A PRIMARY school has reacted to claims made by a pressure group that it had voted on its intention to become an academy "in secret" and without consultation.

In a joint letter to parents, signed by head teacher of Kidgate Primary School in Louth Tracey Roberts and chairman of governors Ian Watson, the school responded to the allegations made by the Save Our Schools (SOS) group last week.

The group claimed it discovered that Kidgate had "secretly" voted to express its intention to become an academy at a meeting in January – a move that would have seen the school removed from local authority control.

But in a letter sent to parents, the school said that, as yet, no decision had been made, and that it was "no different" from other schools across the country in discussing academy status.

It read: "There has been recent speculation surrounding whether or not Kidgate will convert into an academy – a Government initiative that is in the public domain and has been for more than two years.

"It should be no surprise to anyone in the whole country that given this Government agenda and the local authority's public stance, that conversion to academy is something being spoken about in every school in the country.

"We are, like the vast majority of other schools, having discussions around whether or not it is in the best interest of the children at Kidgate to take this forward.

"It is unfortunate that we have been forced to publicly share this very early stage of discussions, as this should have been a confidential matter for the governing body and staff.

"If a decision is made to continue along the route to academy status, parents will, of course, be consulted at the right time and in the proper manner, as set out on the Department Of Education website.

"But rest assured, any decision made will be completely based upon improved outcomes for your children."

In response Mr Austin, co-chairman of SOS, said: "This would appear to be more of an exercise in damage limitation due to their hand being forced, than a genuine attempt to engage parents in the debate that we believe is necessary.

"Once again we call on the head teacher and the school's governing body to meet with us to discuss this matter in an open manner.

"A hurried letter in response to their hand being forced is not enough.

"We demand accountability and openness from our schools and we will not be ignored."

Find out more

For more information on the academy movement, visit www.education.gov.uk