Primary may join academies' trust

CONSULTATION . . . Medlock Valley School could join the Pinnacle Learning Trust

A PRIMARY school in Fitton Hill is considering joining the new multi-academy trust set up by Hathershaw College and Oldham Sixth Form College.

Medlock Valley, in Deanshut Road, is consulting parents on plans to join The Pinnacle Learning Trust which is due to start operating in September.

The school was judged to be "good" in its last Ofsted report in 2014, when the inspectors praised improvements in pupils' reading, writing and maths.

They also said most pupils made good progress and reached the expected levels for their age by the time they left school.

Consultation letters were sent to parents on Friday and the governors will make a decision by the end of term. If approved, the school could join the trust in January.

It would no longer be a local authority school, with the multi-academy trust owning the land and the building.

However, head teacher Linda Zrada said: "This is not a done deal. It is a genuine consultation.

"We already have a strong relationship with Hathershaw and other schools. Partnership working is the way forward as the support from local authorities has declined due to their lack of resources.

"We need that traditional support from somewhere else, particularly in staff training and development which is something the local authority has struggled with.

"I am not decrying the local authority. We have always had a good relationship with them but they have found it hard to do that."

Staff and governors have been talking with Hathershaw and the sixth form college since last year.

Mrs Zrada added: "We have a lot of information and we now need to work out what we are going to do. It's about getting the best for the school.

"The picture on academies nationally is mixed. It is not a fix for anything and it is not automatically going to make the school better but it isn't going to change anything either.

"We have been reassured by Hathershaw and the sixth from college that we will keep our governing body and our identity."

Jayne Clarke, Oldham Sixth Form College principal, said they are keen for the multi-academy trust to encompass all phases of education and they have had talks with local primary schools."