I can now confirm that Lilac Sky Academy Trust (LSSAT) is being investigated by the Education Funding Agency, on behalf of the Department for Education, into its financial practices. The Trust will be closed on December 31st, only the third Trust nationally I can find that has been shut down in this way.  My previous article sets out the background to the story, anticipating this development. Knockhall Academy, one of the nine LSSAT primary schools in Kent and Sussex,  is transferring to the The Woodland Academy Trust on 1st January 2017, and a letter sent out to parents yesterday (1) & (2) confirms the investigation and closure, adding significantly that  "any monies due to the school will be recovered",  I have also been sent by Turner Schools, the new sponsors of Morehall and Martello Grove Academies in Folkestone, a copy of a letter to parents  that provides more information about the new organisation than was available in my previous  article..... 

The formal handover will take place on 1st January 2017, so the Autumn terms will be very interesting as both these new sponsors say they will be working with Lilac Sky to ensure it is school as usual from September. The explanation on the LSSAT website that "This was clearly a very difficult decision to make, but was done so in the best interests of the children", now looks yet another lie, as it is becoming clear that the DfE has forced the Academy to jettison its schools, so no decision to make. One can only speculate how much the new sponsors can rely on Lilac Sky to assist in the process of transfer, with staffing being central. The Woodland Academy Trust, as an existing Trust considers it can use its staff flexibilities to solve any problems.

Surely, someone  in the Regional School Commissioner's Office should have noticed the  evidence I have quoted in my previous article and should never offered these nine academies to Lilac Sky in the first place. The Knockhall letter is particularly revealing, referring to monies that should be recovered by the school from Lilac Sky. However, much of the lost money could have been spirited away into another Lilac Sky Company, and may be irrecoverable after LSSAT is closed. Certainly, my recent article about the Dispatches Programme, " How School Bosses Spend Your Millions" provides a number of clues as to how it can be done. It is doubtless no co-incidence that the Woodland Trust letter emphasises: "The Finance Director of the Woodland Academy Trust will strictly control payments made by the school." However, the problems remains that there is no guarantee that such promises are meaningful - the LSSAT website is littered with similar idealisms. 

This news will also be a great embarrassment for government, which has championed the growth of Multi-Academy Trusts. Earlier this week, I was asked by Radio Sussex if what is in effect a battle of attrition may be a good thing as poor Trusts go to the wall, to be replaced by better ones. In no way should children's education and futures be used in this way, but no-one in power appears interested in the damage done to children's futures, as gold-diggers continue to prey on the education service. Sadly, there is not even evidence that academies as a whole are doing a better job than maintained schools. If you saw my interview on BBC SE you will know how angry I am about all of this preventable blot on the education service. 

Whilst I only comment on local issues on this website, it is clear that Kent will have played its part in the change of policy, and so I reproduce an excerpt from the article, which provides valuable insight into the working of politics and addresses a number of related matters, below.

The thrust of the white paper is to compel all schools to become Academies by 2022 and diminish the role for local government in the educational world. In establishing whether this policy is a step in the right direction or not, one must look at the evidence and track record of local government’s current significant role in education, supporting and in partnership with all schools up and down this country, raising standards and improving the life outcomes for all our young people.

I say partnership with all schools deliberately because councils have not run schools for many years, a common misconception. Schools of all types have substantial autonomy.  Communities are served by a mixture of different types of schools; Academies, Free schools, Church-Aided and local government Community schools.  

County Councils support 50% of the population in England and have a proud and strong track record in education, delivering an ever increasing number of good and outstanding schools of all shapes, sizes and types. It is worth noting that there is no substantive evidence to suggest that academies out-perform community schools, or vice versa. However, it is essential that all schools work together to support all young people in their communities.

Good councils have a strong track record of delivery in essential support services to pupils, parents and schools. Such as, providing greater choice to parents in selecting a school place, reducing truancy, providing school nurses, safeguarding children, providing special education for special needs children, providing excellent value in the provision and building of new schools and classrooms and finally and most importantly, school improvement services that raise standards and attainment.

The government is suggesting that many of these statutory responsibilities will remain with local government, however it is clear some will be removed. We know school improvement being one of these and there is uncertainty over others, particularly who will be responsible for delivering the building programme of new schools and classrooms?

The billion dollar question is, if not local government, who else? Will it be a step forward? Will it be better, more effective and efficient? 

The government appears to be moving in the direction of empowered Regional Schools Commissioners, covering large geographical areas and by so doing, adding another tier of regional bureaucracy. In my view this will be a massive step backwards. Regional Commissioners cannot possibly have the intimate knowledge and understanding of individual schools so essential in building a strong working relationship.  To date, the centralist tendencies of Whitehall, through their Regional teams in the delivery of new free schools on time and on budget does not make good reading.

High-performing county councils are the friends, not enemies, of Government in achieving their aims of better education for all. The Prime Minister this week was right to praise Conservative council leaders and the quality services that they provide to local residents. This is a record we want to continue to build in the world of education.

I hope that the proposals in the White Paper represent the beginning of a discussion about an evolving set of proposals to improve the education system; one that ruthlessly roots out poor performance, but builds on high performance already within the sector. 

It was therefore encouraging to hear last week Nicky Morgan stating that government is in listening mode and wanting to work closely with local authorities. Alongside a suggestion that schools not currently academies could potentially become a new category of "local authority academy trusts". This is worthy of serious consideration (PETER: and could fit well into KCC policy).

Let us hope that we can find an intelligent way forward that "goes with the grain", plays to local government’s strengths, makes effective and efficient use of public money, delivers change for the better and above all else delivers an improved education system that provides all young people with the very best education and skills to succeed in life.

Notification of Decision

There is a somewhat hidden reference on each school website to a letter informing parents from the new Interim Chairman of the LSSAT Board:

Actually this is not true as ALL Lilac Sky Academies are being transferred to other Academy Trusts "to serve the needs of our children!" One can only speculate on how the Regional Schools Commissioner feels the current needs of children have not been met under LSSAT. 

A statement from the Trust on the BBC Website reads: "Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust has decided that in order to serve the needs of our children we should seek new partners to take on the running of our schools. We are also working closely with the principal of each school, as well as the new trusts, to ensure that the children's education is not disrupted. All of the schools will finish the academic year as planned and be able to reopen for the new academic year in September." Of course it is not true that Lilac Sky has found new partners. The new Trusts taking over the schools will be completely independent of Lilac Sky whose interest is being terminated. The statement also confirms the changeover is to happen in September. Quite why LSSAT feels that abandoning its pupils to another Trust at such short notice is in their interest is not explained, although it may well be right.   

A subsequent bald notification on the LSSAT website with no preamble or explanation states: "Lilac Sky Schools’ Academy Trust Board of Trustees are working closely with the DFE to transfer the nine primary schools. This was clearly a very difficult decision to make, but was done so in the best interests of the children. We are also working closely with the Principal of each school, as well as the new trusts, to ensure that the children's education is not disrupted.  All of the schools will finish the academic year as planned and be able to reopen for the new academic year in September". No explanation of why the decision was made whatsoever, no regrets and indeed the schools are not even identified! It is as if they could not care less, which perhaps is too near the truth. But perhaps they read my comment above on their media release to the BBC and have removed the reference to partners!

 I can now confirm that Lilac Sky Academy Trust (LSSAT) is being investigated by the Education Funding Agency, on behalf of the Department for Education, into its financial practices. The Trust will be closed on December 31st, only the third Trust nationally I can find that has been shut down in this way.  My previous article sets out the background to the story, anticipating this development. Knockhall Academy, one of the nine LSSAT primary schools in Kent and Sussex,  is transferring to the The Woodland Academy Trust on 1st January 2017, and a letter sent out to parents yesterday (1) & (2) confirms the investigation and closure, adding significantly that  "any monies due to the school will be recovered",  I have also been sent by Turner Schools, the new sponsors of Morehall and Martello Grove Academies in Folkestone, a copy of a letter to parents  that provides more information about the new organisation than was available in my previous  article..... 

The formal handover will take place on 1st January 2017, so the Autumn terms will be very interesting as both these new sponsors say they will be working with Lilac Sky to ensure it is school as usual from September. The explanation on the LSSAT website that "This was clearly a very difficult decision to make, but was done so in the best interests of the children", now looks yet another lie, as it is becoming clear that the DfE has forced the Academy to jettison its schools, so no decision to make. One can only speculate how much the new sponsors can rely on Lilac Sky to assist in the process of transfer, with staffing being central. The Woodland Academy Trust, as an existing Trust considers it can use its staff flexibilities to solve any problems.

Surely, someone  in the Regional School Commissioner's Office should have noticed the  evidence I have quoted in my previous article and should never offered these nine academies to Lilac Sky in the first place. The Knockhall letter is particularly revealing, referring to monies that should be recovered by the school from Lilac Sky. However, much of the lost money could have been spirited away into another Lilac Sky Company, and may be irrecoverable after LSSAT is closed. Certainly, my recent article about the Dispatches Programme, " How School Bosses Spend Your Millions" provides a number of clues as to how it can be done. It is doubtless no co-incidence that the Woodland Trust letter emphasises: "The Finance Director of the Woodland Academy Trust will strictly control payments made by the school." However, the problems remains that there is no guarantee that such promises are meaningful - the LSSAT website is littered with similar idealisms. 

School Uniform

For some reason I am being inundated this year with enquiries about the forthcoming Kent Test, apparently based on the assumption that I may know more detail than is in the published information.

Kent County Council rightly likes to keep a level of uncertainty in its testing procedure in the hope of reducing the effect of a coaching culture which can try and cover all bases, and so does not release details on the number of questions in each section, which can vary from year to year, etc.

My own view is well-articulated on these pages and elsewhere. I dislike coaching and its effects intensely as it militates against selection by ability but, given its prevalence in a competitive field where just 21% of Kent children are selected, I recommend parents to arrange some form of organised preparation or coaching so their children are not disadvantaged....

For information, I have no knowledge of the Kent Test other than is published here, together with the Familiarisation Paper here.

I continue to applaud the efforts of the KCC Select Committee on Grammar Schools and Social Mobility, whose recommendations have now been approved by the County Council and passed to Officers to propose a plan for implementation.  

Thanks to those who have offered me payment for such information but to confirm, even if I possessed such, which I do not, it would not be for private distribution.

By 

  Than. 

in summary: In the two years to 1st April 2015, over a million pounds was paid by LSSAT to companies run by Trevor Averre-Beeson, founder of LSSAT, for services provided. As a consequence, LSSAT ended the year £665,972 in debt and with a pension deficit of £1,320,000. i.e. It was non-viable.  Mr Averre-Beeson was awarded advances of £500,018 for 2013/14 in his capacity as majority shareholder in Lilac Sky Outstanding Services one of the beneficiary companies, although there appears no parallel entry in the record for the 2014/15. There is no suggestion by me of any breach of law.

Probably the biggest of so many questions raised by this debacle is who pays off the apparent near £2 million shortfall in LSSAT? Attempted answer below! 

In order to try and reduce the deficit, LSSAT increased the individual academy contributions to central funding for 2015-16 to 7% of  their total income, from 5% (many Multi-Academy Trusts only deduct 3%) and made new charges for services to individual academies, both clearly having a direct effect of reducing the quality of education in the schools. In addition it proposed increasing employer contributions to pension provision, presumably because this had been underfunded. It is unlikely that the effect of these actions would be likely to produce a swift removal of the deficit. 

Mr Averre-Beeson 'left' the Board of LSSAT in April 2015, and also his role as CEO, to be replaced by Chris Bowler who had previously been Managing Director,  However Mr Bowler only lasted a year,  and now appears to have been removed from this post by the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC).

As  first reported in my previous article, Lilac Schools Company  is still being considered for the running of a new Jewish Free School in North London, so amazingly has not yet lost all credibility with Government. ....

This is my third article on the scandal of Lilac Sky (1), (2). The first two are worth re-reading, even if you have visited before, as I have updated them several times, including watching the kaleidoscope of characters who keep turning up in different roles!

Oddly, although I believe I saw the published accounts appear on the Companies House website, they have now vanished; the only access to them being on the LSSAT website itself, although only traceable from Google, not via any link from the site itself.

 Instead of closing the Trust down in April 2015, as was the clear duty of a government department which boasts that it has the power to take action promptly when such troubles occur, Government allowed LSSAT to proceed with opening four new government funded academies and to allow LSSAT to increase its central deduction from individual academies placing them under further pressure to try and recover its funds. Presumably, as LSSAT remains technically responsible for the nine academies until 1st January, 2017, it will continue to extract further monies from them under this mechanism.

 In 2013/14 Lilac Sky Schools, a private company (majority shareholder Trevor Averre-Beeson, founder of LSSAT) was paid £809,813 by LSSAT for 'services provided'. Further services were provided by Lilac Sky Outstanding Services, also with Mr Averre-Beeson as majority shareholder in the year to 1 April 2015, of £271,742, although as these accounts are abbreviated there is no indication of his reward for this year. Nevertheless, the EFA and Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) ruled that no further dealings with the two companies could take place and Mr Averre-Beeson stood down as Trustee. In spite of this the DfE and RSC allowed LSSAT to go ahead with opening four new primary academies for September 2015: Thistle Hill; Martello Grove; and Hailsham and Newhaven in Sussex, which appears gross negligence to say the least.

So where does the apparent near £2 million shortfall come from? With Furness School (see below), which LSSAT steered to a £1.6 million deficit before closure it fell upon the cost of education of children in Kent; it is not clear who it was with Tabor Academy (see below), but I suspect it would have been bailed out by government. Of one thing I am sure it will not be Mr Averre-Beeson, who is an unashamed advocate of with-profit schools. Although he resigned as Director of LSSAT in April 2015, see below, Mr Averre-Beeson is still integrally involved in its affairs according to the Trust website:

I have written the following letter to the candidates for the Conservative and Labour Parties for the forthcoming By-election in Gravesham East this Thursday for a seat on the County Council, following reception of their Election literature, but feel the important issues raised deserve a wider circulation. Unfortunately, at the time of publication of this article, I cannot send the letter directly to the Labour candidate, as neither of the official email addresses provided appears to function.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I write as a constituent of the Gravesham East Constituency, and one who has been involved in education politics in Gravesham (such as exist) over the past thirty years.

I am delighted that both of you in your election literature for the County Council by-election for the constituency, following the sad death of the excellent Member Jane Cribbon, identify one of your key priorities as the shortage in provision of school places in Gravesham, although with no indication of how you would wish to progress this. As a result, I would like to know how you intend to tackle the crisis in both primary and secondary provision in the Borough which has now slipped out of KCC control because of policies implemented by both Labour and Conservative governments. I have been reporting and attempting to get action on the growing pressures in Gravesham Primary Schools for nearly ten years, predating the 2010 peak first identified by KCC, caused by the shortage of places, the desperate unpopularity of some local schools, especially in Gravesham East, and the poor primary standards in too many schools in the Borough which aggravates the issue.  I have been raising these matters with local leaders and senior Councillors in both parties over this time and have been amazed at the lack of interest shown in educational matters......

As I wrote on my website earlier in the year about another Dartford initiative: “As always, Dartford Council with its commitment to education in the Borough, as distinct from Gravesham which appears to have no interest in its schools, a pattern I have seen repeated over the past thirty years, is taking yet another positive initiative (to increase provision), in spite of its flaws, to improve the quality of education in the Borough”.

As I recorded on the website about Gravesham Primary provision earlier this year: “Just 3 places available in the urban area (with 78 families getting none of their choices, by some way the highest figure in Kent. I have argued for years this is consistently Kent’s most pressured area and this year 90 late (i.e. not planned for) places were created. Last year,Singlewellhad the smallest catchment distance in Kent for 2015, at less than 200 yards, so its expansion will have removed this peril. Most oversubscribed school is as usual St Joseph’s Catholic, turning away 37 first choices, with Cecil Road and St John’s Catholic on 31. Four schools account for the large majority of the Local Authority allocations - although at 49 out of the 1168 placements, the number of third choices offered in the town is also considerably the highest proportion in Kent. Another problem with Gravesham is that it has the highest proportion of low performing schools in the county, so there is considerable parental pressure to avoid certain schools”. 

Adam Holloway, MP, the only politician I have found who appears concerned about these problems, wrote to KCC expressing concerns over primary school issues last year. I remain unconvinced by KCC optimism that there may be a fall in numbers after this September, especially as there appears no letup: “High levels of demand have been seen in parts for urban Gravesend, especially Northfleet and Central Gravesend town. The reasons for this high demand appears to be a combination of changing demographics, new housing and inward migration from London and the European Union”  (letter from KCC to Adam Holloway in response to my concerns). There are five year old children from Northfleet attending schools in East Gravesend and South of the A2, some being taxied, others facing long journeys with their families, to schools outside their local communities. The continuing inward migration throughout the year has only increased the pressure, as does the massive problem of finding additional space for school places in an urban area.  

Adam also raised my concerns a year ago about poor standards in too many of Gravesham’s primary schools, but the County response did not appear to attach to much concern about the serious issues I raised. Nevertheless, I understand that KCC is so worried about performance in local primary schools that it has set up a working party in an attempt to rise standards, in what I believe to be the poorest performing District in Kent. This is in spite of OFSTED’s acknowledgement that Gravesham’s Nursery provision, secondary schools (all school Inspections Good or Outstanding) and Special School are all performing to a high standard. Something is very wrong.  

You will find a summary of the secondary school issues as follows, again from my website:  “Second most popular non-selective school in Kent is St George’s CofE School in Gravesend, with 123 rejected first choices, a giant leap up from last year’s 63 when it was 12^th in the popularity list. Gravesham has come under enormous pressure this year, as I have been warning for some time, given the intense pressure on primary numbers. An additional 76 places have been created in three schools, but still leaving just 5 empty spaces in the Borough on allocation. Second most popular school here was St John’s Catholic Comprehensive, 40 first choices oversubscribed.”

As you know five of Gravesham’s secondary schools are academies, but seven control their own admission numbers, the two biggest increases in numbers having been created at the Northfleet schools, neither of which is an academy. Although Northfleet is not in your Constituency, I can assure you that I have talked with local families who have been allocated to either Meopham School or Ebbsfleet Academy in Dartford, both of which had vacancies, underlining the pressures local schools are under. As you will also know, Thamesview in your prospective Constituency was 17 first choices oversubscribed for September. I remain unclear what action you are proposing to take through KCC, which has lost its powers of compulsion to ease the problem but is well aware of it. The KCC Commissioning Plan for 2016-17 reports: “The increased Primary demand that first appeared in 2010 is now impacting on Secondary demand. There are fewer options for expansion in the short term in Gravesham. Longer term, education provision planning for Secondary will have to be closely linked to any new development as existing school sites cannot accommodate the level of expansion required to meet demand”.  Clearly KCC recognises the crisis and I would be grateful to know your solution if any. Ironically, the school which has expanded most, Gravesend Grammar, has now found itself under such pressure from London families taking up the additional places, that local boys who have been found selective by the Independent Appeals Panel have been deprived of places by this unforeseen consequence and are now having to take up places in Medway grammar schools.

I am very happy to find local politicians who are keen to tackle the problems I have outlined, and so would be more than happy to provide what assistance I can for the benefit of local families. I have a good understanding of the issues, backed up by a large data-base of statistical evidence and experience of talking with local families whose children’s education is suffering through the pressures. In primary schools these are partly due to previous failures to tackle the problems, although now KCC is showing a determination to make appropriate provision, solutions are far harder to come by.

Who now remembers the proposed primary school to be part funded by developers in Northfleet a few years ago, turned down by KCC on grounds it wasn’t needed, which I shouted loudly against. It would have been right at the heart of the greatest Northfleet pressure point, near Springhead Parkway. Further back, the shameful and unnecessary closure of Southfields School, whose grounds are now covered by a housing development which only adds to the local pressure.

KCC now has a sensible planning mechanism developed over recent years, identifying issues through analysis of population trends amongst other tools and attempting to come up with solutions. Unfortunately, it has lost the power to implement these and needs to negotiate with a large number of independent academies, in both the primary and secondary sectors, who do not necessarily feel they are part of a District service with responsibility towards the community as a whole. 

Last year, the two Thanet grammar schools admitted 124 students from non-selective (NS) schools into their Sixth Forms, whilst the two in Folkestone took in just five between them. 

An average intake of 16 NS students across the county for the Sixth Forms of the 31 grammar schools hides a massive variation  from 65 at Dane Court, to six grammars admitting fewer than four. King Ethelbert's NS school saw 48 students transfer to grammar school Sixth Forms, although four schools had none. I have always argued that the opportunity for a second chance to join a grammar school, in the Sixth Form, is a criterion for a successful Selective System. These figures show it is working in places but as always - could do much better!

With most of the Further Education Colleges abandoning A Level courses because of cost, opportunities to study A Level are shrinking in many places, although some NS schools offer their own successful A Level courses, as explained below.

KCC publishes a very useful information article on choices and you will find an information article here on decision making at 16 plus, after GCSE, which looks at a variety of options, emphasising the point that it should not simply be moving on in the same establishment, but this is an opportunity to look round at alternatives.

Then there is just the one non-selective school that has increased its roll over each of the past two years!

However, this article does focus on the transition from GCSE to school Sixth Forms, looking at change of school and focusing on individual schools across the county. It is partially a follow on from a previous article that was more general, but which provoked my enquiry……

Please note that many schools made offers of places on Sixth Form courses months ago and so late applications will be unsuccessful for these at this time, although high GCSE grades could tempt! For next year's students, plan early. 

For 2015 Sixth Form Admissions, 507 students made the decision to change to grammar school and were accepted, with 4880 remaining at NS schools for a variety of courses including A Level. Every one of Kent’s 31 grammar schools admitted some students from NS schools, with Dane Court, Chatham and Clarendon, Norton Knatchbull and Gravesend all taking in 30 or more to their sixth forms. At the other end, nine grammar schools admitted four or fewer sixth formers from NS schools, including five in west Kent, so opportunities are very different across the county.  

Against this, there are 18 non-selective schools who run Sixth Forms with over 50 students taking A Levels in Year 13, in 2015, all but one achieving respectable A Level Grades. Largest were: Bennett Memorial (152 students); Hillview Girls (133); Fulston Manor (108); Homewood (103); and St Simon Stock (92). Compare these with the smallest grammar school, Barton Court with 76 A Level students. A number of these schools are clearly taking in students from others where there may not be the same range of opportunities.  Currently financial pressures on Sixth Forms have seen many reduce the number of courses on offer, also the reason why three out of four Further Education Colleges have abandoned A Level.

More details below of transfer rates from individual non-selective schools by District, and the remarkable case of Canterbury Academy, with the largest Sixth Form in Kent. 

Way out ahead of non-selective schools seeing students transferring to grammar school is King Ethelbert’s, at 48, one of just four non-selective schools without its own sixth form, followed by Charles Dickens with 26, then Hillview Girls’, Towers, St Anselm’s Catholic, Hayesbrook and Thamesview all with 17 or more.

At the other end, only four non-selective schools had no students transferring to grammar school: Hugh Christie; Leigh UTC; Longfield; and Orchards Academy.

There are many factors influencing transfer rates: student aspiration, the attitudes of both grammar schools and non-selectives to change of school, required GCSE grades for admission, independence of career advice, opportunity, the financial pressures on school Sixth Forms (which not only sees some schools cutting courses, but others encouraging admissions to keep courses open), culture in the District and schools, and new government legislation requiring all young people to engage in education or training to the age of 18.   

Each grammar school will have its own view on encouraging such transfers or not, partially depending on its assessment of whether non-selective students can make a success of the A Level curriculum, or in some cases the chase for ever higher A Level Grades. Other grammars have only limited spaces for external students to join in any case.

Half of Kent’s grammar schools see the number of students in Year 12 larger than in Year 11, for each of the past three years; those with the highest increases including schools recruiting the highest and lowest numbers of students from non-selective schools. What is notable is that in each of those three years, the same four grammar schools top the list with, for September 2015: Dartford Grammar increasing its roll by 107 students (but only 2 from NS schools); Simon Langton Boys 92 (27 NS); Chatham and Clarendon 60 (59 NS); and Judd 39 (2 NS). For the past two years, the next three in order have been: Highworth 26 (14 NS) in 2015; Dane Court 25 (65 NS); and Gravesend 12 (30 NS).

What I have tried to do below is look at the situation on a District by District basis, aware that some students will be looking at grammar schools away from their home area.

Canterbury Academy achieved the most astonishing increase of any school in 2015, having the third highest increase of any school at 91, taking its Year 12 roll to 306, and sixth form total to 539, just edging Dartford Grammar as the largest Sixth Form in the whole of Kent, and the only Kent non-selective school to increase its numbers into the Sixth. There is of course a partial explanation in that it will have admitted a high proportion of students from the closed Chaucer Technology College, a factor that will not apply in future years, but it still saw seven of its own students transfer to grammar school.

St Anselm’s Catholic saw 17 students transfer to grammar school, unusually high for a Catholic school, and Archbishops had 13. Herne Bay High with its own strong two year Sixth Form saw just three NS students choose a grammar school place. There was just one from Spires Academy, so its now failed attempt to link up with Simon Langton Girls will not help this.  

With these figures, it is not surprising that the four urban schools between them see just 20 students transfer to grammar schools, even though Ebbsfleet Academy has no Sixth Form of its own, with Longfield Academy and Leigh UTC being two of the four Kent schools that saw no students moving to grammar schools at all.  

With two High Schools, Fulston Manor and Westlands having strong two year Sixth Forms of their own, the three Sittingbourne NS schools see just 22 students transfer, Oasis Academy, Isle of Sheppey, whilst losing 78% of its Year Eleven students, and with no FE College nearby, saw just three of its students going on to grammar school.

Whilst I have at last decided to retire completely from offering my full appeals service after twelve years I shall, however, continue to run my telephone (and FaceTime) Advisory Service which appears to meet a great need, covering school admissions including secondary schools. This of course means I shall still be very busy between now and the end of October. The Service also covers many other educational issues affecting Kent and Medway families, mainly discussed in these pages. I shall expand this to provide a telephone advisory service for appeals and am currently considering the best way to do this. It is clearly going to take time to revise the pages of the website to reflect this decision. 

I also propose to write several articles and expand the information and advice about appeals on the Information pages - the most popular page currently looks at Kent Grammar School Appeals, currently standing at 47,762 hits. None of this takes away from what I regard as the excellent free advice service on admissions and appeals offered by Kent County Council Admissions, always worth a phone call first, although they are not allowed to wander into many areas I cover!

However, my final appeal was to be a classic example of the occasional parental nightmare that comes along, with Medway Council - who else - the villain of the piece.....

The overwhelming majority of appeals my clients have attended have been well organised, conducted in a courteous atmosphere, with an Appeal Panel and Presenting Officer from the Admission Authority simply setting out to establish the facts of the case in order for the Panel to reach a decision. However, some have gone spectacularly wrong, with parents enduring a torrid experience, at its worst exemplified by one of my cases that made the front page of The Times, several years before this website came into being. See Footnote below. 

Medway Council has had a long history of aggressive defence of admission appeals, and I used to get numerous reports of distressed parents who felt they had been put under unreasonable pressure. However, the Council is now responsible for only a small number of appeals in its Medway controlled primary schools. You will find the most recent appeal statistics here.

In the case in question, which was unreasonably delayed by the Council until the last week of term, the responsible adults were grandparents of a child who had had a very difficult medical history and troubled home life. The case was a Junior School Appeal that focused on powerful medical evidence that the school appealed for was the only one suitable for the child, together with the physical impossibility of even getting to an alternative school, challenged by a feeble defence case that there would be prejudice if the child were admitted.

it should have been an open and shut hearing underlined by failings by the Admission Authority, but this is Medway. The Presenting Officer, described to me by those present as a 'Cold Rottweiler' appeared determined to win the case by sheer force of character, having in effect no evidence to go on. 

Central to the defence was that the classrooms were too small, as they were equipped with double desks and there was insufficient room for another - "even to add a single pupil is a challenge as this will require a full double desk". Our case pointed out that in fact, in one of the three classes the school would have to admit 31 children rather than 30 anyway, as twins had straddled places 90 and 91 in the allocation list and under the rules both were given places. So, the final double desk in the classroom would actually have an empty space in it - - but this cut no ice with the defence. The Panel joined in asking why the Authority had provided no data such as size of classrooms or other areas, which is normally provided in school appeals (at least with Kent County Council) without getting an answer, as the Presenting Officer was clearly unprepared.  

The Local Authority case argued that the school allocated and the school appealed for were identical distances apart, both astonishingly exactly 2547.2198 metres distant according to the paperwork. the statistical chances of this occurring were some 0.000001%, effectively zero, but still the Presenting Officer  considered this must be true rather than that a mistake could have happened. Self-evidently, looking at the map of routes provided, the school allocated was much further than the one requested, surely an important piece of evidence, but by now I am guessing the Appeal Panel foresaw the outcome and weren't interesting in holding up proceedings to rectify it. 

As it happens, the route provided by Medway Council included a path across a field up a lengthy very steep hill, somewhat of a challenge for a girl who sometimes travelled with splints or occasionally by wheelchair! We also provided evidence that the only alternative route by public transport entailed walking along an extremely dangerous narrow road with no footpaths for a kilometre, to catch the first possible bus at 10.00, arriving in school for eleven - just two hours late for school, with no parental transport available. Apparently not relevant.   

All this before we come to the medical evidence. Medway Council was given good warning there was no indication it had been taken into account as required before a decision could be made on allocation but, by the time of the appeal all they could offer was that the evidence had been sent to the school to make a decision and there had been no answer. This is simply not good enough as Medway Council being the Admission Authority has the legal RESPONSIBILITY to make a decision and cannot blame the school if it is not taken. Yes, they should consult the school, which is in any case unlikely to have the medical skills necessary to come to a conclusion in such a case and would need to refer back to the Authority. But, when it is pointed out in good time that no decision has been made (the Council having acknowledged the information was received), the Council cannot just ignore its responsibilities to come to a conclusion, by waiting until the appeal to blame the school. This again leaves the Panel unable to make an informed  decision and the appeal should properly have been adjourned until the medical information had been evaluated. In practice it would appear once again that the Panel sensibly decided the evidence to uphold the appeal was so strong there was no point in following correct procedures in this case.

Astonishingly, the Appeal Panel formally considered that the Local Authority's complete failure to have the medical evidence considered, was down to the school and so could be ignored, being satisfied that the decision to refuse a place on home to school distance was correct. Presumably knowing the outcome they decided not cause waves! Interestingly, a few years ago the rules stated that the home to school distance was measured by the nearest safe walking distance, but the word 'safe' has now been removed!

Following procedure, the Panel was then required to decide whether the strength of the parental case was stronger or weaker than the prejudice to education of other children in the school, in order for a decision to be made. 

However, they redeemed themselves by unusually deciding there was no prejudice at all, so did not need to come to a view on the strength of the case, and a place was offered. I spoke with grandfather on the phone shortly after the Hearing, and he was still shell-shocked by the combative experience he had endured.

I repeat the message I began with, that this type of experience is rare, and most families I have talked with over the years whilst naturally finding an appeal stressful, report back that win or lose they have had a fair hearing with a Panel determined to see fair play and put them at their ease, and a Presenting Officer with a similar approach. 

Updated with more Medway Academy news below, 7 September

Although there has been just one new converter academy and five sponsored academies in the past five months from Kent and one from Medway, there are six new academy proposals in Kent and five in Medway working through. Most of the new or proposed sponsored academies have a failed OFSTED in the last few years, academisation wiping out any previous OFSTED Grade and securing freedom from a fresh Inspection for three years – almost an incentive in itself for some schools, and surely a great relief for the two Local Authorities as their statistics improve overnight. 

There are also five Free School proposals, some already approved for 2017 opening as the government Free School programme gathers pace, with three of the proposals coming from religious groups as, in Kent as well as elsewhere, faith schools are seeing their biggest expansion in numbers for decades.

This article also looks at Academy matters in Canterbury, Deal, Folkestone, Gravesham, Maidstone, Medway, and Sevenoaks, and major new developments in the Lilac Sky scandal. 

You will find a full list of Academies, Academy Groups, Free Schools and University Technical Colleges elsewhere on this website; together with my previous article on Academy and Free School News (the delay explained by my commitments elsewhere in recent months).

Further details on all these items below…..

Two Catholic schools, St Edmund’s secondary in Dover and St Edward’s primary in Sheerness, have both become Sponsored Academies in the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership, now one of the largest Academy Groups in Kent.

Westgate Primary in Dartford has also been Sponsored and is now part of the Cygnus Academies Trust, led by Manor Community School in Swanscombe. Cygnus, another of the growing range of unusual names is a constellation of stars, so there is a line of thought here, with a governor who is well known to readers of this website.

St Nicholas CofE Primary in New Romney is being sponsored by the Diocese of Canterbury Trust, and Barming Primary by the Allington Primary Academy Trust.

In Medway, the Cedar Children’s Academy has been taken over by the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, whose Chief Executive has recently left the school in controversial circumstances (see previous article).

Three struggling secondary schools are all to become Sponsored Academies: The Charles Dickens School in Broadstairs is now to be sponsored by Barton Court Grammar School; Swadelands School, Maidstone, by the Valley Invicta Academies Trust; and Whitstable Community College, by Swale Academies Trust. Also Brenzett CofE Primary (Diocese of Canterbury). None in Medway.

Plenty of other academy news, mainly featured elsewhere in these pages, some in my recent article on school Sixth Forms some certainly headed up by the scandal of the Lilac Sky Schools Academies Trust (LSSAT).

The Lilac Sky website still carries a November 2015 announcement that Lilac Sky has been awarded a contract to supply Specialist Advisers to support the RSC in, amongst other things: “securing suitable sponsorship solutions for relevant maintained schools”. Must have come in very handy in collecting academies, but also when the RSC instructed Lilac Sky in July 2016 to dispose of all their academies! Are they still there?

Folkestone

Turner Schools Trust, a new Academy Trust formed in April, is taking over Morehall Primary Academy and Martello Grove Academy in Folkestone, in January, from Lilac Sky. The new buildings for Martello Grove Academy have been delayed by the transition:  “Kent County Council said the building would have been finished in time, but was told it was not necessary as the transition from Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust to Turner Schools continues. KCC area education officer David Adams said: ‘Due to changes at Lilac Sky Academy Trust, they have decided to delay the move for pupils into the school building.’”. “Dr Jo Saxton, chief executive of Turner Schools, said: ‘We are working closely with both schools and Lilac Sky to ensure the transition is a seamless one’." Well perhaps not quite!

I have now learned that KCC were keen for a new Primary Free School to be set up on the Newnham Court site near the A249 in north east Maidstone, the biggest pressure point for primary education in Maidstone. However, the Regional Schools Commissioner decided this was too expensive a site, a new academy, Langley Park Primary School in the south east receiving priority. As a result, too many children in the former area around Grove Green have not been offered any of their choice of schools, but sent several miles to the undersubscribed Langley Park. This perhaps is as a result of lack of local knowledge by the RSC, in spite of all his advisers noted above.

Chatham Grammar School for Boys

The application of Chatham Grammar School to become a mixed school from the age of eleven has been turned down by government. In a letter to parents, the new Principal, Juliet Diaz writes:

“Unfortunately the Secretary of State for Education has decided to decline our request. As you know, we applied on the basis that it would serve the needs of all students in the local area, including your own children, and be in their best interests. There was much support for our proposal, especially from those who wanted the choice of sending their sons and daughters to a co-ed grammar school in the local area. We had also made provision to ensure that the potential number of selective places available for boys would not be reduced. Overwhelmingly, we believe that admitting girls to the school remains an exciting proposition that would be of real benefit to young people in our community. The Secretary of State’s decision is therefore disappointing, and we are currently considering our next steps towards achieving this”.

We are not told the reasons for the government decision but, in spite of the school’s protestations, the proposal was highly controversial. Indeed, the claim that there was much support for it flies in the face of strong objection from the other Medway secondary schools, especially Chatham Grammar School for Girls, whose very future was threatened by the plan.

This leaves the school with a change of name in January 2017, to 'Holcombe Grammar School', introduced solely to remove the 'Boys' nomenclature. 

My most recent article on the subject, back in January, highlighted Medway Council’s refusal to share its views, causing considerable speculation that it wasn’t prepared to make a stand against a plan that would surely have led to the closure of neighbouring Chatham Grammar School for Girls.  The main arguments against the proposal are set out in my initial article, written last December, an indication of how long this has been hanging about, almost to the point that applications for 2017 entry open in the next few weeks.  

Some may think that the plan stood a much better chance when Denise Shepherd was Chief Executive of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust which runs Chatham Grammar school. For she is or was one of the small group of Headteachers who advises the Regional Schools Commissioner who will have made this decision, and her departure from the Trust under a cloud will certainly have weakened her influence, although she is recorded as not having a part in the decision making on this issue.

One can only speculate what the Trust’s next steps would be towards achieving their aim, as they clearly still intend, for we now live in what is increasingly becoming an ungovernable education provision, with academies serving their own interests rather than that of their local community.

Chatham Grammar School for Girls

In my previous article on Academy News, I reported that Chatham Grammar School for Girls had joined Brompton Academy, sponsored by the University of Kent, to also come under the auspices of the University. Now comes news that a new Interim Headteacher has been appointed, Mr Philip Storey, whose substantive post is Vice Principal at Brompton Academy, one of the most oversubscribed schools in Kent and Medway.

        

The school did advertise for a new headteacher following the announcement of the retirement of Mrs Probin, but not unsurprisingly given the uncertain future of the school caused by the ambition of Chatham Boys, clearly were unable to appoint. Now this has been resolved, and with rising rolls in Medway, they may well have better fortune next time round.

Strood Academy

Strood Academy, currently sponsored by the multi site University of Creative Arts including a base in Rochester, is planning to join the Leigh Academy Trust and presumably break its UCA link.

 

A statement on the Academy website visualises Strood Academy becoming the lead school in a Medway ‘hub’ of academies, similar to the role that Mascalls School in Paddock Wood, also in the Leigh group, enjoys with a group of Maidstone primary schools. This fits in well with the apparent policy of Medway Council, as set out to local primary school headteachers, to encourage all its primary schools to become academies, and may well offer an attractive way forward for several. 

Updated with Response from Lilac Sky, 9 September

Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust, responsible for five academies in Kent and four in Sussex, has now published revised accounts for the year ending 31^st August, in which the new Board of Trustees disassociates itself from what has gone before:

This news explains the events I have chronicled in three previous articles, most recently here, explaining the decline and fall of the Trust and its academies. It may well be that after January, the Trust will be quietly closed as the Regional Schools Commissioner has removed all its nine academies and allocated them elsewhere (details in my previous articles). Sadly, it is the students who have been punished over the past year by this mismanagement as amongst other events, most notably Marshlands Academy being given a Warning of closure if it failed to improve its standards, the Regional School Commissioner (RSC) instructed the Trust to claw back some of its financial losses by remedial action. This explicitly meant taking funds provided for education, out of the school budgets to pay off the debts. 

Through part or all of the past eighteen months, well after the problems initially emerged, the RSC has been supported by Lilac Sky Advisers, appointed by government to assist him in his duties by overseeing the performance of academies, and opening new ones, surely somewhat of a conflict of interest!

Lilac Sky now appears to have decided its name is toxic and so Lilac Sky Outstanding Services Ltd, name recently changed to Lilac Sky Education Ltd on 1^st July 2016, has now been completely re-branded as Education 101 Outstanding Education Services Ltd from 1^st September.  At the same time, the name of Lilac Sky Schools Ltd also bites the dust and this company is now branded Henriette De Forestier Schools Ltd from 31^st August, as its seeks to diversify into private education. 

I look at the latest news from each of the three companies, Lilac Sky Academy Trust, Education 101, and Henriette De Forestier, in more detail below - there is plenty of it!…

If you are looking to understand this extremely complex story, I recommend that you start at the first article and work through chronologically). However, you may like to see a Lilac Sky explanation of discrepancies in the accounts from Lilac Sky first, to put it all into context:

Comment: Surely this can only mean that in the statement in both the original and revised 2015 Accounts which reads: "Following discussions with the EFA and Regional Schools Commissioner and to ensure future compliance with the EFA's Academies Financial Handbook, the above transactions were ordered to cease", signed off by the original Trustees, the Trustees wrongly used the phrase "ordered to cease". 

Part of the reason for the deficit over the year is recorded as being the removal by the RSC of Tabor Academy, Lilac Sky's first sponsored academy, Chair of Governors Jane Fielding, from the Trust’s control after it went into Special Measures in November 2014, the Report being highly critical about the Trust's management of the school.  The RSC then took away a new Primary Academy in Chelmsford from LSSAT, incurring significant costs. This all happened before Lilac Sky Advisers were appointed to the RSC to assist him!. There was also spending on planning for two new primary academies in Kent, which were also taken away from Lilac Sky after the Tabor debacle, all contributing to a net deficit of £665,972 for the year. There was also a pension deficit of £1,320,000 for the year. To recover these costs, the Trust introduced a series of cuts to funding of its academies described in a previous article, which inevitably penalises the pupils and, now the Trust is collapsing, will presumably never be recovered.

The auditor also identified potential irregularities in spending, and uncertainty whether any of these amounts are recoverable. ‘Compensation’ payments of £249,107 to 11 employees may not have been in accordance with regulations. An event costing £14,095 is highlighted, which may well have been the 2014 Lilac Sky Awards Evening at Merchant Taylors Hall, a flavour of whose extravagance can be caught here, perhaps a little over the top! Amongst prize winners at the similar 2013 event was Sue Rogers, for her ‘Wisdom’, just a few months before she left KCC as Director of Education Quality and Standards, to become LSSAT Managing Director. At this time Lilac Sky was regarded as a ‘favoured’ Academy group by KCC and was indeed praised by the Corporate Director  of Education for Kent as late as July 2015.  

There are further concerns expressed about the proceedings of the Trust, although I am not qualified to comment on them, although I do wonder about an unrecognised grant income of £700,000 which appears to have then gone out to a debtor. However, a comparison of the two sets of accounts is instructive and makes one wonder how the first set were allowed through. Oddly, at the time of writing the original accounts can still be found via the Trust website, although I have downloaded a copy (just in case)

With Lilac Sky Schools Trust, apparently doomed as it has been forced to discard all its schools by the 1^st January, 2017, the Trust website has now been spring-cleaned and has also shrunk dramatically, reducing many of its vainglorious promises and ambitions. Although this is a very recent update, it has seen the removal of any reference about the transfer of any or all academies to other Trusts, and indeed positively glows with the virtues of the Trust.

It has even managed to introduce a new section of praise from parents, carers and children! However, I am not sure that all the parents of children at Marshlands Academy in Sussex, Tabor Academy in Essex, or several of the other schools that Lilac Sky supported would agree with these sentiments. One also wonders why, if the academies are so wonderful, the DfE saw fit to remove them from Lilac Sky control.                                                                                          

 This is long after the disaster at Tabor Academy, leading to the removal of the contract for a new Free School in Chelmsford and the cancellation of two new Kent academy sponsorships – surely someone should have noticed? Presumably now the Department for Education has cancelled the contracts of LSSAT to run its nine academies, serious questions are at last being asked about these appointments. Are they still in place?

The stellar list of highly qualified staff, several of whom are identified in my previous articles on Lilac Sky, has vanished and the only two people now mentioned on the website are the founder, Trevor Averre-Beeson and his wife Jane Fielding.

The peripatetic headquarters of the Company, which began in Chelmsford, were going to brand new purpose built premises at Knockhall Academy, but then settled at Thistle Hill Academy, in Minster, Sheppey in July, have now returned to a different address in Chelmsford less than two months later. 

The Contents of this article have been transferred to Academy and Free School News, August 2016, below. 

There has been considerable press coverage, following the claim in the Sunday Times that there will be a new school on the Sevenoaks annexe site for boys.

It is of course not that simple. Quite simply, there are no regulations at present in place to allow any such development, not even a boys’ annexe.

Paul Carter, Leader of KCC, who has driven the project from its beginning and now appears to have his vision fully vindicated, appears quite clear that buildings will be constructed over and above those for the girls' annexe. There is a fall-back position in that it is reported that if no school or annexe is allowed, alternative short term use is being planned.

It has been clear for years that Mrs May, even as Home Secretary was in favour of expansion of grammar schools, possibly by creation of annexes, as I wrote in November 2014. Her current ideas are clearly proving very controversial, and I see no point in adding to the debate.

However, as I also wrote in May 2015 after the General Election, about a possible boys’ annexe in Sevenoaks to balance the one being built for the girls of Weald of Kent Grammar: “the pressure to sort this one could become irresistible!” It is starting to look that way.......

You will find my initial thoughts, when the story broke last week, here. 

I believe the site, which has now seen the start of construction for the girls' annexe, WILL be expanded to provide additional accommodation, but there are several possibilities the outcome of which may depend on any new regulation.

1. As suggested by the Sunday Times, but I believe very unlikely, a new three form entry grammar school. A stand-alone three form entry is smaller than any current Kent grammar, and with financial pressures on schools causing serious economies, I do not believe it would be cost-effective.
2. A three form boys’ annexe, working in conjunction with Weald of Kent Grammar, but managed by another school. This was of course an early concept, but I have never seen it as likely, with too many practical difficulties behind two schools managing one set of students, as underlined by KCC’s failure to attract such a sponsor in spite of many efforts.
3. Most likely is surely the expansion of the current annexe, possibly through a change of regulation and not necessarily a Parliamentary Bill, which would allow the admission of both boys and girls at age 11. Already, and not requiring any new legislation, the Chairman of Governors of Weald of Kent outlined a proposal back in January to admit boys as well as girls into the annexe Sixth Form from September 2018. This is already clearly being discussed with KCC and I anticipate it will happen, drawing students primarily from the Sevenoaks area predominantly from Tunbridge Wells boys, Knole Academy and the private sector. 

Meopham School in Gravesham, a non-selective mixed academy that has achieved excellent GCSE results this year, is proposing to change its status to become a mixed grammar school from September 2018.

This school, with a current intake of 160 students and run by the Swale Academies Trust, has published a Consultation document about the plan.  This outlines the proposal if the recommendations of the recently published government Green Paper allowing non-selective schools to convert to grammar schools are approved. Current students at the school would be able to continue on their present courses.  

I can see there would be strong demand for such a school if it came into being, as outlined below, but there are also massive problems for non-selective children in an area where there is already enormous pressure on non-selective places.

This is just the first proposal nationally to become public, and gives rise to speculation about several other possibilities of a similar nature across the county. 

Please note: What follows are my initial reactions to breaking news today, but I will return to it, with a more measured response and updates as they arise.

UPDATE: A comment at the foot of this article asks what would happen to those SEN children who are currently catered for in the Nick Hornby Centre, the only SEN Specialist Unit in Gravesham for children with an EHSC Plan, which caters for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder if the school changes to become a grammar. Answer - I don't know, and an answer may emerge as the plans develop, but I suspect they could be sent to the Iris Centre, a similar provision at Wilmington Academy, in the far West of Dartford, although this only has a capacity for 15 students at present. 

This plan is dependent on Parliament approving the proposals outlined in the Green Paper. The relevant part allows new grammar schools to convert from non-selective schools, or to be set up independently, or else to expand from existing grammar schools, using as yet unknown methods of selection to improve social mobility. A fund of £50 million is to be made available as a start-up aid.  This may be the first, but certainly won't be the last such proposal. 

My greatest concern, looked at in more detail below, is that there appears no consideration  given to the whole community – it is as if to paraphrase “there is no such thing as community” which would consider the needs of all within it.

However, I can see superficially convincing arguments for the proposal if one does not take such matters into consideration. Meopham School, which a few years ago was struggling, has now been transformed into one of Kent’s highest performing non-selective schools, based on this year’s provisional GCSE 5 A*-C pass rate. This was 71%, which would have put it second in the county in 2015. There would be a strong market locally. Meopham and its surrounding villages  send a high proportion of their pupils to grammar school, mainly in Gravesend, but some to Dartford or Medway grammar schools. The neighbouring areas of Hartley, Longfield and New Ash Green would be very tempted, because students currently face longer public transport journeys to Dartford or Gravesend. It is on a direct rail service to the south of Bexley, Bromley and into London, which would prove an attractive alternative to those on the busy mainline to the north into Dartford and Gravesend. London currently offers what appears to be an inexhaustible supply of selective ability boys and girls. The school is planning to introduce its own Meopham Selection Test and admission may be completely independent of the Kent Selection procedures.This would enable it to frame its own admission rules and academic levels, although it would need to provide appropriate rules to encourage social mobility. There is no mention of using the Kent Test as an alternative assessment, as happens in Dover, Folkestone and at the girls' grammar schools of Gravesend and Sittingbourne, all  of which fill their places as a consequence. The school would therefore be able to determine its own level of academic performance or potential for admission, and thus could prove an attractive option for Gravesham families, creaming off what would otherwise be the higher performers in local non-selective schools to their detriment.   

Swale Academy Trust, an expanding and acquisitive Trust, currently runs non-selective and primary schools in various parts of Kent, and can argue that it currently caters strongly for children at the lower end of the ability and social scales, so it is not being elitist. It currently has a struggling primary school in the next village, Istead Rise Primary, which could be turned into a feeder school to the Grammar School, with priority for admission. 

However, against all this, I return to my ‘community’ theme. Children who have not qualified for grammar school in the Meopham area in previous years have looked across the District for alternatives but, as the school’s reputation has improved, numbers have grown. However, it did not quite fill this September, according to initial figures. The problem comes if it is completely removed as a non-selective school. Where do the displaced children go? The rest of Gravesham is under massive pressure for non-selective places, with local children being sent to Ebbsfleet Academy in Dartford, and Meopham itself. KCC already acknowledges the need to expand non-selective provision, but does not have the current option of increasing places in existing schools as numbers continue to rise.

The nearest alternative would be Longfield Academy, but this is already heavily oversubscribed. Wrotham could take a few, Thamesview in Gravesend might have a little capacity. The only school able to absorb numbers is Holmesdale in Snodland, six miles away by narrow roads. Meopham School was also designed as a whole community facility with a range of local facilities, including the Public Library in its centre, which could be lost. The school is already going to benefit from a completely new set of buildings, due for occupation next year, now to be taken from most of the local children if this proposal goes through. 

Gravesend and Mayfield Grammar Schools in Gravesend will also feel the cold if those proposals goes through, as both have a high proportion of students from the south in Meopham, Longfield and district, who may be tempted to go locally, Gravesend Grammar in particular. This school, with an intake of 174 boys, does not fill locally by a long way, so the claim by Meopham School that there is a local need does not stand up. Gravesend offered places this year to 43 out of County boys, mainly from SE London and Essex, and so would inevitably see this proportion rise sharply if the proposal went through, with a significant effect on the nature of the school population.  

In its Green Paper entitled 'Schools that Work for Everyone', Government appears to be arguing that diversity in school provision is in itself a good thing. I have never seen any evidence anywhere to support this proposal, for unsurprisingly it is a nonsense, reflecting instead the country's failure to find any consensus as to what works best. Instead we appear to have settled for 'anything goes', in the vain hope that the best will rise to the top in a war of attrition. 

I recently wrote an article for Kent on Sunday, reproduced slightly edited here. The article focused primarily on this aspect of the Green Paper, illustrating it by the kaleidoscope of school provision now on offer in Kent, only a small proportion of which is accessible to any family, and so becomes not a richness of provision, but a lottery.

My list - and I am quite prepared to accept further models which I have overlooked - runs as follows, and I offer it as a contribution to the debate. This of course refers just to state schools for we also have a wide range of private provision in the county for those who don't like any of it!...

There are Church of England, Catholic, evangelical and other faith schools – some able to recruit 100 per cent according to religious criteria, others 50 per cent, plenty with no conditions;  oversubscribed schools and those with vacancies, some of the latter withering on the stem in the current highly charged competitive climate; three boarding schools - two grammar academies the third comprehensive with ‘military traditions’; multi-academy trusts; stand-alone academy trusts; one 13-18 grammar school structured so that half of its intake comes from private schools, but trying to change to 11 -18, against fierce resistance from parents; federations of schools of all shapes and sizes; special schools with different specialisations; specialist SEN units attached to mainstream schools and academies, including one grammar school.

There are schools classified by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’ through to those in ‘special measures;’ schools and ‘colleges’ with specialisms, some in their titles others not, some significant, others irrelevant, including– arts, humanities, ICT, languages, learning (!), mathematics, performing arts, science and technology, sports, and technology.

We have sponsored academies run by: churches; profit making organisations; some with names designed to advertise owners (what about the newly named ‘SchoolsCompany The Goodwin Academy’); grammar schools; other lead schools; universities; Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust (under notice by government to dispose of all its academies); the Ministry of Defence; a London Livery Company; and private schools. Some of these academies are subject to being transferred between trusts in a sort of Monopoly game, but with children’s futures at stake.

If the government proposals go through we can add to this variety new types of academy and free school grammar and faith schools, along with more underperforming schools sponsored by universities and private schools (neither of which need have expertise in this area). 

This is exacerbated here because Kent is still mainly a town and rural county, with no large conurbations (omitting Medway, a completely separate local authority with different rules), and so schools may be widely spread out. 

Whilst a few families in west Kent have a choice of three grammar schools, many have just one unless they wish to travel long distances. It is a minority of families prepared to travel to another town for a non-selective school, and able to find one that will admit them, so choice of ‘suitable’ schools can become very limited. Some will not even qualify for admission to their nearest appropriate school, or indeed any suitable school, with the majority of schools in the county oversubscribed.  Although parents are given a choice of four schools on the application form, to find four that suit is I suspect a rarity.

But what a task making that choice where it exists, with little guidance to help consider ethos, curriculum, opportunities, performance, OFSTED rating, headteacher style, chances of being offered a place and the many other relevant factors.

In reality, this is a process that heavily penalises those families not able to cope with the complexities, or understand the differences – these being the very families supposed to be at the centre of the government priority to promote Social Mobility according to the Green Paper. It is ironic that until a few years ago, Local Authorities were funded to provide an individual advice service on secondary school admissions precisely for families in need of this assistance to aid social mobility, but this was removed as not being a priority. 

Whatever, I have no doubt that as always, aspiring families will find ways to benefit disproportionately from the outcomes of the proposals; I do not in any way blame them for this!

Kent primary schools show another strong performance through their OFSTED outcomes for 2015-16,  with 45 schools improving their grading, against just 3 declining. This is underlined by very good figures in the latest Key Stage 2 attainment results, according to provisional results by Local Authority which place Kent 21^st out of 152 Authorities, with 58% of children reaching the expected standard, well above the national figure of 52%. A KCC website providing information for teachers includes the view of the Corporate Director of Education on both OFSTED and Performance in National assessments.

Medway is at last also getting better, with 9 improved OFSTED outcomes against one down. Provisional KS2 results place Medway 25 places from the bottom with 48%, not good but a marked improvement on its bottom five position every previous year since 2009.

This is the first year that both attainment and progress are assessed at KS2, the new progress measure figures to be released later in the year.   

Back in February when I reported on performance for the first half of the year, just three Kent schools had been found Outstanding, but this figure has now leapt to 11, with Blean, Brookfield, Great Chart, Hartley Primary Academy, Roseacre Junior, Sandwich Junior, and Tunstall CofE all improving their level from Good, and Herne CofE Junior leaping two grades from Requires Improvement to Outstanding.  

In Medway, there are signs of progress at last with 72% of schools inspected last year found Good or Outstanding, the two schools assessed as Outstanding being Barnsole, up two levels from Requires Improvement, and Horsted Infants, up from Good. Two academies Oasis Skinner Street and Saxon Way are both up from Special Measures to Good.

You will find individual school outcomes for several years in the Information pages for Kent and Medway primary schools. I reported on last year’s OFSTED performance here.

One of the reasons standards are improving according to this measure is the steady conversion of schools, especially weaker ones, to become academies wiping out any past OFSTED outcome. It also leaves them free for Inspection for three years unless there are exceptional circumstances. Quite reasonably parents of children at some of these schools, who are concerned about standards, are very unhappy they will not be assessed in the near future.

In total, 79% of the Kent primary schools inspected this year were found to be Good or Outstanding.

Five schools have been handed over to Academy chains because of failure, none at present looking as if they have been turned around. Kings Farm and Whitehill were brought to their knees by malevolent leadership, although both are now climbing rapidly. Two others were severely damaged by headteachers who should have retired earlier. Pressure on places means that I have few suggestions for the parents who contact me about problems in their schools. 

The biggest news is probably the Academy success of two schools previously in Special Measures, now awarded Good assessments.  Oasis Skinner Street was given a pre-warning Notice of Closure by government because of poor standards just over a year ago, this public failure clearly inspiring the company to invest in the school to ‘effect transformation’ but it should never have been necessary.

Griffin Academies Trust has had vastly mixed fortunes with Saxon Way, previously in Special Measures whilst under the control of Medway Council, also leaping from Special Measures to Good, whilst Wayfield sank the other way under Griffin, see my previous article entitled: ‘Surely the worst ever performer in a crowded field in Medway’.

With 50% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools already academies or on the way as a result of Medway Council policy, it would be good to see a more consistent performance.

Kent and Medway have many excellent private schools, for those who can afford it and wish for an alternative to a state school, but do not assume that private is best, as the experience of a number of local schools warn.

OFSTED now inspects the smaller private schools, although there are limited powers to take action on those that are failing. In the last year four of these, all promoting their ability to get children into grammar school, which can serve as a main reason for their existence, have been found Inadequate by OFSTED or in the case of one, had its Action Plan to show the route out of failure rejected by the DfE.

St Joseph’s Convent Independent Preparatory School, Gravesend; St Christopher’s School, Canterbury (follow up to previous Inadequate Report); Shernold School, Maidstone; and Bryony School, Gillingham, have all been found Inadequate by OFSTED.....

Most larger private schools have different inspection arrangements, being assessed by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), which many regard as a much more cosy arrangement, with other private school teachers carrying out the task. An article in the Guardian perhaps catches the climate. To qualify for an ISI Inspection, a school needs to belong to an association of private schools which is a member of the Independent Schools Council.

Many, if not most, parents send their children to the school (annual fees up to £7,755 for the 141 children) to try and secure a grammar school place, but 3 successes out of 9 for Kent will not please them (one out of two in Medway), and will certainly have increased the reported dissatisfaction with the school.

 However, three months later in an Emergency Inspection, Leadership was found to be weak, with serious and significant divisions between staff, a ‘family’ ethos blurring professional boundaries (the mind boggles), a culture of mistrust meaning there was too little focus on the welfare of pupils. The headteacher, the only senior member of staff, and the owner of the school, did not always demonstrate appropriate professional conduct, staff not held to account for the quality of their work, the governing body was not effective, etc., etc. This was certainly another clear warning the school was under scrutiny. Nevertheless, an Action Plan submitted by the school to the DfE showing how it would tackle issues was rejected in September!

Unsurprisingly, and as a direct result of this, a progress monitoring inspection was carried out in January this year to monitor the action the school was taking to implement the action plan. Yet again the school failed this inspection with “Independent School Standards still not being met!”. The report notes “The headteacher has reflected on his leadership and recognised the need to set high expectations for the behaviour of staff” although there is no indication the need has been fulfilled. Amongst the requirements still to be met, the school is required to: “Ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school demonstrate the skills and attitudes appropriate to their roles; Ensure that leaders demonstrate high standards of professionalism; Establish appropriately professional relationships between all staff at the school Effectively ensure that safeguarding policies and practices are consistently applied by all staff Establish effective governance at the school; Ensure that leaders at all levels actively promote the well-being of pupils in all of their actions, policies and procedures.” I believe that any state school which consistently and flagrantly ignored OFSTED requirements in this way, would have been closed down long ago.

Amazingly, the school is now in trouble from a different direction, having been instructed by the Advertising Standards Authority to remove false advertising from local buses, which publicly proclaimed that the school was achieving a percentage of grammar school passes higher than the reality, betraying what I believe is the fundamental reason why parents send their children to this dreadful school. The school claimed on the buses that 94% of its pupils passed to grammar school for 2016 when in fact it was 82%, or 14 of the 17 who sat the Test this year, including five Headteacher Assessment passes, so just over half passing automatically. Another child was successful on appeal. I have several times in recent years been approached by parents to support their children at appeal, but have only once taken a family on, for I found the too frequent attitude of “my child has been to St Christopher’s; I am entitled to a grammar school place”, intolerable. One St Christopher’s family still sticks in my mind, telling me as part of their case for appeal, that their son had been unfairly treated as he had missed going over the Kent Test the day before it was taken, as he was ill! They may have been mistaken, but naturally I reported this possible maladministration to KCC. 

Some private cramming schools specially prepare work in September in an attempt to improve chances at Headteacher Assessment (or Review in Medway) in case the child is put forward for this. This would give their pupils an unfair advantage, possibly regarded as part of the service for which they are paying. The fees at St Christopher’s for the 101 children are £8,595 per annum. You will find the impressive figures for admission to grammar school here, the reason why many parents will choose to ignore all the above. Indeed, the school is quite explicit about this and boasts on its website: "If parents care enough about their children’s future that they are going to fork out £8,500 from taxed income, then they probably care enough to help their children by reading with them, and giving them support along the way. Many see it as an investment. We can’t afford to send our child to a secondary private school where the fees might be three of four times those of St Christopher’s, so we’ll do our best to make sure that their child has a place at a very good grammar school". What an arrogant statement, but sadly this article may produce even more applications for the school from such parents. 

A few years ago, Shernold School had its Kent Test results annulled, because of allegations of improper preparation by the school, but this decision was subsequently reversed. Last year 8 out of the 15 pupils taking the Kent Test were successful, another 4 being allocated places by Headteacher assessment. School fees for the 143 pupils are up to £7,425 for the oldest children.

14 out of 17 pupils who sat the Kent Test were found of grammar school ability, including 5 from Headteacher Assessment. 18 out of 23 were assessed grammar by the Medway Test (most will be the same children taking both tests) including one from Medway Review. Fees for the 181 children are up to £6,103.

Patrick Leeson, Kent’s Corporate Director of Education and Young People's Services, described the actions of Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust (LSSAT) as ‘outrageous’ in a KCC Education Cabinet Meeting last week, following their gross mismanagement of the five Kent Primary Schools under their control. See previous articles for the story.

This is of course a complete turnaround from his position last year, when in spite of a series of articles by me on the gross mismanagement of the Furness School debacle by both Lilac Sky and Kent County Council, he praised Lilac Sky highly (four times) for their excellent work, in a debate on the school’s closure; see more below.  

He has also praised the Regional Schools Commissioner on his 'swift action' in removing the schools from Lilac Sky control – but this won't be finalised until Christmas! 'Swift action' overlooks the reality that RSC has known of serious problems with Lilac Sky from 2014 as detailed below. The RSC initially arranged for Lilac Sky commercial companies to stop providing services to LSSAT from September 2015, after a conflict of interest was identified. In spite of these issues, government saw fit to appoint Lilac Sky on a two year Contract in November 2015 to advise Regional Commissioners on vetting new academies and advising on improving existing ones, surely an immense conflict of interest, so no swift action then. Indeed it was not until serious accounting issues  came to light in July this year (in spite of a policy of light touch monitoring for academies) that the RSC was forced to take emergency action.  The revelations appeared after the Trust's initial accounts were rejected and showed that Lilac Sky Education appears to have extracted excessive sums of money from the Trust academies, plunging some schools into financial crisis as they struggle to pay it back, as highlighted by Mr Leeson, below.....

You can see the Education Cabinet Committee webcast of September 22^nd that contains Mr Leeson’s comments here. The relevant section comprises a question by Mr Roger Truelove, a Member for Swale where two of the schools Richmond Academy and Thistle Hill Academy are situated on the Isle of Sheppey, at minute 39, and a response by Mr Patrick Leeson at minute 42.

Interestingly, the headteacher at the time, who Mr Leeson claimed had done an excellent job and was a specialist in Special Education Needs but actually appeared to have no senior SEN experience if any, abandoned Furness to its fate some weeks before the end of its last term, a very difficult period for the school. This was in order to prepare for her new post at the new Martello Grove Academy in Folkestone. However, she only lasted there for six months before moving to become an Associate Head at a Lilac Sky Jewish primary school in London.

Government awareness that LSSAT was not fit for purpose should have begun when they took Tabor Academy in Essex away from the Trust in 2014 after it had been placed in Special Measures, and blocked them from running a new Free School close to their headquarters. They also served a warning notice to a Sussex LSSAT school to improve standards or face closure the following year.

But apparently none of this was sufficient to dissuade the Regional Schools Commissioner from entrusting the nine new primary academies in Kent and Sussex to LSSAT. Neither did it stop Lilac Sky from winning a contract to support RSCs in eight Regions in November, some time after these controversies.

The above news item was on the Lilac Sky website until recently, with 'Lilac Sky' in place of 'Education 101' (see below), but now appears to have been replaced by one reporting on a new Contract to Support East Sussex schools. Another interesting clash, given that the RSC has now taken three East Sussex Academies away from LSSAT.

It is not clear if the Lilac Sky support of the RSC continued as he was deciding to close down LSSAT or is still operational – the contract was to last until November 2017. 'Lilac Sky Education', one of a number of Lilac Sky companies, an arrangement which has the effect of muddying financial transactions, has now changed its name to '101 Education' perhaps in an effort to hide any conflict of interest.  

It is clear from the academy websites that there has been a large turnover of staff as a consequence, Thistle Hill Primary Academy in Sheppey being typical.  Ms Vicky Averre (daughter of the founder of Lilac Sky) Executive Principal for a year, and Assistant Director of LSSAT, has quietly vanished over the summer, this being typical of the temporary nature of many posts held by senior members of Lilac Sky and has been replaced by an Acting Principal. In September's school newsletter he welcomed “lots of new teachers and support staff”, suggesting a mass changeover for a school of around 100 children only.  

This is going to be a very difficult term for the five schools as they hand over to new Trusts – and what about all the expensive purple uniforms and bespoke purple PE kit with logos. It is difficult to see what interest Lilac Sky has in doing a good job, as seen in the example of Furness above, especially given that the name will die with the Academy Trust at Christmas, Lilac Sky’s other companies having morphed into 101 Education Ltd. and Henriette Le Forestier, Ltd; see my previous article for explanation! 

Medway Test results are sent out by email after 4 p.m. on Friday 30^th September, or by post to arrive the next day. 

The Medway Test Pass Score is 513. Please note, as explained in my article 'Admission to Medway Grammar Schools' below, this does not mean the standard is any lower than last year's 521. The standard required is the same. The difference reflects the number of children taking the test And their abilities.

I run a Telephone Consultation Service to support and advise families living in Medway or Kent Local Authority areas, who are considering Review, looking at secondary school options, or thinking about chances of success at appeal, for schools in Kent or Medway Local Authorities.  

The pages of this website also contain much free information about each of these issues

You will find details of each of the possibilities via the links below, or to the right of this article. You may wish to start with the page on Can I help you?

Telephone Consultation Service

Medway Grammar School Review and Appeal

Admission to Medway Secondary Schools

Admission to Medway Grammar Schools

These pages also contain links to pages providing comment and data relating to school admissions....

The relevant Kent pages can be reached via the links on the Right Hand side of this article, Kent Test results not being sent out until 13^th October.