Hove school defends academy consultation as councillor urges rethink

Governors of a Hove school, with plans to turn it into an academy, have defended their consultation after criticisms made by a councillor.

The criticisms followed a meeting last week between councillors and governors from West Blatchington Primary School, with the consultation due to end tomorrow (Tuesday 28 February).

The school is expected to become part of the Pioneer Academy Multi-Academy Trust which runs 15 schools including Moulsecoomb Primary School, in Brighton.

After the meeting last week, the deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Hannah Allbrooke, wrote to the governors urging them to think again.

The letter that was sent by Councillor Allbrooke, who chairs the council’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee, has been seen by Brighton and Hove News.

It said: “We are disappointed that you are pursuing this course of action and we urge you to reconsider.

“In our meeting, we discussed our concerns regarding your consultation, and we asked you to consider extending the consultation.

“We believe that the consultation has been rushed and are concerned that part of the consultation fell over half term, meaning parents and the community were further restricted in their ability to take part.

“We also remain concerned that you have held no public meeting to discuss the plans … We once again urge you to extend the consultation and hold a public meeting regarding your plans.

“We also feel that little consideration has been given to other options.

“In our meeting, you sought to blame the local authority for this, citing that the local authority’s opposition to academisation was the reason you had not had a full and constructive discussion with us ahead of pursuing academisation.

“We do not feel this is a good reason not to engage with us, the local authority.

“Officers have made multiple attempts to discuss federation and other options with you. We understand that the governors have not engaged with these offers from our expert officer team.

“In our meeting you highlighted the minimal exploration you had made regarding federation.

“We believe the steps you have taken to consider this are lacking in depth and are not a sign that the due diligence you are required to undertake has been completed.

“This all combined therefore leads us to the conclusion that governors have acted to rush through a major decision on academisation with as little scrutiny as possible.”

In addition, Mark Turner, from the GMB, said: “From the GMB’s point of view, it’s a sham consultation. They have been considering this for over a year.”

The governors said: “Our consultation is entirely in line with the legislation in the Academies Act 2010.

“This requires a school to consult ‘such persons as they think appropriate’ on whether the school should be converted into an academy.

“The statutory requirement does not prescribe who should be consulted nor the length of the consultation required.

“In their letter, the council are critical of the length of our consultation. We would note that recent consultations carried out by the council (community safety strategy and admissions arrangements) had a duration of five weeks (and) both of these ran over a two-week holiday period.

“It is therefore a little puzzling as to why the council are so critical of the length of our consultation. Our consultation periods are broadly comparable.

“Our consultation is due to close this week and has seen us engage with a wide range of stakeholders including parents, staff, unions and the local authority, offering face to face meetings and answering all questions relating to the consultation and the wider conversion process.

“The requirements for consultation have therefore been met.

“After consideration of all consultation responses, we will be publishing a report detailing the responses and our conclusions.”