Emergency board takes over governance at Whitby School
An emergency governing board has been appointed at Whitby School after intervention by North Yorkshire Council and approval from the Department for Education.
Parents were informed this week that an Interim Executive Board (IEB) had been established with immediate effect following the council’s use of its statutory intervention powers and the issuing of a warning notice to the school’s governing board on September 21.
In a letter to parents dated November 4, the school said the move followed approval by the Department for Education’s regional director and was designed to help drive “rapid and sustainable improvement” at the school.
The letter states that the IEB will assume the full responsibilities of the governing board and work alongside school leaders to provide “strategic oversight, challenge and support”.
It added: “Working alongside school leaders and staff, the Interim Executive Board will focus on ensuring rapid and sustainable improvement.”
An Interim Executive Board is a temporary governing body that can be introduced when a school is judged to require significant improvement. It replaces the existing governing board and is intended to accelerate change and raise standards.
The reasons behind the council’s warning notice have not been disclosed in the letter to parents.
The board’s chair will be Nick Hinchliffe, principal of Selby High School. Other members include Richard Adams, an education programme specialist at Anglo American; Darren Holmes, chief executive of Enquire Learning Trust; Marianne Best of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council; and Louise Bell, head of learning and development at North Yorkshire Council. The letter is shown in the document provided by the school.
The school said all members had substantial experience in school leadership, governance and improvement and had been selected for the expertise they could bring to the school’s improvement journey.
The letter also thanked former governors for their service, including Jane Mortimer, and acknowledged Councillor Phil Trumper, who stepped in as chair following the resignations of the previous chair and vice-chair at the beginning of the current school year.
It states that his leadership had helped maintain continuity during a challenging period.
North Yorkshire Council was contacted for comment on the reasons for the intervention but had not responded by the time of publication.
The head of Whitby School, Julie Caddell, declined to comment.