My recent email to the school

Petition updateHalt the academisation of Steyning Grammar SchoolMy recent email to the school

Adrian DaveyUnited Kingdom

Oct 22, 2020

Dear Co-Head’s Mr Noel Kennedy and Mrs Nat Nicol, All Staff, Ms Gearing, Chair, and Governors

We write to you as families and members of our Steyning community concerned about the upcoming academisation.

First, we want to say that we appreciate all that you are doing in coronavirus and the enormous demands it has put on staff to keep our children safe. We are also here to support the teachers, and we want them to know that.

We live in this community and love our school. Many of us and our friends have moved here specifically for, or because of the school and its reputation. Some to leave academies behind us. We appreciate the extra effort and stresses that staff have been under now for months. We feel them too. Many of us have or will face redundancies, pay cuts, illness, loss, concerns over our loved ones near and far. We have all had our own challenges in and since lockdown.

We were therefore desperately disappointed to find out that the plan for the Bohunt takeover was not paused in the pandemic as we had been led to believe.

On the 30th of March, the RSC Claire Burton wrote that “their efforts are focussed primarily on supporting the education sector on that and no academy orders will be issued at this time, including for Steyning Grammar”basically implying that no academisation would go ahead under COVID.

Because of this we did not pay it attention over the summer.

However, we have recently been upset to discover not from any school communication, but from a government website, that the school as we know it will close very soon <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fget-information-schools.service.gov.uk%2FEstablishments%2FEstablishment%2FDetails%2F126092&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797057957669%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=OdZwWEDJLgcpWMXd6IevqMlDFhUfbumfLB%2F6QOeVovg%3D&reserved=0> .

We have not had enough time to properly understand all the implications for us as a community, a village and the future. We simply have not had the level of respectful debate that 400 years’ worth of history and our children’s futures deserve.

Therefore we write to ask that you put the plans on hold, for at least the next six months, to give us all some breathing space and digest the facts.

We write to ask that the conversion is put on pause in the pandemic. In particular because we don’t know what our school staff want, and now is not a good time to be making lasting decisions. We do not even have a regular Head in place at the moment.

* We are concerned for teaching staff. We understand that a number have already left this year. We would like as a community to be fully informed how many, and we want to know in which subjects and if this leaves certain GCSE or A-level students more vulnerable in an already precarious year.

* We are concerned that we have not been able to ask staff for your opinions. It matters to us what teachers think is best for themselves and the children and the school’s future, and if you will stay happy at this school and our children have continuity. Rock Road parents and children have already had great upheaval in recent memory.

* We are concerned that you have had your freedom to speak up and voice any concerns silenced.

* We are concerned for your protections on employment terms, pensions and salaries and that Bohunt may hire less qualified staff in future.

* We are concerned about lack of clarity on Local Authority continued obligations to fund other parts of services, like bus routes.

* We are concerned that charges of £500 and more may become the normalised future expectation for parents to spend money on equipment like iPads where academies have different rules.

* We are concerned about food quality standards that academies may not meet especially given expected shortages in schools after we leave the EU. <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2019%2Faug%2F03%2Fsecret-education-report-no-deal-brexit-school-chaos&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797057967690%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=SS6GGRYfZbTEXOT0ycynz6Yv5HS7b8bzD6kLnXN8OP8%3D&reserved=0>

Therefore we write to ask for you to listen and support our community concerns, not in opposition to the change, but to support democratic involvement.

The consultation was inadequate

As you know, the first public notice of the plans was on January 16th 2020. Staff were only told the same day, and only five days later there was a one hour meeting in Steyning. Another single one hour meeting was the only opportunity to discuss the intentions face-to-face for the Rock Road community. There was limited chance for people to air individual views but not in a meaningful way as a group.

You claimed to hold a consultation period that would end on the 11/03/2020, but you closed it a day early. I, and many others emailed our objections and concerns and to date, have still not received a single reply. You have shown no real evidence of a meaningful, fair and thorough consultation. How many times did you contact parents to say that you were planning to academise?

16/01/2020 - Your first correspondence was by email, simply entitled Steyning Grammar School – Bohunt Educational Trust. No mention of Academisation, or consultation. Just working with.
17/01/2020 - your second email simply entitled Steyning Grammar School – Bohunt Educational Trust. If you have any questions or feedback regarding yesterdays announcement, an unconnected connection - consultation in address to Sue Geering at bottom
17/01/2020 – Incident on shooting field
17/01/2020 - Communications sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
22/01/2020 – Emergency closure day
24/01/2020 – Review of Home learning policy
27/01/2020 – communication sheet – No mention of Bohunt, or academisation, or consultation
30/01/2020 – geography test
30/01/2020 – SGS and Bohunt Education Trust: Parent Consultation. A meeting will be held at Rock Road on 25th of Feb 18:30 – 19:30. I went to this and it was sold as a done deal, no consultation. If we don’t go with Bohunt, we will go with another academy, but not going back to WSCC. That doesn’t sound like a consultation and parents came away from that meeting thinking the same. There was no counter argument shown.
31/01/2020 – weekly communications sheet no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
07/02/2020 – weekly communication sheet no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
11/02/2020 - Corona virus
14/02/2020 – PE timetable
14/02/2020 – weekly communication sheet no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
14/02/2020 – SGS newsletter No mention of academisation, or bohunt
20.02/2020 - Gateway pin reset
24/02/2020 – Medical room reminder
24/02/2020 – Year 9 maths assessment
26/02/2020 – National museum for computing
27/02/2020 – Confirmation National museum of computing
27/02/2020 – Corona virus update
27/02/2020 – Big church day
28/02/2020 – weekly communication sheet no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
03/03/2020 – School email preference – not related to academisation
03/03/2020 – Covid advice
06/03/2020 – Weekly communication sheet no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or consultation
09/03/2020 – Route 736
10/03/2020 - Parents evening reminder – no mention of academisation
10/03/2020 – Covid advice
11/03/2020 - Covid advice
11/03/2020 – Ardeche 2020
12/03/2020 – Letter from Co-Headteachers – Unanimous decision to academise having taken into account the matters raised in the consultation process. No detail given.
12/03/2020 – Norfolk broads trip
13/03/2020 - Covid advice
13/03/2020 – Covid update
16/03/2020 – Covid advice
17/03/2020 – Covid advice
18/03/2020 – Covid advice
19/03/2020 - -Covid advice
20/03/2020 – Norfolf broads trip
20/03/2020 – Well being and daily routine
23/03/2020 – School update – No mention of Academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
27/03/2020 – Communications sheet – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
03/04/2020 – Comunications sheet – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
15/04/2020 – Communications sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
22/04/2020 – SGS Parent update – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
24/04/2020 – Commuication sheet – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
28/04/2020 – Staff vacancy – Premises officer
29/04/2020 – Science revision
29/04/2020 – Operation encompass – police
30/04/2020 – Covid response
01/05/2020 – Communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
04/05/2020 – Science assessment
05/05/2020 – GCSE ranking decisions
06/05/2020 – National museum of computing trip
07/05/2020 – Communication sheet – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
12/05/2020 – Online learning schedules
13/05/2020 – Youth Alpha online
15/05/2020 – Communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
20/05/2020 – further delay to school opening
22/05/2020 - communication sheet- No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
28/05/2020 – Changes to P% students 2,8, and 9
01/06/2020 - English exam
05/06/2020 – Communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
09/06/2020 – staff recruitment
12/06/2020 – communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
16/06/2020 – sale of church street
19/06/2020 – science assessment
19/06/2020 – communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
25/06/2020 – GCSE English
26/06/2020 communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
29/06/2020 – maths assessment
30/06/2020 – Duke of Edinburgh Award
02/07/2020 - year 9 report
03/07/2020 - communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
03/07/2020 - return to school
06/07/2020 – staff vacancy
06/07/2020 – ipad scheme and ‘survey’ that was very short with leading questions, not described as consultation
07/07/2020 – SGS ART
07/07/2020 – Brightmed campaign
09/07/2020 – Big bang fair
10/07/2020 – English catch up
10/07/2020 – Communication sheet – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
13/07/2020 – Case of Tuberculosis
17/07/2020 – Communication Sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
17/07/2020 SGS ipad scheme – unanimous??? Again no answer to emails of concern, no proof of outcome, no discussion of facts
26/08/2020 – return to school instructions
03/09/2020 - Welcome letter – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
04/09/2020 - Welcome letter – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
09/09/2020 - Tik tok
11/09/2020 – communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
11/09/2020 – rading English
11/09/2020 – Meet the tutor – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
18/09/2020 – Ipad scheme – not starting with year 10
18/09/2020 – communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
22/09/2020 – face masks
24/09/2020 – communication sheet - no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
25/09/2020 – timetable
28/09/2020 – keeping children safe
01/10/2020 – Christmas shopping event
01/10/2020 – uniform letter
01/10/2020 - music courses
02/10/2020 - communication sheet – no communication of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
06/10/2020 – Bronze DoFE band
06/10/2020 – Bronze DoFE band
06/10/2020 – Confirmed case of Covid
07/10/2020 – Covid info
07/10/2020 – Covid info
09/10/2020 – Covid update
09/10/2020 – Communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
12/10/2020 – Friends of SGS news letter – No mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
14/10/2020 – Science tests
14/10/2020 – Second case of Covid
14/10/2020 – Class charts parent app
15/10/2020 – Friends of SGS – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
16/10/2020 – 3rd case of Covid
16/10/2020 – communication sheet – no mention of academisation, or Bohunt, or Consultation
19/10/2020 – Remote learning Audit
19/10/2020 – Return to school
21/10/2020 – Geography concern.

As you can see the school have clearly communicated with Covid-19, staff vacancies, and curriculum support, but there have only been 4 emails that mention Bohunt.

So despite 120 emails, 33 of which were communication updates, or letters to parents (none of which talk about Bohunt, academisation, or consultation) I fail to see how you have given parents and the wider community a fair, transparent and open consultation. As such, we deserve an instant halt to the academisation process and request all the supposed consultation (academisation and iPads) correspondence including emails and letters, along with the replies sent.

The broad community has not been informed. And the students themselves have not been given a voice - I have not heard a single parent claim to have heard the child know about the academisation, unless the parent themselves have told them - This should have happened before plans were moving ahead with deliberate intent on a single outcome.

We know that from communications <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheyknow.com%2Frequest%2Finformation_about_steyning_gramm%23incoming-1565822&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797057977686%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=ptNJaeb79JK9oCzbDUrOqFyjOXYn%2B5jI33OWN9pmoTc%3D&reserved=0> , not only did the Chair of Governors not consult when the process was being first considered, but perhaps deliberately hid your intentions <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheyknow.com%2Frequest%2F643492%2Fresponse%2F1565822%2Fattach%2Fhtml%2F2%2FFOI611%2520response.pdf.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797057987681%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=sJHhSneLMIR%2B030pt1QPGWjNjvKwaDisBPRK1bjguqE%3D&reserved=0> to some people locally for some time, telling Paul Wagstaff, Director of Education for County on October 15th that you allowed the nuns at the Towers to wrongly assume you were from Lancing College when you did a site visit. “Time was very tight” and at this point all local parents and pupils were in the dark. He in return, had to hide why he had been taking photographs, on October 30th.

All of these related property decisions are significant for the school and should have involved consultation with parents at Steyning from the outset. On top of this came academisation.

Already on October 30th, “the Chair has longer term project plans <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheyknow.com%2Frequest%2F643492%2Fresponse%2F1565822%2Fattach%2Fhtml%2F2%2FFOI611%2520response.pdf.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797057997676%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=0Mtf04YMs9Zz2qc%2FXXJPK7UZlg9zjfKPw%2Fs3Qioa0Yo%3D&reserved=0> ” which were not public. In fact the emails say, that by October 31st, two Trusts had already “been explored.”

Would the religious order that wanted to “gift a lease to the community <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatdotheyknow.com%2Frequest%2F643492%2Fresponse%2F1565822%2Fattach%2Fhtml%2F2%2FFOI611%2520response.pdf.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797058007675%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=OnRn1Rahop8UYa11REtuWvntC629OLEJyuyk%2Fs%2BBBas%3D&reserved=0> ” have wanted to lease the land to Bohunt Trust had they known of academisation plans?

By January 15th it was a done deal, because the sisters at the Towers announced their plan to grant Steyning a lease and the communications plan on BET was ready. Staff and parents were only going to be told the next day. Consultation must be meaningful and possible to bring about change. This was not. It was a one-way PR management process wrapped up in the complexity of various site closures and openings.

Statutory consultation <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Fconvert-to-an-academy-information-for-schools%2F3-prepare-for-conversion%23&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797058017668%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=tx3%2BC7tzxQOt8PUfGbHLUbAk15Gc2OFxmhMpZCgcZJo%3D&reserved=0> requires that: Your governing body must consult formally about your school’s plans to convert to an academy with anyone who they think will have an interest in your school changing its status. This will include staff members and parents, but you should also involve pupils and the wider local community. The law doesn’t specify how long the consultation should last, but it is important that you can show that interested groups, individuals and organisations have had a reasonable opportunity to respond.”

We are writing to tell you that you cannot show that interested groups, individuals and organisations have had a reasonable opportunity to respond. On January 27th, it is clear from the emails, there was no doubt that "TUPE transfer and payroll mechanics” plans would proceed on March 11th.

When the decision was made formally on March 11th it had been a done deal for over two months. But many parents in our community of probably close to 5,000+ could not attend those two small meetings, and local people in the ‘wider community’ were not involved. And then COVID got in the way. We could not meet and debate and frankly had all our personal concerns on our mind. This was not a ‘reasonable’ time to respond for anyone.

Please grant us the pause that we ask for, so that we can get our concerns heard, and answered, in a multi-way conversation that school / home emails doesn’t allow. We have the signatures of 970 parents who have not received a fair consultation, and that is just the tip of the iceberg, 760 of those signed in just over 10 days, when they found out last week that the school was becoming an academy, so how can you claim to have reached the wider community. Steyning Parish didn’t even know until a few days ago!

We want to have a proper debate in which all of the community can participate, staff, children and including our feeder school families. We cannot do that in the extreme pressure of covid right now, many of us with children at home, and social distancing. At that future date and after adequate informed discussion, we will request a vote to show our support of your governing body decision, or not.

That we stand together at this time matters more than ever, and for future harmony and staff stability across the school. The governing body does not represent our community well enough in this matter, to do it alone. We hope to encourage staff to speak up collectively and support our community call for no conversion under covid, and to ask for informed debate that involves us all.

Sincerely,

Adrian Davey on behalf of the Campaign for Steyning Grammar School.

https://campaignforsteyningschool.org/ <https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcampaignforsteyningschool.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C707cbe9bf7c34d7ef89f08d876a4b4ab%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637389797058027665%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=CIsQw5JTSzKsph48yYJ4OltMl4E%2F%2FlOMr0cnQrBvC9M%3D&reserved=0>

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