Khalsa Primary School Slough in bid to rescue Khalsa Secondary Academy

The education trust of a Sikh primary school in Slough has launched a bid to come to the aid of a nearby Sikh secondary school after its trust was served a termination notice.

The Khalsa Academies Trust (KAT) was served the notice by the academies minister Baroness Berridge on 4th June 2020. The notice stated that that the funding agreement with the trust will be terminated by the government, with respect to Khalsa Secondary Academy (KSA) in Stoke Poges, South Bucks. The notice requires the school to be transferred to a new trust.

School standards body Ofsted rated the academy ‘inadequate’ following a no-notice inspection in December 2019, and raised concerns over child safeguarding and financial management. The Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) then told the trust to launch an independent review of its finances and appoint trustees that have the correct skills to hold the trust’s executive management team to account.

Despite the Trust taking steps to appoint trustees with experience in education, finances and health, academies minister Berridge has said that the school’s trust still failed to demonstrate it has the knowledge or experience to improve the school.

“I recognise that this letter will be disappointing for the Trust and I hope that the trustees will continue to work closely with officials to ensure the best possible education for all the pupils as the Academy transfers to a new education trust,”she wrote.

In a statement of its own, the KAT, which also runs the Khalsa Secondary Academy in Wolverhampton and Atam Primary and Secondary Academies in East London, said that it was “shocked and angered” at the news.

“We are not sure which Trust they wish to transfer our school to, and remain very concerned about the rationale of this decision,” the statement read.

“We would like to reassure the school parents, staff and students that we will do everything in our power to protect the faith and ethos of the school. We will be considering all options including a legal challenge.”

However, the governors and trustees of Khalsa Primary School (KPS) in Slough have now launched a bid to take over the management of the academy.

They announced that they have had initial conversations with the Regional Schools Commissioner’s (RSC) office and intends to submit an expression of interest and a sponsor application to be considered by the RSC and the Head Teachers’ Board.

“We are writing to provide some reassurance to concerned parents and members of the community at this uncertain time,” KPS’ trustees said in a statement.

They added that many KSA students have transferred from KPS and will be familiar with the quality of education provided, and the emphasis placed upon emotional health and well-being. It noted that KPS was judged to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its own Ofsted report, with no areas for improvement.

“We have a strong background of school improvement and have been recognised as one of the highest performing schools in the Local Authority and the County of Berkshire,” they added.

The trust has been successful in helping a number of schools improve their rating, and possesses award-winning teaching staff. Furthermore, the Sikh ethos of KPS aligns well with KSA and this would be important for students and parents.

“We are aware that the Sikh ethos is important to the students of KSA and their families. As an existing Sikh faith school, the vision and values at KPS are based on the teachings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji and a very important part of our curriculum that underpins all we do.”

“The spiritual aspects of our school are clearly visible to visitors and highly appreciated by our parents and the community.”

The trust added that if its application is successful, it would ensure excellent transition and communication with families and the community to ensure students have the best possible opportunity to succeed.

“We hope that this eases much of the concern around KSA being forced into a non-Sikh trust and that together we can raise standards in both education and governance for the benefit of its children,” the statement concluded.