community stakeholders and staff on 8th October, 2025.  Through a series of in-person meetings and online communications through the dedicated Consultation website, mayfield-consultation.org.uk, the Consultation Team responded to 74 online contributions, covering a wide range of questions about what entry into a multi-academy trust will mean.  The consultation period came to an end on 16th November, 2025 and at the Governing Body of 20th November, the outcomes of the consultation were reviewed and the decision was taken to continue with the process.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Mayfield has now submitted a formal application to the Department for Education (DFE) and provided supporting information as required.  If the transfer to ELA is approved, Mayfield will receive an order to academise from the DFE and the formal processes of staff transfer under TUPE and the transfer of land from the control of the LA to the Trust will take place.  These are lengthy procedures and will last several months.  Meanwhile, due diligence meetings, visits and sharing of documentation have been proceeding, so that both ELA and Mayfield can be satisfied that they have all the information they need.  These meetings include: scrutiny of financial information, safeguarding arrangements, HR processes and staffing plans, curriculum provision, health and safety and site management, a condition survey of Mayfield school buildings and land, scrutiny of policies.  The process is a mutual one; Mayfield continues to seek information, ask questions and make visits.  Our questions are based on research, questions and comments that have arisen from the consultation and DFE guidance to Governors on rigorous due diligence and recommended practice.

 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING ELA?

The make-up of the Trust
The Eastern Learning Alliance is a medium-sized multi-academy trust (MAT), which comprises the
following schools: Chesterton Community College and Sixth Form, Impington Village College and Sixth Form, Girton Glebe Primary, Cavendish School, a specialist provider, and Cambridge Maths School are those
local to Mayfield. Further away are Downham Market Academy and Athena Sixth Form College, Vista Academy at Littleport, and Witchford Village College.

Reputation of ELA
Mayfield has long enjoyed a close relationship with Chesterton Community College, as one of its principal feeder schools.  The ELA has a proven record of school improvement and educational excellence across all of its schools. The ELA is in the top 10 % of high-performing trusts nationally and the schools that constitute ELA are diverse.  For information on the Trust and its schools, visit www.tela.org.uk. Here you will find details of the activities of the various schools, links to their websites and Ofsted reports, formal documentation on the constitution of the Trust
and its aims.  The main aim of ELA is to provide the best education it can and to remain a sustainably-sized organisation to achieve this. It is ambitious for all its schools, recognises the unique contribution of each of them and sets about school development and improvement through a research-based and collaborative approach.

Location
It makes sense to join a trust which is close to us geographically, so that resources can be shared easily and advice and support from the Trust’s central team is promptly available.  In most academy trusts which comprise primary and secondary schools, an established pattern is that the primary schools are feeders to the secondaries.  ELA would welcome another primary school and our conversations with the senior executive and trustees indicate a close alignment of values and approaches to education between Mayfield and ELA.

Central services
The central services which a MAT can provide are substantial.  We would gain support in HR, legal matters and regulatory compliance, estate management and maintenance, curriculum, safeguarding, Health and Safety, SEND, IT and finance.  Economies of scale can be achieved through collective procurement, ensuring best value and the central team, as we have already experienced in our negotiations, are responsive and very helpful.  An organisation of small-medium size like ELA can manage its affairs far more efficiently and productively than many larger
organisations but Mayfield would benefit from joining a wider staff team in a mutually supportive family of schools.

Inclusion and equality
ELA is committed to inclusion, with strong policies on equality and a very good Pupil Premium offer across the Trust.  It has strong SEND provision (evidenced, for example in the most recent Chesterton CC Ofsted Report of February 2025) and recognises the differing levels of need within its schools, providing support accordingly.  All the schools retain their unique character and one of the strengths of ELA is the diversity of schools within the trust, including Sixth-Form provision, a specialist Mathematics School and the Cavendish School, a special needs school. We are confident that Mayfield would add to the diversity and richness of the Trust, while maintaining our
own distinctive ethos and strong community links.

Staff
As a well-reputed academy trust, ELA is able to recruit and retain high quality staff.  This is attested by the results of staff surveys and the good level of satisfaction expressed by staff working in the Trust.  If our staff transfer to work for ELA, their terms of contract, salary, pension and service records will be protected by the provisions of TUPE.  The Trust pays its staff according to the same salary scales as Mayfield, recognises trade unions and complies with best HR practice. Moreover, the staff will enjoy a substantial wellbeing package and access to excellent training and professional development.

 

ARE THERE ANY RISKS?
Converting to academy status is an irreversible step.  Once taken, a school cannot revert to the control of the Local Authority.  It joins other academies in receiving funding direct from the DFE and paying a percentage of its budget to the trust for the provision of central services and the executive team.  Some of the benefits it receives in return are identified above.

There is a loss of autonomy in some areas, such as governance; the Local Governing Body of an individual Trust school has a more limited remit and reports to the Trust Board.  The senior management of the school reports to the Chief Executive.  This must be balanced against the kind of autonomy we currently enjoy, which is in fact very limited.

 

WHY NOW?
Mayfield has reached a point where the Governors and Senior Management need to plan strategically, to safeguard the educational provision of the school and ensure its growth and development in the years ahead. Taking into account the current educational landscape, the likely decisions that lie ahead in terms of funding, and the almost constant state of change which has pervaded education for many years now, we feel it is time to join with other schools of similar outlook, to strengthen our voice and influence and provide the best possible outcomes for our children.

The Governing Body
Mayfield School, March 2026