A previous peaceful protest at Holland Park school against plans for it to join a multi-academy trust
(Picture: Tom Fox)The government must immediately intervene in a row at London’s “socialist Eton” after claims that pupils rioted over plans for it to join an academy chain, a council said.
Sarah Newman, head of Children’s Services at Kensington and Chelsea Council said the situation at Holland Park school has escalated to such a level that she wants the department for education to step in.
The bitter dispute broke out after it was announced the school was set to join United Learning, the biggest academy chain in the country.
Some parents and pupils want the school to join forces with nearby Kensington Aldridge Academy instead.
Ms Newman said teachers have expressed no confidence in the governing body and parents are threatening them with legal action.
She said: “Over recent months there have been many reports of problematic and rowdy behaviour of students outside the school…This week a teacher has left the school in tears and more than 200 pupils were involved in a riot to protest against the future plans being made about their school and to express their concern about their teachers.”
The Holland Park School Parent Collective, set up in oppsition to the school joining United Learning, said the incident was not a “riot”.
The group said on its website that a silent student “sit-in” protest was cancelled, but “unfortunately a number of students did not get the message that it had been cancelled…while other students took the opportunity to play up and encourage others to join them, run around, throw water around, miss lessons and be disruptive. For those students who wanted to peacefully protest this was deeply upsetting.”
The group added that “teachers decided to call the police as they were concerned about their ability to manage the number of children running around, however, order was restored quite quickly.”
The school, where alumni include the children of high-profile Labour figures Tony Benn and Roy Jenkins, as well Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has been under scrutiny since claims of a “toxic” working culture and “public shaming” of students were made.
The Government issued it with a financial notice to improve, ordering it to rein in the salaries of its leaders and consider joining a multi-academy chain.
A spokesman for the department for education said: “Holland Park Academy will benefit from the stability and support that a strong multi-academy trust can provide, working alongside the school and its community to prioritise the best interests of the pupils.
“The school’s existing trust board has followed a thorough process and concluded that the best multi-academy trust to support the school’s needs is United Learning.
“They are now undertaking a period of stakeholder engagement led by the board, including with parents, before a formal proposal is submitted to the Department.”
A spokesman for the school said there are “exceptionally serious issues” at the school dating back many years. They include allegations of bullying including favouritism and the public humiliation of staff and students, of serious safeguarding failures, of contentious expenditure, of misleading Ofsted, and of key groups of children being denied the opportunity to attend the school.
The spokesman said these issues led to the appointment of new governors, who ordered an independent investigation which will report soon. He said Kensington and Chelsea Council is also investigating safeguarding concerns while last year the Government issued the school with a Notice to Improve.
He added: “Trustees have identified United Learning as its preferred multi-academy trust provider as they believe it is the strong, expert MAT that will give the school the support it needs. We are aware some parents do not agree with this. There are also many who desperately want action taken.
“The governors’ priority and guiding principle is to make sure the school is again fit for purpose and providing the first-class education that students have a right to expect. It is simply not possible for this to be achieved without significant, long-overdue change. The final decision on the school’s future will be taken by the Government. The Governors will make no final recommendation until after the end of the stakeholder engagement process.”
Referring to “challenges” in recent days, he said “a number of senior staff have been unavoidably out of school. A long-standing issue with the school has been the lack of middle leadership, which would normally step up when senior staff are absent.
“As a result, we have brought in a consortium of experienced external senior capacity this week to make sure the school is well supported in the short term ahead of a longer term resolution.”
Jodi Bartle, who has three children at the school and is a member of the Holland Park School Parent Collective, said: “We certainly want the current Governing Board to go - we have no confidence in them as it is they who have been behind the rushed and un-transparent process to marry us off to United Learning. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has listened to us and is in support of the HPSPC’s aims. RBKC felt the need to escalate to the Department for Education.
“It is, however, an inescapable truth that it was the Department for Education that brought in our current and inept interim Board in the first place.”
She added: “For the most part the school continues to be a successful school owing to our wonderful teachers and great kids and generally excellent framework. The life-force of Holland Park School is a strong one. “
