Parents left in the dark over absent leadership team at troubled Eldon Primary School

Eldon Primary School. Credit: Blog Preston

A school undergoing academisation after receiving an ‘Inadequate’ rating in an Ofsted report is currently missing its most senior leaders with parents concerned about the lack of communication.

The headteacher and deputy headteacher at Eldon Primary School have been absent since Monday, 28 October, which was the first day back in school after the Autumn half term. It was only yesterday (14 November) that parents received clarification from the school.

Eldon Primary School was rated ‘Inadequate’ in a controversial move – which Ofsted stands by – after a report was published in September.

The report praised several elements of the education provided at the school, which had been ‘Outstanding’ in a previous report, but gave its final rating based on a breakdown in relationship between senior leadership and several parties including some parents and Lancashire County Council.

The governors at that time fiercely defended the school’s leadership, particularly the head and deputy, but they have since been replaced by an Interim Executive Board.

The school is currently in the process of switching from being managed by the local authority – Lancashire County Council – to being the responsibility of an academy – in this instance Star Academies.

But when Blog Preston contacted Lancashire County Council, Eldon Primary School and Star Academies – nobody was able or willing to answer queries about who was currently overseeing the day-to-day running of the school and what plan was in place given the absences.

Blog Preston understands that while Lancashire County Council maintains an overall responsibility until the academisation process in complete – the day-to-day running of the school is being handled by the Interim Executive Board.

Parents told Blog Preston they had no confirmed point of contact in the absence of senior leaders until a message was sent yesterday (14 November).

This read: “The Interim Executive Board would like to thank you all for your patience and support.

“We would like to reassure parents and carers that the children’s safety and learning remains our priority. We are aware that there is absence of senior leaders in the school.

“Additional leadership support is currently being provided by the Board and the Local Authority to cover these absences. We look forward to the Headteacher and Deputy returning to the school, in the interim Miss Armstrong is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and is the first point of contact.”

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.