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No say for parents in choice of headteacher
PARENTS at Pimlico School got their first taste of what life could be like if their school becomes an academy after the proposed sponsors appointed a new head without consulting them.
Jerry Collins, deputy head of Acland Burghley School, Tufnell Park, will take over from Jo Shuter in September if the proposed Pimlico Academy goes ahead. Ms Shuter was appointed interim headteacher of Pimlico after long-standing Philip Barnard resigned when Ofsted inspectors put the school in special measures in December 2006.
Parents, following the academy plan’s approval by schools chiefs in November, were assured the new head would be selected by a panel including a representative of the Pimlico School Association. But the charity Future, owned by venture capitalist John Nash, has excluded them from the process.
Padraic Finn, secretary of Westminster National Union of Teachers, said: “The parents are hopping mad. It is just outrageous. The interim executive board promised that parents would be involved. Normally when a headteacher is appointed he or she would come and meet pupils and teachers and be taken round the school – then there would be interviews.”
Adverts for the position were posted in December, before the academy plan’s approval, sparking outrage with campaigners fighting to keep a community school.
A council spokesman said: “Jerry Collins has been selected as headteacher for Pimlico. He was appointed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the charity Future. Westminster Council was not involved. He will take on a planning role alongside Jo Shuter from Easter.”
Mr Collins was unavailable for comment. |
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