We are concerned about the lack of transparency and community involvement in the current arrangements between Coast and Vale Learning Trust and Delta Academy Trust.
On 30th March, ‘Schools Week’, a national, specialist publication, ran an article stating that Coast and Vale Trust would merge with Delta.
The article contains quotes from representatives of both organisations talking openly about the planned merger.
Not until 19th April was any communication about Delta’s involvement in the Trust sent to parents and carers of Coast and Vale schools. Both this and the press release from the Trust at the same time spoke of ‘collaboration’ between the Trusts but made no mention of the merger they were happy to discuss with the press weeks earlier.
The letter to parents from the (now shared) CEO promised an opportunity to meet with him at each school ‘in the coming weeks’. Schools have now closed for the summer, nine weeks later, and no such meetings have taken place.
We know of parents who have made repeated attempts to contact the Trust about this matter but without any response.
It would seem that the Trust are unwilling to be open with parents, carers and the wider community about what is happening here.
The plan is for Coast and Vale to merge into Delta Trust.
We believe there are many people who would be interested in knowing this plan and understanding its implications. Different Trusts operate very differently and parents and carers in particular may be interested to look into Delta’s record in other places.
Trust mergers may be inevitable, however schools and their governance structures are there to serve their communities.
We believe that the Trust should be engaging with much greater transparency with parents, carers and the wider community on decisions such as these and considering whether Delta Trust is the very best option for our children.
If other people have concerns about this matter, they should contact Coast and Vale Trust Chair John Riby whose contact details are Coast and Vale Learning Trust, Fieldstead Crescent, Scarborough YO12 6TH, or contact their local school’s Governing Bodies whose contact details can be found at https://www.coastandvale.academy/governance-of-our-trust/our-schools-governing-bodies/
A group of concerned parents