Release Date: 24/06/2008
Richmond Council has begun to consult on its plans for turning three of its schools into Academies. Draft documents which begin to outline ideas for Hampton Community College (HCC), Shene School and Whitton School have been sent to all three schools for comment.
The documents have been drawn up by a consultant from the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) on behalf of the Council’s preferred sponsors, Kunskapsskolan and Edutrust, and in line with Richmond’s strategy for transforming its secondary education.
Early next week another consultation will be launched to parents of children in the three schools and also to parents of children currently in feeder primary schools who are likely to go to one of the three Academies in question.
Commenting on the consultation Cllr Malcolm Eady, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services on Richmond Council said:
“This is an important step on the Academies journey. We have now reached the halfway mark in the expression of interest stage. The documents we have produced along with the sponsors and the DCSF sets out our visions for the three schools and how we propose to begin moving forward.
“At this stage the documents are at the draft stage and far from the finished article. If an academies programme is to work out for our schools everyone involved needs to be able to shape the final vision – that is why this consultation is so important.
“The schools will have some valuable input into these documents before they are voted on by the council’s cabinet in September ahead of going to the DCSF for final approval in October.
“I would like to encourage the parents of the pupils who are likely to be affected by these proposals to complete our questionnaire and let us know their views.”