I CONGRATULATE The Northern Echo for bringing the leaked report in respect of the saga of Richmond School to the attention of the public (Echo, Feb 19).
Joe Willis’ accompanying article provides an insight into the mishandling of this matter by North Yorkshire County Council. It is little wonder that this report was not released by the council to the public.
As a non-executive director of a number of companies, and a former chair of school governors in another authority, it almost beggars belief that a warning could be issued to Richmond School governors without any officer of the council actually obtaining their governors’ opinion on the problems at the school. It is quite clear that the council was only interested in the views of their own officers and the managers of the school. It is not surprising that the former chair of governors could not see the point of being a governor in North Yorkshire – who would?
The head of Richmond School obviously considered it OK to enter into partnerships with other schools without having the courtesy to consult governors. Would the elected members of the council be happy for their officers to enter into partnerships with other local authorities without consulting them? I think not.
Finally, why did they ask one of their own officers, Justine Brooksbank, to investigate this catalogue of problems? Surely it would have been better for an independent third party to brought in to conduct an inquiry that has serious implications for the education of children in Richmond.
Is the council going to tell us what advice has been issued to staff to ensure this situation does not happen again?
Paul McGrath, Middlesbrough.
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