Sikh trust wins bid to take over Khalsa Secondary Academy

A Sikh school in Buckinghamshire is set to come under new management after the regional school’s commissioner announced an “in-principle” decision to transfer Khalsa Secondary Academy (KSA) to the Sikh Academies Trust (SAT).

The decision means that KSA is set to remain a Sikh-ethos school under the management of a Sikh trust. The SAT includes members of the Slough Sikh School Trust which runs nearby Sikh primary school, Khalsa Primary School in Slough, as well as members ofits governing body. It won the bid to take over the school despite competing bids from the Guru Nanak Sikh Multi Academy Trust in Hayes, Slough and East Berkshire Church of England Multi-Academy Trust and The Purslow Group; led by Katie Kennedy, the daughter of a former headteacher of a Catholic school in Slough.

Khalsa Secondary Academy’s current trust, the Khalsa Academies Trust (KAT) was served the notice by the academies minister Baroness Berridge earlier this year, stating that that the funding agreement with the trust will be terminated by the government. School standards body Ofsted rated the academy ‘inadequate’ following a no-notice inspection in December 2019, and raised concerns over child safeguarding. The Education and Skills Funding Agency also separately raised concerns over KAT’s financial management of the school.

The in-principle decision means that KAT will continue to run the academy as SAT undergoes due diligence checks, and it is expected to take over the academy later this year. The SAT also intends to hold a public consultation with parents and stakeholders to offer an opportunity for them to raise concerns and to invite opinions and recommendations.

As part of the takeover, Khalsa Primary School in Slough will have to be transformed into an academy, and the SAT will undergo a consultation with parents and key stakeholders to ensure a positive transition that does not affect the quality of education at KPS.

“This is excellent news for children and parents of KSA who will be delighted that a local Sikh faith Trust with a proven record of success has been selected as the preferred option,” the SAT said in a statement.

“The SAT will be working with Department for Education (DfE), parents and the community to complete all necessary steps to ensure a seamless transition. The SAT will shortly commence due diligence and stakeholder engagement with key stakeholders and the local community, details of which will follow in due course.”

The Khalsa Academies Trust (KAT) has previously said that it would contest the regional school’s commissioner’s decision. In a statement the KAT said that it was “shocked and angered” at the news of its termination notice and that it would “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 parent body at the Atam Academy in East London, a school which is also managed by the KAT, welcomed the decision to transfer KSA from the KAT to the SAT. 

“Under the current executive, KSA’s future was always best served away from Khalsa Academies Trust,” the parent body said in a statement. “In this respect the school has been saved. But here the journey just begins.”