Staff left in limbo neither redundant or transferred as Free School opens

Protestors outside Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Thought you had heard it all with free schools this year? From the “Beccles 37” through to the abandoned Chuckle Brothers free school, Bedford school which is to open in defiance of planning permission and the One in a Million Free school cancelled at the last minute and the Cornish school that will accept gays but doesn’t want to encourage them. Step forward the Hawthornes Free School in Bootle with what looks to be the most bizarre free school story of all.

Like many free schools the Hawthornes school is full of promises. Its website boasts:

a welcoming school where everyone can enjoy success in a positive, well-ordered environment where learning is valued and teaching seeks to engage and challenge. It will be a school where all are treated with dignity and shown mutual respect, where we build self esteem through praise and reward for good work and behaviour. Our vision for The Hawthorne’s is a school with a harmonious community where everyone feels safe, valued and secure

The problem with this is the staff of the predecessor school on the same site - St Georges - feel anything but secure. It isn’t simply that they have effectively all been fired, no because that would be better than what has actually happened.

The issue is effectively a dispute between the local authority, Sefton Council, and the proposers of the school who include the Archdeacon of Liverpool Ricky Panter who is the new schools Chair of Governors.

Sefton Council have written to staff from the two predecessor schools telling them they should be transferred over to the new school under the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) rules. Only the new Governors - apparently with the DfE’s support allege TUPE doesn’t apply as “it is a completely new school”. They have told staff from the predecessor schools that don't have a job not to turn up at the Hawthornes at the start of term.

So the staff are in a limbo, not paid redundancy by Sefton and not actually transferred over into a new job in the “completely new” school that, er, will be teaching many of the same children next term.

Ven Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool
Chair of Governors

Incredibly the Archdeacon of Liverpool could not be less interested in the welfare of these staff and until they literally turned up with placards at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral had not even spoken to any of them.

He reportedly refused to give them any re-assurance and appears unconcerned at their plight, despite being the Chair of Governors of the predecessor school, St Georges. Staff complained that he did not even know who they were.

Indeed Panter is sent legal advice through the DfE about how to “deal with” the staff in case they turn up at the school at the start of term. The advice concludes:

There is therefore no need for any individual who has not received an express offer of employment from The Hawthorne’s to attend for work on 4 September 2012 or on any subsequent day. Should any such individual seek to attend then unfortunately we would have to treat them as a trespasser and have them removed from the premises as we would not have in place the necessary security clearances for them to remain on site

Yes that is right this is suggesting staff are treated as trespassers in their own school. The same school that remember was claiming to be a welcoming school where everyone can enjoy success in a positive, well-ordered environment. Some welcome this seems!

Staff in an identical situation in Suffolk at Clare Middle School and this year at Beccles and Saxmundham Middles were offered redundancy and whilst there is some suggestion of a legal challenge that they ought to have been TUPEd over at least they have not been left in this outrageous situation.

It is difficult so see how anyone could have such a lack of concern for the well being of staff but the fact that a senior Church of England cleric is heading this up adds insult to injury. Have the Church in Liverpool really lost all sight of their mission?

I have attached the complete draft letter from lawyers Pinsent Masons to show just how nasty this is. Meanwhile staff acting in the advice of their unions intend to turn up for work on 3 September complete with their P45s for their new employers! 

It remains to be seen what action Panter and his friends in the DfE take but they ought to hang their heads in shame at the way these staff have been treated.

Follow @palsofgeorges on Twitter for more news from the St George's staff
Letter Today

Advertising Standards Authority ask Seckford to remove "outstanding" claim from Beccles Free School Advert

Earlier this Summer I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about the claim made in an advert that Beccles Free School is an “outstanding” school. My view was that “outstanding” when used in respect of schools has a specific meaning, i.e. a school judged by Ofsted to be outstanding.

The ASA have written to me today essentially agreeing with this and they have written to the Seckford Foundation asking them to remove the claim from their advert or face a formal investigation by the ASA Council.

I am waiting to hear what Seckford’s response to this is but I note they appear to have dropped the claim already in their latest adverts.

We heard this week that these adverts -that  have cost thousands of pounds and were funded by the DfE - have only managed to attract two new children to Beccles Free School. Similar adverts in Saxmundham did not appear to attract any.

Seckford Principle Rob Cawley (who of course has bet his mortgage on the success of this venture) has vowed to try and continue to recruit children throughout the year.

Cawley does not appear even to consider that moving a child between schools mid-year is not generally a good thing for the child unless there are specific circumstances. Children do move between schools but trying actively to persuade them would generally be regarded as “poaching” and seems to be an act of desperation by Seckford.

I bet if Woodbridge school tried this strategy with their HMC (Headmaster’s conference) peers they would be unceremoniously kicked out. Trying to attract children as part of the regular admissions round is fair play. Anything else just isn’t cricket.

See the ASA letter and full text of my original complaint on Wikisuffolk - useful if you would like to complain about another free school (and there are several) claiming to be "outstanding" before it has even opened!

School Governor of new Catholic Free School says "Gays would be welcome..but we would not encourage it.

They say "when in a hole stop digging" but the new St Michael’s Catholic Free School in Truro, Cornwall seem to be digging away in their latest move to defend themselves from an attack that they are homophobic and will not teach “gay nonsense”.

This is Cornwall report that local resident Wallace Simmonds called a meeting with School Governor Joyce Sanderson and local Catholic priest Father Chris Findlay. Wallace suggesting the criticism is an "orchestrated attack to undermine the school” is quoted as saying:

"The whole population is taught that homosexuality is fine and children should accept they can have two mums or dads but they should not be taught that nonsense. It is not right,"

"Schools are not teaching basic family values and that mum and dad are the heads of the family and that's how it should be. "

There are so many problems in schools today where basic family values are not taught and it is OK for Jack to marry Jack and not Jill. "

The morals of this country should not be dragged down."

School Governor Joyce Sanderson apparently in an attempt to make it clear the school would be open to gay people said:

Gays would be welcome to this school but we would not encourage it.

"We want to know they (children) are happy to follow our teaching and that's crucial. We do not wish to make children unhappy and refer to their home circumstances. "

I think those people who declare their views are entitled to express them as much as I am entitled to do so. "

The school follows the teaching of Catholic values and treatment (of children) is charitable.

"We lay down what you should try to follow but how people follow it is their business."

Yes these were attempts to make the situation better. Maybe the school should follow the lead of many other free schools and hire a PR consultant...

Looking into the school more carefully is interesting. Although a new free school this is in fact an independent school (previously called St Michael’s Catholic Small School) that is converting to a free school.  Going back to its latest Ofsted inspection in January 2011 - bearing in mind this is the light touch inspection regime for independent schools - the report finds:

The school’s arrangements to ensure the welfare, health and safety of pupils are inadequate. This is because the school’s safeguarding arrangements lack rigour. Checks on the suitability of staff prior to their appointment are incomplete and the school’s central record has a number of omissions.

If this wasn’t bad enough - and in a state school this would mean Special Measures - there are also problems with the curriculum:

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the quality of education provided (standards in part 1) and must: provide pupils with a sufficient range of experiences in technology (paragraph 2(2)(a)).

The school is also slated for failing to to have Disability Discrimination Policies in place which adds to the concerns about the approach to equalities.

A monitoring visit later in 2011 saw these failings largely corrected but the schools current website prefers people to look at the 2008 Ofsted report...

As for school Governor Joyce Sanderson I think many will wonder how appropriate it is to hold a governorship of a state funded school whilst holding these kind of opinions about gay people.

Last Minute Free School chaos in Bradford leaves concerns over Brentwood

Yesterday it emerged that the “One in a Million” free school planned to be located within Bradford City’s football ground had had its funding pulled by the DfE just a week before it was due to open. With some 30 out of a possible 50 Year 7 children expecting to start at the school next week the DfE bizarrely cited numbers as the reason for the decision.

The school, which had builders on site until last week and had already offered jobs to teachers, reacted angrily to the DfE’s decision:

Obviously we are amazed at this decision particularly at such a late stage And although ‘low’ student numbers have been cited and we have had to watch some parents walk away due to the insecurity surrounding Funding Agreement and Facility acquisition, as a small school we still have nearly two thirds of our places filled with 30 students committed to start on the 3 September 2012.

They went on to cite the Beccles Free School decision as a reason why they should open which I can certainly understand as the DfE’s decision making seems massively inconsistent:

We know of at least two examples of Free Schools where one opened last year with 34 students and have just been awarded a second school to open in September 2013 and also one which had 37 places allocated and had Funding Agreement sign off in May this year by the Secretary of State, with the expected increase in student recruitment that this security would bring

Apparently the DfE want the school to consider opening in 2013 but the proposers are undecided and say they would want more guarantees from the DfE. They are working with understandably upset  parents to ensure all children have a place for the start of term.

Maybe if they do decide to bid again next year they might focus less on “gimmicks” like free iPads and more on their educational offering.



Meanwhile in Essex the controversial  Becket Keys School in Brentwood has yet to confirm that it has signed a funding agreement. The campaign group Educating Brentwood reported today that they have “closed down” their Facebook Page.



Neither the school nor the DfE would answer questions about the funding agreement although the school keeps insisting it will open on 1 September. This has led to speculation that Becket Keys might be headed the same way as “One In A Million” and will end up not opening. The total silence from the proposers at a time that you would think they would want to be re-assuring parents is certainly strange.