'Conned' parents demand school probe

CLOSING . . . Collective Spirit Free School in Chadderton

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FRUSTRATED parents whose children attended the failed Collective Spirit Free School are demanding answers.

They want to know what went wrong after it was announced that the Chadderton secondary, which has 210 pupils, is to close at the end of term after only four years.

Parents are calling for those who set up and ran the school to be held responsible, and for their questions about the school's financial conduct to be answered. They also want more to be done to find places at good schools for their children.

A Facebook group for parents and staff has organised a meeting at Crossley Community Centre, Denton Lane, Chadderton, from 6.30 to 9.30 tonight.

Local MPs, councillors and education officers have been invited. The group has also written to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asking for support.

Daood Akram, who has a child in Year 7 at Collective Spirit and is co-chairing the meeting, said: "We want a full and frank investigation into what has happened there.

"We are also asking for a wider choice of school places to be offered. Initially it was only one school which was offered in Oldham, now it's three, but none of the schools we are being offered are outstanding."

Introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, free schools are set up by parents, charities and other groups. They are state-funded, but independent from local authority control and aim to give parents more choice.

Last year, a damning Ofsted report rated Collective Spirit as "inadequate" and placed it in special measures.

Collective Spirit Multi-Academy Trust, which ran the school, was disbanded in May and a new board was brought in by national and regional education chiefs. It was announced at the end of June that the school was to close.

Vicki Taylor, whose daughter is in Year 7, said parents had been "conned".

"We chose the school because of what they were offering," she said. "They said it was going to be like Hulme Grammar without the cost.

"I am glad the school is closing and I want a public inquiry about what has happened."

Intensive

A council spokesman confirmed officers had written to every parent affected and spoken to many of them to outline their options.

Each pupil has been guaranteed a place at the Oasis Academy Oldham, which has said it will run intensive catch-up sessions.

Places are available at other schools in Oldham But some parents have told the Chronicle they feel they are being forced to accept Oasis and do not want their child to go there.

Mrs Taylor said: "The majority of parents believe the children, because they have been let down, should be able to choose a school."

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for education and early years, backed the decision to close the school.

She said: "As soon as we heard about the closure we contacted parents and started allocating their children places at schools, with many choosing to take up Oasis Academy Oldham's offer of a place.

"Parents have been informed they do have choices - their children do not have to go to Oasis."

At Wednesday's full council meeting, she added: "Often when things go wrong it's always the council's fault. It's important to point out we did not open the school and we are not closing the school next week.

"We have got a lot of families panicking, angry and deeply concerned about where their children will go in September."

Martin Shevill, the new Collective Spirit Trust Board chairman, added: "Oasis Academy should be praised for its willingness to open its doors to keep friendship groups together and give Collective Spirit's students the opportunity to study the same options and courses."