EDUCATION officials have approved a move for Kingsmead School, in Wiveliscombe, to join a multi-academy trust in the summer.
Kingsmead, which has been a standalone academy, will become part of the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) on July 1.
Approval for the transfer to CLF has been given by the Department for Education (DfE).
CLF was formed in 2009 as a small Bristol-based secondary education partnership and now has 35 schools, including four in Taunton, serving the educational needs of more than 18,000 children and young people aged from two to 19 years in Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, and North Somerset.
Kingsmead headteacher John Eddy, who took charge in January, 2023, said: “This is a hugely exciting development which I am confident will deliver substantial long-term benefits for Kingsmead and all of our staff and students.
“The CLF has an established track record of delivering significant improvement to schools across the Westcountry.
“Its ethos of investing in people, building community partnerships and providing truly equitable opportunities for all pupils is firmly in line with our own ambitions.
“This is a decision which has been made with student wellbeing and success at the forefront of our minds and we are confident our students will benefit substantially from CLF membership.
“Closer relationships with other schools within the CLF will give us access to greater resources and expertise, helping our teaching staff to further grow their skills and deliver a first rate education to all students.”
Mr Eddy said Kingsmead wold not be surrendering its identity, and decisions about the school’s future would still be made locally.
He said: “The voice of our staff, students, and parents will continue to be heard.”
Cabot chief executive Steve Taylor said: “Welcoming Kingsmead into the CLF family is a great opportunity for us to grow our Somerset cluster with a new and ambitious partner school and support more children and families in the area.
“I look forward to working with new colleagues, who will further enhance the CLF’s ability to create positive futures for young people across the South West.”
Kingsmead, which has nearly 900 students aged 11 to 16 years, has been recognised by Government education watchdog Ofsted as making ‘significant improvements’ since it was previously inspected in 2022.
Inspectors praised its work on personal development, safeguarding, and careers education, recognising the quantity of work put into reviewing and strengthening the curriculum.
However, the school remained in a ‘requires improvement’ category as lead Ofsted inspector Sara Berry said: “In some subjects the school has not considered with sufficient precision what pupils will learn and in what order.
“This leads to inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is delivered.
“Assessment within the classroom does not help adults accurately identify pupils’ starting points or gaps in their knowledge and understanding.
“This hampers teachers in designing learning activities that take pupils’ starting points into account.”
Kingsmead will invite parents and carers to an information evening where they can meet CLF representatives and senior staff ahead of the transfer in July.