Having welcomed its pupils on the first day of term in September as an Academy, Lacey Green Primary Academy was officially opened by the Chancellor of the Exchequer last week.
Rated an 'outstanding' school on two successive OFSTED inspections, Lacey Green Primary School has become Lacey Green Primary Academy as part of a Government move to give teachers more of a say in how schools are run.
The change, which followed a decision by the school's governing body, means that, instead of being funded by Cheshire East Local Authority, the school is funded directly by the Government and staff have more control over the way it is run.
The staff and Governors will have greater control of the curriculum, as long as it complies with the National Curriculum, and staff will be employed directly by the school.
During his visit on Friday, 21st October, George Osborne MP told the children how proud he was to visit such an outstanding school and that this was the first primary school in his constituency to convert to an Academy. He is looking forward to seeing the school go from strength to strength.
George Osborne was entertained by the school's steel band and school choir, then the whole school sang the school song. Mr Osborne also gave out the half termly certificates to a child from each of the eight classes and then conducted a question and answer session.
Headteacher Lorraine Dooley said: "This is a very exciting opportunity for us and we are looking forward to building upon our past achievements and striving for even greater opportunities for our pupils.
"Our school decided to convert to academy status as it gives the whole school community a greater flexibility in making a wide range of decisions to benefit the children. The school staff have the opportunity to shape the curriculum and to concentrate on the areas they feel will most benefit the pupils to prepare them for the challenges ahead. Alongside the essentials of Literacy, Numeracy, Science and ICT there will be a fully comprehensive, creative and sporting curriculum to fully engage all pupils.
"Achieving academy status means that, as part of providing the very best education for our children, we now have the financial and operational freedoms to make changes to the curriculum to better meet their needs.
"Parents and governors have been completely supportive. Like us, they have the best interests of their children at heart.
"Bureaucracy has been reduced, we no longer have to duplicate information for the LA, freeing up staff time to focus on teaching and learning in classrooms."
