Calderdale secondary schools: Two high schools and five primaries in part of Calderdale to join up and form new trust

Heads of the schools involved have written to parents to let them know about the plan, which they say comes in the wake of increasing pressures on school funding.

The schools which would form the new trust are Calder High School, Todmorden High School, Calder Primary School, Burnley Road Academy, Midgley School, Old Town Primary and Wainstalls School.

The letter sent by the heads says: “Together we have been exploring how we can work more closely, whilst continuing to further improve and enhance the educational experiences for all our current and future pupils.

“The pressures on local authority services and funding are well documented and education is really feeling the impact of this.

"Maintained schools, i.e. those under the control of the local authority, are particularly sensitive to cuts in central fundin so we feel it is even more imperative to seek closer working ties and support mechanisms.

"As a family of schools, we have been working with the Department of Education on what the education landscape could look like for us and we are delighted to confirm that we have been given their backing to explore the formation of a new multi-academy trust.

"Albeit we are all local to one another, we are very aware that we are six very different schools, serving six different communities and catchments – it is therefore vital that each of the schools retain their own identity and local governing bodies.”

Now approval has been given, the schools will be working on the finer details of how the new trust could work.

The heads said each school would keep the same name and uniform but would be part of a wider organisation.

The schools will continue to have their own headteacher but instead of being accountable to the local authority, they will be accountable to the new trust and ultimately the Department for Education.

There are rules regarding how a multi-academy trust is funded but the way in which it operates, its governance structure and the vision and ethos are defined by the founding schools.