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News Photos row nursery upgraded


ACHILDREN’S nursery branded inadequate byOfsted because its manager took photos to reassure parents has been upgraded to good.


But the education watchdog has stopped outsourcing inspection contracts following the outcry by parents of children who attend Cherubs pre-school, Linton. Cherubswas rated as outstanding


until inspector Amanda Vidler, from the Tribal Group education support service condemned the nursery’s practice of texting the oc- casional photo to reassure parents their childrenwere happy . Parents leapt to the defence of


owner Cindy Fox, from Bearsted, and a petition set up by parent Chantelle Bourne attracted almost


Academy’s head named


FUTURE Schools Trust has an- nounced the appointment of Is- abelle Linney-Drouet as principal of Cornwallis Academy. Mrs Linney-Drouet joined the school in Lin- ton in Septem- ber last year on an interim basis but has now accepted a permanent contract. Sir Nick


Williams, chief executive of


Future Schools Trust, said: “The governing body agreed it has been extremely impressed by Isabelle’s leadership since she joined in an acting capacity and is delighted to appoint her to the post. “In the six months Isabelle has


been at Cornwallis, she has already made a number of important changes to the running of the school andwe look forward to see- ing her lead the academy towards even greater success.” Mrs Linney-Drouet was previ-


ously vice-principal at Highworth Grammar School, Ashford, where she was responsible for raising the achievement of pupils to outstand- ing levels. She officially relinquished this


post at Easter. Mrs Linney-Drouet said: “I am delighted to accept the permanent role of principal at Cornwallis Academy. “I look forward to continuing the


invaluable relationships with stu- dents, parents and staff, to ensure we achieve only the best possible outcomes.”


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2,500 signatures. The casewas even raised in the House of Commons. Mrs Fox feared she would lose


her funding for September if the classificationwas not lifted, leaving the business facing potential clo- sure.


However, when senior Ofsted in- spector Jo Caswell visited last month, she was happy that the nursery had tightened up proce- dures. She said: “Good improvements


have been made since the last in- spection. Staff fully understand their responsibilities in protecting


children. All legal requirements are met.


“Theweaknesses identified at the


last inspection have been tackled ef- fectively.” The nursery has changed its poli-


cies and no longer takes pictures of the children.However, Mrs Fox has complained to the Ombudsman, about the original classification. She said: “I have no faith in Of-


sted after what has happened. There are schools out there who use webcams and are not being pe- nalised.” Even if the Ombudsman finds in


Mrs Fox’s favour, Ofsted is not obliged to change or remove the contentious report from itswebsite. Her husband Steve said: “We still


feel that no ruleswere broken and if we cannot take and privately share photos with parents there should be a total ban on sharing photographs through social media.” Ms Caswell said it was not possi-


ble to upgrade the pre-school to out- standing because information about the progress of children was still new and senior staff were only just beginning to check that all children learned aswell as each other.


Neighbourhoodwatch chair quits


THE chairman of Maidstone and District NeighbourhoodWatch has resigned. JimWilson (right),whohas been a member of the association for six years and its chairman for the past two and a half, has resigned as chair- man but is remaining a member of the committee. Members have elected Linda Sinclair, from Barm- ing, who was the association secre- tary for nine years, as his successor. The association is still struggling


to attract members to the committee, despite a plea at the lastAGMin No- vember.Although one new member came forward, another one resigned after being involved for 22 years Mr Wilson said: “We really need


some younger blood.We are all get- ting older but not being replaced – and young people nowadays are so very, very busy. The scheme


has been run- ning in Maid- stone since the 1980s, providing crime and safety awareness and advice through- out the borough. There are cur-


rently 485 coordinatorswhodissem- inate information to 14,000 households. The committee has a secretary and treasurer but needs six people in-


Was town ready forWitches? By Dennis Fowle


EASTWICKwas not ready for the raunchy antics of the Devil and three witches.Was Maidstone? Answers will vary widely. Maidstone Amateur Operatic Society, with a proud tradition of bringing popular musicals and light opera to the town, bravely staged the 2000 American show, TheWitches of Eastwick, which tells of the impact of the rampant Devil arriving in a small town and especially on three attractive but frustrated ladies. Their an- tics and language left little to the imagination. It gave a large cast a chance to enjoy a very lively show and the


dance and choral scenes were colourful highlights. The lasting memory, though, is confident performances and voices of the three witches (Lili Westlake, Kathryn Norman and Christina Whitehead) and the power of Ben Smyth as a very unlikeable Devil. The mix of contrived American accents and some strident music


did not always make listening and understanding easy. The society is promising us Sweet Charity on April 3-8, 2017.


Drink driver fined and banned A HOLLINGBOURNE man who was arrested for drink driving has been fined more than £1,000 and banned from driving for 20 months. Callum Melrose (45), from Hollingbourne Hill, was arrested driving an Audi on Hollingbourne Hill on October 31.


He pleaded guilty when he appeared before Mid Kent magistrates after giving a blood test of 184mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg. He was ordered to pay a £1,040 fine, £85 costs and a £1,040 vic- tim surcharge.


cluding a database manager, prod- ucts manager (dealing with pur- chasing and selling) and website manager, all of whom are prepared to give up two hours for meetings once a month. MrWilson, fromPenenden Heath,


said: “Linda is the ideal candidate to fill the position of chairman and she brings with her a unique historical knowledge of the association. She has many contacts with the co-ordi- nators and police representatives.” In a letter to members, he said: “I


thank and acknowledge the support you have given me during my tenure as chairman and sincerely hope that some of you will consider becoming committee members.”


Charity jump


A RETIRED builder from Shepway is to undertake a 111m bungee jump for charity.


Ray Taylor (75) will jump from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for the Heart of Kent Hospice, which cared for his wife Mary dur- ing the last weeks of her life. The couple would have cele- brated 50 years of


marriage in November. Ray is halfway to his £10,000 tar- get for the Aylesford hospice. He said: “I want to give something back to those who cared so wonderfully for my wife.”


The pensioner, from Shropshire


Terrace, thanked his friend Michael Lawrence, from Bearsted, for his support and Leroy Tomlin, from Maidstone, who will fly with him to Zimbabwe on September 5. Ray will pay for the trip himself to ensure every penny raised goes to the hospice. To sponsor him go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/Ray- Taylor.


Maidstone East April 2016 37


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