News


downsmail.co.uk Newschooldelay rowerupts


APLANto build amuch-needed 1,200-place secondary school inMaidstone has been delayed by a year after a bitterwar ofwords between itsmanagement and the borough council. In a letter to parents from Valley


InvictaAcademies’Trust (VIAT), co- chief executive officerVicAshdown apologises to thosewho had hoped to secure a place at the New Cut Road school next September, blam- ing it on an “impasse”with council- lors. The fate of the application for the


Maidstone School of Science and Technology (MSST) will now rest with a government inspector. The letter states: “We have lost


faith in the ability of the (Maidstone Borough) council to deliver the nec- essary and lawful planning permis- sion in a timely fashion and have referred the matter to the Planning Inspectorate. “We understand that this will


offer little comfort to those of you who were seeking places in 2018, but given the circumstances pre- sented to uswe have been unable to


SCHOOLS in Maidstone are fac- ing amajor shortage of governors – but that has come as no surprise to one education expert in Kent. Figures from Kent County


Council and analysed by the edu- cation charity Governors for Schools shows there are 564 un- filled positions. Maidstone and Tonbridge and


Malling areas are short by 156 – the highest in Kent. Dartford, Gravesham and Sevenoaks are short by 150 and Ashford, Shep- way andDover by 145,whileCan- terbury, Swale and Thanet are all looking for 113. Peter Read, a former teaching


professionalwho runs Kent Inde- pendent Education Advice, said he is “totally unsurprised” by the figures. Mr Read (pictured), himself a


former governor, added: “A lot of governors are not appreciated by


Artist’s impression of the proposed new secondary school in :Maidstone


proceed in any otherway.” In it, the trust claims the council


was looking for contributions to- wards infrastructure totalling about £1m, but states this is “potentially neither reasonable, nor legal”. It says the council failed to com-


municate, deferring decisions be- yond the set deadline of June 2017, while the project received govern- ment backing in May 2015. But councillors say that,while they sup- ported the new school, the appli- cants were unwilling to enter into


School governors shortage ‘unsurprising’


their schools or the wider community. “There is


also a signifi- cant degree of expertise r e q u i r e d which most n o r m a l working peo-


ple do not have the time for. “There is no point in being a


governor to sit around and agree with everything the head teacher does. You have to challenge the head.And I think that is an essen- tial part of accountability, espe- cially in this day and age.” As a governor,Mr Read said he


often had to read documents whichmeasured six inches deep at times. The chief executive of Gover- nors for Schools, Louise Cooper,


Shane’s ideas for arts centre put youngsters centre stage


STAGECOACH’S performing arts centre in Bearsted has a new prin- cipal. Shane Nippard (31) starred in


TheWire, a short filmthatwon the FilmBounty award in 2014. He has appeared in theatre and was fea- tured in Equity Magazine for his part in The TolpuddleMartyrs’ doc- umentary in 2015. Shane promises big things for Stagecoach Bearsted, which re-


14


hearses at InvictaGrammar School inMaidstone. He said: “I’m buzzing with cre-


ative ideas to build a strong syl- labus that I hope will be fun, educational, stimulating and re- warding for the talented children of Bearsted and the surrounding area.” Classes are available for young-


sters from four to 18. For details call 01622 910051.


Maidstone East November 2017 Shane Nippard with young actors fromStagecoachMaidstone East


said: "While many of the head- lines at the moment are around teacher shortages, the problem in recruiting governors is just as acute. "Governors are critical in ensur-


ing that schools are being man- aged efficiently and effectively so that they can deliver excellent ed- ucation." She said becoming a governor is


"incredibly rewarding". But one former Maidstone gov-


ernor said: "LouiseCooper is right about it having its rewards but you have to have the time and there can be a large amount of pa- perwork. "Silly as it sounds, if your panel


meets at 6pm or 6.30pm and you work more than five miles away from the hall, the chances are you'll get stuck inMaidstone traf- fic. That was one of the reasons I gave it up."


negotiations and took the plan to appeal 36 hours before itwas due to be approved by the council’s plan- ning committee.


‘ Themost inflexible


approach I have come across in 20 years on the planning commit- tee..


Cllr Clive English The committee approval would


have included conditions to satisfy issues including school transport provision and traffic congestion. The chairman of Maidstone’s


planning committee,CllrClive Eng- lish, described the approach taken as “the most inflexible I have come across in 20 years on the planning committee”. Cllr English added: “Any reasonable applicant would have waited a day to have the plan considered in the properway. “We were not against the school,


which ismuch needed, but the plan- ning process is about dialogue.” Cllr English says councillors had


wanted to discuss issues including the loss of mature trees, access and design issues, and a contribution to- wards the cost of running school buses, butwere denied the opportu- nity. He added: “It ismy belief that tak-


ing the plan to an inspectorwas seen as a way to avoid consultation and escape conditions and costs ofmeet- ing the needs of the community.” Adetailed submissionwill be sent


to the planning inspector,making a strong case for the borough and county council’s needs to bemet as part of any final approval.


‘


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46