from Welcome The Roman Catholic Diocese of East

……. from Welcome…. • The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia • The Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and • Governors of the Sacred Heart School …. . to our drop-in consultation event on a possible new primary school in Swaffham. www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

Format of the event • Informal, but a very important part of our new school planning process • Short presentation on the half hour– general areas for questioning • One-to-one questions to our team at any time • Please fill in comment forms before you go www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

Our vision • To provide parents in the mid-Norfolk area with the choice of an Outstanding state-funded Catholic primary school for their children • To build on the spiritual and educational tradition of the existing Sacred Heart school • To safeguard the excellent facilities at the school for the long-term benefit of children and the wider community www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

But… …we cannot just dream – we have to demonstrate that the school will be successful by: • Being attractive to enough parents and pupils to generate, in time, a roll of 210 pupils • Having from the start high quality leadership, staff and governors to provide an excellent education for all pupils • Gaining a Good or Outstanding rating from OFSTED on their first visit so…. we need your thoughts to help us to make the vision a reality. www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

Where we are now. . • The Diocese is leading the legal process to establish the new school • The law requires Norfolk County Council to make the decision on whether the new school can go ahead • We would like this decision by the end of April so we can open the new school in September 2019 • The first stage is the current consultation between now and February 15 th • Full details are set out in our paper- and web-based consultation documents • These have been sent out to anyone we think has an interest in the school or will be affected by it www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

How will the new school operate? • 210 places (one form in each primary year group) • This number of places will help meet the demand from new housing • Voluntary Aided • A faith school run locally by locally-appointed governors, supported by the Diocese • An admissions policy which reflects this faith basis • State-funded • By replacing a fee-paying school the new school will become available to more families, but still be available to existing pupils • With a pre-school group • Governors will manage the existing Little Pedlars pre-school • Able to use all the facilities of the existing school • Governors will look to extend community use www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

A school in the Catholic faith tradition • We have a strong track record of successful state schools • We offer clear, faith-based values for all staff and pupils in our learning communities • Senior leaders in other Catholic schools will support the new school • Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development will be at the heart of the school’s work • The RE curriculum will offer a wide range of learning experiences about all faiths, as well as about the Catholic faith • We will put into practice the strong Catholic commitment to ethnic, racial and cultural diversity, and to an inclusive education for all pupils www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

How you can help us • Give a general opinion of whether you support the idea of a new school • Give your ideas and suggestions about how our proposal can be improved so that it is as strong as possible • Challenge and question us to test how strong our plans are • Let us know if you think you would like your child/children to have a place at the new school in September www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

How to respond to us • Give your comments now or individually to one of our team • Fill in the form before you go • Send us an online response when you have thought more about the proposal www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva

What happens next? • The consultation runs until February 15 th • We will then decide whether to publish a formal proposal • We will let everyone know our decision at this stage • The formal proposal is published in the press and is open for public comments • At the end of four weeks we will prepare a submission for the County Council • Within two months – but we hope by the end of April – the County Council has to make a decision • We will then, if the proposal is approved, recruit senior staff and an interim governing body to carry out detailed planning for the opening in September www. rcdea. org. uk/sacredheartva