Hove Academy Battle Intensifies

Scores of concerned parents were told that the council had made a counter-offer to the Hove schools looking to join an academy trust.

Hove Learning Federation – the umbrella governing body for West Hove Infant School and Hove Junior School – is currently consulting parents on a move to join the Aurora Academies Trust.

Brighton and Hove City Council Council’s director of education and learning Georgina Clarke-Green said that a package of measures had been presented to the governing body on Tuesday (10 December).

And she spelt out the basic details of the support being offered at a public meeting attended by about 60 people at Hove Methodist Church last night (Wednesday 11 December).

The measures include an extra £40,000 to cover the cost of the delay in transferring classes from West Hove Infant School’s Connaught Road site to Holland Road.

The Labour leader of the council Bella Sankey, who represents Wish, the ward where two of the school sites are located, said that the council had not been expecting the academy proposal.

Councillor Sankey said:

“It has caught us a bit by surprise that there has been this level of concern from them (Hove Learning Federation) about what they have not received from us because it’s not something that was previously clear to us.

“We are now putting together what we hope will be a package that might influence them to maintain their relationship with us. It’s not the case that this is the feedback we’re getting universally.

“It is prompting us to think that we will engage with schools more proactively to ensure that if there is more we could be doing, that we will.”

Councillor Sankey said that she had seen a financial report commissioned by the Hove Learning Federation after its schools went into the red.

The infant school alone had a deficit of more than £500,000 at the start of the financial year.
She did not agree that the reason was solely related to delays in moving infant classes from Connaught Road when the building became surplus to requirements.

She said that schools becoming academies had become aware of losing out on support services offered by the council such as extra tuition for pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Fellow Labour councillor Paul Nann, who also represents Wish ward, urged parents to keep fighting for an extension to the consultation which is due to end next Tuesday (17 December) – and to respond.

Outside the meeting, he said:

“The council has made an amazing offer to the school which more than matches what Aurora have offered.

“That’s what the parents have been asking for. I think the response from parents was positive tonight.”

GMB union rep Jo Viner spoke about a meeting with governors and two consultants advising the board. She said that union reps were told that parents would have to come up with a strong and unique argument to keep the schools from joining Aurora.

She said:

“He (a consultant) decided to answer when I asked if 100 per cent of parents said ‘no’, they don’t want to go to an academy chain, is that it? Are you going to reconsider?

“Scarily, his answer – I’ll paraphrase – was: ‘It’s not the quantity that matters. It will be the quality of their argument.’

“It could be 100 per cent of you say ‘no’. The two things he said that would make them possibly reconsider (were) if you come up with an argument they haven’t thought of – but they’ve been working on this for years so good luck to you.

“Or it is a better argument than they would put forward. Even that one is quite taxing. When we’ve pushed back so far, they’ve said: ‘Aurora can do that.’

“Why change if it’s not clearly beneficial? Why make an irreversible decision that has the flaws we think are there?”

She urged parents to protest to show the governors the strength of feeling.

One parent, Mark Goodwin, said that he was against the school joining Aurora but wanted all voices to be heard. He raised concerns that a school dating back to 1889 would be lost to the community.

Outside the meeting, he said:

“Over the long term I fear for the school. I fear the academy will have different priorities to the children’s best interests.

“I feel that over time the identity of the school will disappear and money for the children’s education will be diverted into leadership fees and leadership salaries.”

The Hove Learning Federation said:

“We have worked incredibly hard to make sure there are plenty of opportunities for everyone’s voice to be heard and we’ve listened carefully to the concerns that have been raised.

“Sadly, there has been a fair amount of misinformation being shared about what the proposal to join Aurora will mean.

“Collectively, our senior team has over 60 years of experience and are very clear that a more sustainable future lies ahead of us by joining the Aurora family.

“This week, the work of that same team was recognised by Ofsted with West Hove Infant School securing a clean sweep of outstanding judgments – this is among the first schools in the country to secure this brilliant accolade.

“The senior team ask that parents trust in their judgment so that our schools can build on this fantastic achievement in the years to come.

“In terms of specific services, such as support for children with English as a second language, we can confirm we will continue to buy into this service.”

A protest is planned outside both the School Road and Holland Road sites at 2.45pm on Friday 13 December.

Consultation responses can be sent to a.consultation@hovejun.brighton-hove.sch.uk by next Tuesday (17 December).