Failing Free School closed by DfE

[vindscreenviper]

Durham Free School has been told it will close as soon as all the pupils have found places at other schools. Its Ofsted report was only published this morning and although it's really bad I've never heard of a school being closed down on the same day. There must be other stuff happening in the backround surely, don't the DfE usually hand failing schools to one of their mates an academy chain to sort out?

I suspect that this decison reflects three particular issues:-

1.In the awful OfSted this "Christian ethos" school was highlighted as not fitting its pupils for life in modern Britain. That is it was doing things like teaching creationism

1. It had seperately, and before Christmas been given a "notice to improve" by the Funding Agency, and had the right to run its own financial affairs removed pending a clear up of a dreadful financial mess.

1. There is no shortage of school places in the area so these children have somewhere to go.

I think the DfE are to be commended for decisive action.

But whay this school was ever improved in the first place, beats me. At least they did not build it a new building.

oops. When I write "improved" I mean "improved" !

The situation with a free school is somewhat different to that with an LA school. If this was not an academy it could be forced to convert to a sponsored academy. Note that the sponsors are not necessarily one of the large chains. It could be a local college or a successful school that has become an academy, for example.

When the school is already an academy and Ofsted recommends special measures the DfE can issue notice of their intention to terminate the school's funding. The school can argue against this but their funding will still be terminated if they fail to respond in the required timeframe or DfE remain of the view that it is appropriate to terminate.

Note that this does not necessarily mean that the school will close. It is still possible for the current academy trust to seek out another trust such as one of the existing chains (or, indeed, any other potential sponsor) to take over the school. If the DfE agrees to this move the school can remain open.

They didn't build a new school but they closed an existing school and took over the building nlondondad.

Nicky Morgan has announced the closure

I'm wondering if the fact that the ex-Headteacher is taking the school to a tribunal has influenced the DfE decision too? He claims he was sacked while on sick leave so may have a case for compensation, which would have to be paid by the DfE I think? If the school closes will he still be able to sue?

Historically parents from outlying villages had no chance of securing their child in the most popular school in the city so the Free school was set up to attract them with mixed success. While there may be plenty of school places for those children living within the city the same cannot be said for the many rural pupils.

Interesting that the local MP claims to have been raising concerns for "many years" when the school only opened in September 2013

Well if the Gilesgate site is now sold off for housing (the most likely outcome) then Durham LA are going to have to find even more school places for that area, I've no idea how though. If Gove hadn't cancelled the BSF scheme for the Gilesgate/Belmont merger there would have been a new school up and running now.

He claims he was sacked while on sick leave so may have a case for compensation, which would have to be paid by the DfE I think

No, any compensation would be paid by the academy trust. The DfE does not underwrite the liabilities of individual academies.

Nicky Morgan has announced the closure

I am aware of that. She is correct in that if a sponsor does step in it would technically be a new school operating on the same site. So this school will close but it is quite possible for another school to open on the same site immediately.

If Gove hadn't cancelled the BSF scheme for the Gilesgate/Belmont merger there would have been a new school up and running now

I can't comment on this specifically but the average cost of opening a new school under BSF was £28M. The first 24 free schools cost an average of £5M each.

I do know that when it opened in 2013 with 34 pupils it was at a cost of £25000 per pupil

She is correct in that if a sponsor does step in it would technically be a new school operating on the same site.

prh47bridge it's interesting to compare with another free school judged inadequate. The Hawthorne's (misplaced comma being part of registered name). It seems to have escaped the attention given to Al-Madinah or Discovery New School but it was inadequate in all but the behaviour category and the Ofsted monitoring reports say it will be taken over by another free school to form a multi-academy trust. On googling (because this was mysteriously withheld from the Ofsted section 8 report) this is the trust sponsoring the King's Leadership Academy Warrington.

Do you think this will also be closed down and reopened, and if not, why not?

The other free school in special measures still operating with the same trust is IES Breckland - is this an exception?

North-East free schools seem to be on a (downward) roll at the moment, another is judged inadequate and placed into special measures BBC report here
The Bursar of this one worked at the Durham Free School one day a week, both were slated by the EFA for their financial management details here.
From the Ofsted report
"Pupil premium funding is not always used for the benefit of eligible pupils. While most is used to provide additional support, for example through one to one teaching, around 30% of the allocated budget last year was used to recruit a Vice Principal, a SENCO and a data analyst due to increasingly strained school finances. These roles do not have a defined focus on narrowing the gaps in achievement for disadvantaged pupils. This is ineffective use of public money."

This was an existing private school, they seem to have side-stepped insolvency by becoming a free school.

straggle - To be honest it depends on your point of view. The existing academy trust will cease to exist and the new trust will take over. Technically that means the old school has closed to be immediately replaced by a new one which uses the same name and site, retains the existing pupils and staff, etc. So if a politician was involved and wanted to be seen to be doing something they could say that the old school was closing, particularly if the move was prompted by the politician serving notice that funding would be withdrawn.

Turning to your second question, it is not inevitable that a free school in special measures will have its funding withdrawn. If the DfE serve notice of intention to terminate the school can make representations to the DfE. If they convince the DfE that they can turn the school round the DfE is likely to give them time to do so.

I think the IES Breckland school is more complicated because it is being run by a management company, for profit - an additional contract between the trust and the company, while the trust (which some commentators suggest was merely a vehicle to test this arrangement out, with directors related to each other and local politicians) has the funding agreement directly with the government. While they are in special measures they have a financial incentive to improve, because no other trust is going to touch them with a barge pole, and if children are leaving they will be losing money. Still an unacceptable situation in my view.

The Hawthorne's Free School has already attracted a lot of publicity locally, I see, as did its new partner free school whose management may be taking it over. The 'rescuing' school opened with low enrolment, although it did get a 'good' Ofsted rating. The Hawthorne's itself was embroiled in a row with the council over redundancy payments and/or TUPE because it took over an existing school that was to be closed down, along with a neighbouring school, in an area of falling rolls. If it was criticised for having inexperienced and unqualified staff that is vindication for the teachers who were made redundant and not offered jobs at the new school because the predecessor school had at least achieved a 'satisfactory' Ofsted. But the pupils there are taking GCSEs - it would be disruptive to close it suddenly.

I'm really uncomfortable with how this is playing out in the press. The DFS is being very badly advised by their PR consultants, this focus on being persecuted Christians seems to ignore the failures in teaching and learning which are surely the reason it has gone into special measures? On their facebook page they even have a link to an article on an American website owned by the hard right libertarian John Birch Society and their cause is being championed by Britain First, there's even Daily Mail sad-faces now!
Claiming to be victims of pc gorn mad, while glossing over the concerns raised about the core business of the school, and slinging mud at the sacked Headteacher show more than a little contempt for the parents and children caught up in what now appears to be a spat between rival factions.

From the OFSTED report, the school needs to review the curriculum so that there are appropriate opportunities to teach students about sex and relationships and to promote respect for different faiths, beliefs and values so that they are fully ready to function as young citizens of modern Britain

Shocking. How was a school like that ever allowed to open? How were this one and many other free schools with dodgy curriculums and ideologies contrary to the values of modern Britain ever allowed to exist on tax payers money? Ask yourselves that question before the next election.

What I get angry about is that concerns about these very Christian Free Schools were voiced beforehand and ignored. This was always going to happen.

I'm just glad that the schools in question haven't been allowed to get away with their divisive ethos.

I've just had lunch with a friend who told me that the chair of governors at the Durham school is also a teacher at Grindon Hall, and the head of Grindon Hall actually inherited the school from his mother! All sounds a bit cliquey to me, in his hurry to open as many free schools as possible Gove seems to have overlooked the suitability of some of the people involved. The only reason Grindon Hall isn't being closed down too is thst they've had about 6 million pounds of taxpayers money, I reckon the DfE will clear out the governing body and get rid of the head. The Durham school is in a temporary site so it's quite easy to shut down, though obviously not from the point of view of the children involved.

It's so easy to see what the root problem was at DFS. Look at the Ofsted report and then Google its former head, Peter Cantley. The verdict of his former pupils at Canon Slade School, as clearly expressed over several years on RateMyTeacher, is crystal clear: he was not cut out to be a head.

vindscreenviper's insight is interesting. Once again it looks like it's a board of governors failing to conduct due diligence when appointing a head.

Can I make some corrections here please.
Firstly the running cost per pupil was not £25000 it was £5000 this can be verified from the figures on the companies house website.
Secondly the decision to remove the previous head was made before he went off sick.
Thirdly the focus from the school has not been the Christian ethos when defending in the press, rather the press have deliberately selectively reported minor comments and missed the thrust of the arguments surrounding teaching standards, the lack of bullying at the school and the untrue statement that staff were hired on basis of Christian faith rather than teaching qualifications. (There is no occasion on which a christian has been hired over a more qualified non christian and 3 occasions where non Christians have been hired over Christians as the non Christian teachers were better qualified.)

The decision to remove the previous head looks to have been a sound one but the decision to appoint him in the first place looks to have been ill informed and misguided.

There are separate threads about WLFS. The common theme is the calibre of the heads and governors and their capacity to lead these schools while they become established. Exceptional and experienced people are needed for such undertakings.

LadySybil I'm assuming you are quite involved with the school as you know the details of their staff appointments, can you answer a question for me please? Why has the Chair of Governors used a Freedom of Information request to ask Durham County Council for a copy of the contract to supply school transport for pupils at Durham Free School? Surely a phone call to the relevant department at County Hall would suffice?
I have no connection at all to DFS and can only go by what I read in the local press and bits of gossip, but the ex-Head definitely told the local paper that he was sacked after raising concerns with the DfE/Ofsted/EFA but I supposed that can be easily verified during the employment tribunal if it happens.

And I think the pp who quoted £25,000 per pupil did specify that was the cost of opening and running the school in its first year. But since the DfE accounts are such a qualified mess I would take that figure with a big pinch of salt