New governors have been appointed at a troubled school to replace 11 who have quit in the last nine months, leaving just two in post.
Five governors quit Homewood College this month as staff put in a collective grievance about a academy sponsor taking temporary charge.
The special school was rated inadequate by Oftsed in December 2021, sparking an academisation order – but two years on, no permanent sponsor has come forward to take it on.
The council is now looking to pull the dozens of children with social, emotional and mental health needs who attend the school out and place them elsewhere.
Some may end up at a new school at the former pupil referral unit in St George’s House in Dyke Road, which the council has agreed to spend £400,000 refurbishing.
But meanwhile, staff say Beckmead Trust, which has been brought in to to provide temporary support, is instead making things worse. A top PR firm issued a statement on behalf of the school earlier this week saying it was working with the council to appoint new governors.
Today, Brighton and Hove City Council announced a new “core” governing body had been appointed to oversee the school, which is based in Queensdown School Road, Brighton.
It says it is consulting with parents and carers of pupils at Homewood College and school staff about proposals to de-commission places at the school and find alternative educational placements.
Councillor Jacob Taylor, co-chair of the Children, Families and Schools Committee, said: “The council has worked rapidly to appoint a new governing body for Homewood College.
“I’m confident that we’ve appointed strong leaders with a wide range of expertise to support the school in the challenging circumstances the school is facing. We will be making sure robust support is in place so they can fulfil their roles as governors of Homewood College.
“Our first priority remains to make sure we’re providing the best possible education to meet the identified social, emotional and mental health needs of all the pupils. That’s why we’ve also ensured that an independent safeguarding and health and safety review has taken place.
“I appreciate this remains an unsettling time for the parents and carers and staff at Homewood College. We’re continuing discussions with the Regional Office for Education (DfE) about the future of the school and hope to provide more information as soon as possible to those affected.”
The council says it has received more applications for the governor roles which remain vacant. The new governors’ details have not been published on the school’s website, which is a legal requirement.
The governors who quit this month are Rachel Carter, Rosalind Turner, Nick Dry, Linda Newman and Anna Foxwell.
Luke Burstow, Kasie Jeewon and then-interim head Pamela Ridgwell quit in November, Claire Martin and staff governor Jo Adams quit in September and parent governor Ruth Turner-Murrell quit in July.
The only governors listed on the school website are councillor Sue Shanks, who has been a governor since 2020, and current interim head Philip Edkins, who has been a governor since the previous interim head left in November last year.
The ‘challenging circunstances’ the council is helping the school deal with were entirely created by the council in the first place. Their relationship with the Beckmead Trust needs to be scrutinised very carefully; why are all the recent governor’s meeting minutes redacted for confidentiality?
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