LevellerLive

The Regional Director for Schools, South West issued a termination warning today. Hannah Woodhouse wrote to Huish Episcopi Academy, issuing a Termination Warning. In her letter she reports “I received an Ofsted notification dated January 5th 2023 confirming that Huish Episcopi Academy was judged to be inadequate and requires special measures.” The letter then rehearses the criticisms issued by the Ofsted Inspectors that The Leveller has already reported on.

Hannah Woodhouse continues: “As Regional Director, I need to be satisfied that the trust has capacity to deliver rapid
and sustainable improvement at the academy. If I am not satisfied that this can be achieved, I will consider whether to terminate the funding agreement in order to transfer the academy to an alternative academy trust.”

Whilst the language and form of the letter will cause alarm, we should stress that this is normal procedure following a school being placed in special measures. As The Leveller has reported, the Academy governors have already taken rapid measure to ensure the school returns to a positive trajectory. However they now need to convince the Regional Director for Schools.

The Academy has been given a week, until the 10 February to make written representations. That should provide reassurance that the actions taken justify keeping the academy open and funded. Again this is standard procedure once a school has been put in special measures.