King Edward VII School Sheffield: Angry parents’ petition against academy plans handed to education bosses

They handed the document to Department for Education’s regional office on Norfolk Street, near the Peace Gardens yesterday afternoon, along with an open letter to the Government department’s regional director, Alison Wilson, calling for rethink on the plans for King Edward VII School, which has sites in Crosspool and Broomhall.

The 2,706 name document was passed to officials ahead of a DfE meeting on Tuesday which is due to discuss handing the school over to Brigantia Learning Trust, against the wishes of parents who want to remain in council control.

They say there has been no transparency or communication with parents over the process so far, and hundreds protested on the steps of City Hall on Saturday.

The letter to Ms Wilson from the KES the Future parents and community campaign stated: “As you may be aware from the number of representations made to the Advisory Board ahead of the meeting on Tuesday (April 25) as well as local and national media, parents at King Edward’s believe that we should have a say in the future of our school.

“Over 2,600 people have signed the online petition calling for the governing body, teaching staff and parents to have a voice. Attached are pictures from the demonstration that took place in Sheffield where over 500 people attended despite being organised at only a few days notice. This shows the strength of feeling, and our community's determination that we should have a voice in what happens to our school.”

The letter said parents understood that guidance means Ms Wilson is under no policy or legal obligation to consult with the school and community, but they hoped she could see she had a moral obligation, and if she did not accept this, then at least she might accept that involving parents, teachers, the school and community in the decision would lead to a better outcome for the school.

The letter also made reference to an Ofsted announcement last week, that they would quickly re-inspect schools given an inadequate rating based on one area, safeguarding and leadership, but doing well in other areas – which is the position that King Edward’s are in.

It added: “You have had many representations not to go ahead with this proposal. The policy review announced on Friday April 21 about limiting judgements in situations such as King Edward VII School only adds further weight to our case for a pause.

“Given the strength of public feeling, we ask that you respond this week to all those who made representations, with the outcome of the board’s decision. The proposal you have made has caused considerable stress and anxiety to hundreds, if not thousands of people in our city. Delaying informing us of the decision until notes of the meeting are published at the end of May would only add to this stress and anxiety.”