PARENTS of pupils at a troubled primary school are demanding answers from education chiefs about how it is going to be managed in future.

The governing body at Sacriston Primary School, near Chester-le-Street, was replaced earlier in the year and headteacher Lesley Farnaby recently retired.

The Friends of Sacriston Primary School has been formed by concerned parents in response to the changes at the school.

One parent, Andrew Brown, said: “We are looking for answers but neither the council nor the people they have put in charge of our school will speak with us.

“People making decisions refuse to discuss matters and parents are naturally distressed.”

Sacriston Primary School was formed on September 1, 2014, from the merger of Sacriston Nursery and Infant School and Sacriston Junior School.

In spring, Regional Schools Commissioner for North of England Janet Renou replaced the governors with an interim executive body (IEB), but Miss Farnaby remained in place until the start of the new school year.

Concerned parent Christina Shields said: “After less than 18 months of Miss Farnaby’s leadership, when we were already seeing huge improvements at the junior school, suddenly we find that the council have pulled the rug from under our feet and there is an anonymous IEB in charge.

“We have been given no information from the local authority or the IEB about the criteria on which these decisions were made, and I feel both disappointed and let down.”

The group is calling on Durham County Council, the local education authority, to keep them informed about what is being done to stabilise the management of the school.

Eric Metcalfe, a former school governor, said: “Parents simply want answers and are obviously distressed about their children when they have no idea who is running their school.”

Wayne Hubble, who has three children at the school, said: “We only want people to communicate with parents and to have access to the truth.”

Parents are planning to present cards, flowers and children’s drawings to Miss Farnaby as a way of showing their appreciation for her 31 years of service to the school and the local community.

Caroline O’Neill, the council’s head of education, said: “We continue to work with the Interim Executive Board as they look to appoint a new headteacher.

“A letter will be going home to parents updating them on the current situation.”