A troubled Sefton school which recently received the lowest possible Ofsted rating for the third time in a row has given an update on plans to become an academy.
Savio Salesian College was found to be ‘inadequate’ following an inspection carried out in 2016 and the school was placed in ‘special measures’.
A further visit to the school, which caters for around 450 children aged 11- 15, in 2019 found that little had changed.
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Following that inspection, the Bootle school was ordered to convert to an academy by the secretary of state for education as it had failed to improve.
At the time, the council said the move would cost it around £700,000 as the local authority would take on the school’s budget deficit.
The school was due to be taken over by Pope Francis Multi Academy trust following the council’s approval of the decision in March 2021.
However, by January of this year, parents were complaining that the date kept being put back.
At the time, the trust said there were a “number of issues” standing in the way of the school’s conversion to an academy, stating it would be able to provide clarity “in due course.”
Now, following a further inspection visit carried out in September, which found the school once again failing its pupils – with “lack of clarity about the school’s future, financial concerns and considerable turbulence in leadership and staff” noted as a key factor – the school have confirmed a new date it could transition to an academy.
Head teacher Tony Costello told the ECHO the school is “on schedule” to join the Pope Francis Multi Academy trust from January 1, 2023.
Mr Costello said: “The last 12 months have been a very important time for our school and our community.
“Crucially, with our many stakeholders, we have been working tirelessly to help shape the future of our school.
“We are on schedule to become part of the Pope Francis Catholic MAT on the 1st January 2023.
“Such processes are challenging, particularly when there are significant conversations about the schools buildings and infrastructure, but we are grateful for the way that all parties have come together to ensure that there is both clarity and certainty about the positive direction the school is moving in.”
However, Mr Costello, who was brought in to run the school following the dire 2016 inspection, said paperwork “has yet to be completed” on the academy conversion.
Mr Costello said: “This does not mean our partnership with the Trust is not already flourishing.”
He added: “Since the Ofsted inspection, we have benefited from the expertise and experience of Trust’s growing school improvement team.
“This has given us the platform to build on the positives that Ofsted noted during their inspection, and has enabled us to address the “considerable turbulence” of the past by giving the senior leadership team much needed stability.”
He said the archdiocese has also committed to a “significant investment” in the school “to ensure the buildings provide a safe and welcoming environment” until such time it is rebuilt.
The school was first opened as the first Catholic grammar school in Bootle in 1966 and last underwent a refurbishment in 1990.
Mr Costello spoke of the positive news earlier this year when the Department for Education announced Savio Salesian College would be one of 61 schools across the country to be rebuilt.
He added: “All this positive change and momentum doesn’t mean, however, that we are overlooking this Ofsted report. Every comment made by the inspectors is being digested, discussed and reviewed – and we will be sharing our action plan with the community when we are able to do so.”
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