Parents of children at Oxford School will be feeling a great deal of uncertainty about the direction of their youngsters’ education. This week, we report the latest developments in what is becoming an increasingly bitter battle about the school’s future.
The Government has acceded to Oxfordshire County Council’s request for an interim executive board to replace the existing team of governors. That existing team of governors was set up after many of the original board of governors resigned, saying they did not consider it an effective governing body.
We do not doubt the intentions of the most recent set of governors. Our fear, however, was that the school was becoming a political football, particularly between those who see value in an academy and those who do not.
The new board imposed by the county council does include a high degree of professional educational experience. We have two senior county council officers, a well-respected former Oxford headteacher and the former head of governors at the school.
It is, without doubt, a strong group of people well-positioned to advise and help the school as it considers its future governance.
If it is to win the trust of everyone, the new interim executive board will need to display its independence and demonstrate that it is able to listen to and understand the wishes of parents, balance those with what is in the best interests of the children, and be strong in the face of political pressures that will come from all sides.
Not an easy task, but one that will be helped by a period of calm from all.
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