Governors at West Kirby’s Calday Grange Grammar School come out fighting over criticism of headteacher’s suspension
GOVERNORS under fire for the year-long suspension of a seriously-ill Merseyside headteacher came out fighting last night.
Since the departure of headmaster Andrew Hall, governors at West Kirby’s Calday Grange Grammar school have been subjected to resignation calls from parents and government concerns over its trust status.
And, just days ago, Ofsted confirmed it will launch a probe into their claims “broken governance” is hitting standards at the top-performing school.
Parents have criticised governors for a lack of information regarding Mr Hall’s absence and their intention to dissolve the school’s trust status – which saw it enlist Liverpool university, Unilever and Maestro Services Ltd as formal partners.
As we revealed, Mr Hall, who suffered heart failure in April, is facing 13 allegations ranging from failure to report a foetus in a jar to being part of a bullying regime in the school.
Last night, the governing body issued a bullish statement stressing it “wishes to reassure parents that all possible is being done to deal with matters as quickly as possible”.
The governors stress, due to a “commitment to confidentiality, we have refrained, to date, from commenting publicly on the coverage” but felt compelled to speak out amid the media coverage which it said “ranges from the deeply speculative to the entirely inaccurate”.
The governors stressed they were not behind delays to a disciplinary hearing scheduled to take place earlier this month to decide Mr Hall’s fate.