Schools trust could lose control of Tendring College

Tendring Technology College, which has 1,829 students across campuses in both Thorpe-le-Soken and Frinton, was rated inadequate by Ofsted earlier this month.

The inspection, which took place over three days from November 9 last year, came just months after unhappy teachers, staff and parents went on strike.

The Academies Enterprise Trust, which runs Tendring Technology College, has now been officially served with a termination warning.

Due to the Ofsted inspectors’ damning report, this means any funding agreement in place could be terminated by the Secretary of State for Education.

As a result, the trust may no longer be permitted to run the school, something which angry parents have been fighting for since last year.

The notice was issued by Sue Baldwin, regional schools commissioner for East of England and North East London.

She said: “As regional schools commissioner, I need to be satisfied the trust has capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement at the academy.

“If I am not satisfied this can be achieved, I will consider whether to terminate the funding agreement in order to transfer the academy to an alternative academy trust.

“In making the decision on whether to terminate the funding agreement I will consider any written representations you wish to make by March 28.”

The stern caution follows a concerning condemnation from Ofsted examiners whose findings highlighted a catalogue of shortcomings.

Among other issues, the report suggested pupils felt their concerns regarding bullying and homophobia were not taken seriously.

Female students told inspectors not enough is done to prevent boys from using abusive language towards them or acting in an over-sexualised manner.

The inspectorate was also concerned about pupils’ behaviour in and out of lessons and the safety of pupils and staff.

READ MORE: Tendring Technology College rated 'Inadequate' by Ofsted

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A spokeswoman for the Academies Enterprise Trust said: “We appreciate that issuing a Termination Warning Notice is part of a process that typically follows an Inadequate judgement by Ofsted.

"We welcome the increased level of monitoring from the Department for Education to make sure we are making the changes that need to be made, and doing it quickly.

“Everyone at AET is committed to ensuring that TTC, once again, becomes the excellent school that local families deserve.

"Whilst the accountability we have to the Department for Education is important, nothing matters more than our accountability to our parents and families and we look forward to building a closer and more constructive relationship with them over the coming weeks and months.”