Free school search for trust continues
● A RUNCORN free school’s search for a multi-academy trust has continued into 2019.
Sandymoor School began looking into its options last year after being graded ‘inadequate’ by the education watchdog in May and warned that it could close, with Ofsted raising its gravest concerns over GCSE results.
The secondary announced the following month it was looking to join a multi-academy trust (MAT) as the best way to secure its future.
Since then the school has been trying to wrest its performance from the doldrums of the Ofsted assessment and steer it in the right direction.
Sally Jones, the secondary’s principal following the departure of Emma Simpson, told parents and carers in an end-of-year newsletter that she hoped a multi-academy trust (MAT) would be found before Easter but that the school’s progress continues.
Mrs Jones said: “Returning in Jan- ● uary will bring us into a whole new phase of our transformation as we shift our priorities to the next level.
“As a team of staff we have promised to deliver and so far we have done on all fronts.
“We have secured firm evidence of impact towards reaching our key performance indicators this term and in doing so have managed to build confidence and trust that we are on track, if not slightly ahead, of where we hoped to be at this point in time.
“This is my opportunity to thank everyone working alongside me to secure such improvements... without you this would not be possible for our youngsters.”
She added: “I am excited to see what next term brings and hopefully share another newsletter full of good news and progress in February.
“Let’s hope we hear about our prospective multi-academy trust before Easter.”
Sandymoor School opened in 2012 under David Cameron’s free schools programme and was even visited by the then-Prime Minister during his 2015 General Election campaign.