School Pool & Academy issue

[PrimaryConcern]

It's a ridiculously long story, but in brief, is it possible to check if there is anything to preserve a school pool?Or can the MAT just shut the school as not being financially viable anymore?

It was paid for by the local community over 25 years ago, so long before it became an academy. Priority for school lessons, but other times there are adult and children swim sessions, plus available for private hire, so it's not just a school pool.

Since the school had a huge change in management 3 years ago, the pool is being shut periodically for significant periods due to various H&S issues, but they are not forthcoming as to what they are, even to the 3rd party who runs the pool on a day to day basis(!). The community is keen to keep the pool open and willing to help pay, but the MAT has no interest in discussing it.

Any advice on where I can look for information would be most appreciated

It is very difficult to know. From your description it would appear that the swimming pool is attached to the school and was part of the facilities transferred to the school when they became an academy. If you go onto the Trust Board website you should be able to find the annual financial report of the Trust and it is possible that somewhere in that it might say something. There is also the Trust Articles of Association and the original finance agreement that might say something if it was a significant part of the facilities that were transferred.
Your post would certainly suggest that the school currently "own" the swimming baths and as such can do anything they want with it. If they own it they are also responsible for its upkeep and swimming pools can be very expensive to run, so I can see that it could be a drain on the schools finances.
The other approach to this is start from when the swimming pool was paid for by local community 25 years ago. There must have been an agreement then as to how it would be run, which would have been between the school and the Local Authority. So it could be useful to try and talk to somebody in the LA, but who is open to question.
If you need any help in finding the original Trust documents drop me a private message with the name of the school and LA and I will find them for you as they can get tucked away somewhere on the websites of the school or Trust Board.

Thanks admission. The pool is on the school site, but is a stand alone building which can be accessed without entering the rest of the school, via a specific gate. So long as other gates are locked, you can't access the school at all once in.

I had a dig around the MAT website but could only find something that seemed to be about the school (mentioned pool and fields but not specifically named), which stated a different diocese retains ownership with the MAT leasing it. It was a C of E VC school prior to conversion, so perhaps this explains it.

I've tried looking on the other diocese website but can't find anything. I'll PM you if that's ok.

I have also found out that some funding came from charitable grants and the local district council, so I'm assuming that proper paperwork must have been drawn up at the time.

Is this in Stockbridge by any chance?
Is the pool actually ever open to the public ie weekends and summer holidays?
Could it be made to pay for itself in anyway. Ie cover it and rent it out daily for baby swimming lessons on weekdays, have it open to public every weekend etc?

Look up Oaklands pool in Southampton. It was part of a school that became an academy and then relocated.
The school is gone but the pool became a community pool

HappyDove Not Stockbridge, no. It is open at other times, there is a timetable of a variety of lessons daytime, evening, weekends summer holidays. There has been a lot of tension between the company that was managing it (when I say company, it's the main swim teacher who took over management) and the Executive Head/school/Trust. Apparently total communication breakdown now.

TalkinPeace The Oaklands pool was an interesting read but it seems the council had retained ownership of it. This is the crux of the issue with the school pool, who owns it. It was mostly a fundraising effort, some charitable grants. The school was a VC CofE so it's likely some of the land has always been owned by a diocese, and not necessarily the LA, though it's possible the swimming pool land was LA owned. The community want to know if they can do anything to stop the academy closing it but as the pool was built so long ago (over 25 years ago), there's little in the way of records easily obtainable.

as the pool was built so long ago (over 25 years ago), there's little in the way of records easily obtainable
25 years is nothing.

Is there parish council where you live
their minute books will probably have records
as will the district / county council minutes

This was a school swimming pool built on community raised funds and used by community groups & private hire. There was a lot of local objection to the planned closure.
www.southhunsley.org.uk/news/swimming-pool-judicial-review-outcome

talkinpeace the parish councillor is very reluctant to get involved, there's a lot of community pressure but I can't see the minutes being made readily available! I think perhaps it may take a FOI of some description to get to the bottom of the ownership.

thanks for the link MNSDKHheroines I did some more googling and found that the campaigners found themselves with a £20k legal bill to pay. Something to keep in mind if it does close and the community objects...

Primary
Minutes of the council are a pubic document.
They may not withhold them from you.
If they are at the council office, you can sit and read them
if they have been sent to your county archives, you can just request them from there - no need for FOI

and yes, Judicial Review is VERY expensive and often leads to disappointment