Trust closure concerns for Devon Schools

Three Devon academies will need new financial sponsorship after the Department of Education (DfE) confirmed the closue of the Prospects Academy Trust.

The DfE has confirmed that the government are seeking new sponsors for six schools including three in Devon after the Prospects Academy Trust will became the first academies chain to close its doors.

In total the chain operates six schools including Paignton Community & Sports Academy (PCSA) as well as the Curledge Street and King's Ash primary schools both also in Paignton

In a letter to parents the principal of PCSA, Jane English writes: “I am writing to inform you that Prospects Academies Trust is no longer sponsoring schools

The Letter continues: “This means that we now have an exciting opportunity to look at the future of the Academy.

“This change will not impact on the quality of education that we provide in the Academy.  Please be assured that it is business as usual.”

Based on two sites in Paignton the school is the largest in Torbay and has achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the schools regulator Ofsted in 2010.

However other schools sponsored by the prospects academies trust have been less successful with two of the schools ruled as ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted.

In a statement to the BBC a spokesman for DfE said: "Two of the trust's schools are inadequate and it is disappointing that pupils are not getting the education they deserve,

"We are working closely with the trust and schools to ensure they are all re-brokered with excellent sponsors and pupils' education is not disrupted. We will look to new sponsors to ensure that pupils receive a higher standard of education.

"We are tough on underperformance in all types of school, including academies.

"When we have concerns about the performance of academy sponsors, we act quickly, for example by stopping them from taking on new projects, so that they focus on their existing schools, and in some cases re-brokering their schools with other sponsors.

In a statement sent to the academies last week, Prospects Academies Trust chairman Peter Evans explains the decision to close, he writes:  “I am sure that you will all be aware that the Trust has found it very difficult over the past year to provide the required support and services to all our academies because of the geographical spread of the Trust academies.

“More recently, the notification by the DfE that the Trust will not be able to expand has meant that our resources, required to meet all your needs and to manage the Trust’s responsibility for developing school improvement initiatives, are limited.

“I know that this will come as a disappointment to many of you as we were developing strongly as a family of academies and had started seeing real progress in sharing best practice and working more collaboratively.”
Following the announcement the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which represents more than 40 staff at the affected  schools, has urged the government to establish a proper system of dealing with the failure of academy chains.