The Bradley Stoke based Olympus Academy Trust, which already has responsibility for seven schools in South Gloucestershire, has announced that it is in discussions with two other trusts about taking over a number of troubled local schools.
Patchway Community College, operated by Fusion Schools Trust, had already been in talks about joining Olympus, but matters have recently been brought to a head by a damning Ofsted inspection report which rated the Patchway school ‘inadequate’ and placed it in ‘special measures’.
Elsewhere in the local area, The Ridings Federation (TRF), which operates Winterbourne and Yate International Academies along with a number of other, smaller educational establishments, has announced plans to hand over control of its schools to a multi-academy trust (MAT) through a process known as “re-brokering”. TRF’s decision to relinquish control of the schools follows the revelation that there is a £1 million shortfall in its budget, staff strikes and Ofsted inspections which rated the two academies as being ‘in need of improvement’. In follow-up inspections, Ofsted has noted that the quality of teaching has failed to improve, blaming poor leadership by senior teachers and ineffective governance.
Olympus is one of three trusts to have announced an intention to submit a proposal to take over the TRF academies, the others being Oasis Learning Trust and Greenshaw Learning Trust. All three trusts have now entered a period of “due diligence” and will soon submit their proposals to the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC), who is expected to make a decision by the beginning of January.
This article originally appeared in the December 2016 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 27). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
Postscript (8/12/16): Oasis Community Learning announced on 2nd December that “following an extensive due diligence process and after careful consideration,” it has decided not to proceed with its application to sponsor Winterbourne International Academy.
If these trusts keep on being taken over by larger ones, will we end up with a privately controlled Local Education Authority? Where is the much vaunted choice that was supposed to be available to parents and guardians? How can parents and guardians influence the education of their charges in mega trusts?