New: Traditionalist academy trust with multiple layers of management seeks new curriculum director on up to £100k educationuncovered.co.uk/news/164486/tr… An update on the multiple controversies facing Astrea Academy Trust.

The Sheffield-based trust, which has 26 schools including nine secondaries, is seeking a new director of curriculum and assessment (secondary), on £88-£102k. But sources close to its schools are concerned about tight budgets on the ground.

Earlier this week, the Cambridge News reported NEU concerns at Astrea's St Ivo Academy, in Cambridgeshire, about cuts to creative subjects, the union saying such change had been implemented without consultation. cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge… NASUWT also has concerns re centralisation.

As I reported in March, St Ivo appears to have at least four layers of management above the level of the school, with a CEO, a secondary director of education, a regional director (secondary) for the trust, and a “trust executive principal”. So this would appear to be another.

This piece includes a brief comparison with LA spending on administration/oversight. Lancashire, England’s largest LA with nearly ten times as many pupils as Astrea, had only one official paid £100k+ last year.

Content of the curriculum director’s work will also be contentious, eg in emphasising teaching “booklets” to be used in lessons, which staff sources said are overly “scripted”, but which some on here have defended as routine.

Astrea told me in response that: “Everything we do at Astrea is focused on our goal of a brilliant education for every child, and a central tenet of that is having an excellent, knowledge-rich curriculum that teaches the best that has been thought and said.”

I also asked Astrea for the evidence base behind particular teaching techniques in Teach Like a Champion, which this trust emphasises. There was no response.

Why are Astrea Academy Trust making staff redundant, for example the medical officer at St Ivo Academy who had a huge role in pupil care, whilst creating and funding all these new senior posts with huge salaries. #Education #EdChat #SchoolNurse

@antiacademies Warwick Mansell This is really interesting data and I wonder how Gillian Keegan is going to justify the #conservatives continued push towards #academisation. Despite the growing evidence that the system is not only failing, but also being used as a private piggy bank for greedy people 🫣

@StephFlowerEdu @antiacademies Centralisation and standardisation certainly coming through as increasingly an issue.

St Ivo Academy is the only secondary school in St Ives. Parents should want to send their children there, and their children should want to go. However, due Astrea Academy Trust's "new form time, SLANT, morning address and new behaviour policy." and more... they currently don't.

Does Astrea Academy Trust have a trust-wide problem of giving detentions for minor things? Sheffield Academy criticised by Ofsted. Our research shows it has a negative impact on feelings of safety and wellbeing as well as damaging teacher trust #edutwitter thestar.co.uk/education/astr…

Time Ofsted took a proper interest in this and treated Zero Tolerance as a safeguarding issue - which they are hinting at but are clearly scared to follow though.

"No nurse on site. How does it work? Is there a first aider? Do they have to leave their class? How long for that staff member to get to the sick/injured child? And MORE pressure is put on already stretched teachers. How much more can Astrea Academy Trust squeeze out of them too?"

@antiacademies Mark Boylan

Family of school caretaker says she was bullied by academy #Croydon ⁦@antiacademies⁩ ⁦Warwick Mansell⁩ ⁦Rachael⁩ ⁦Fiona Millar⁩ insidecroydon.com/2023/06/02/fam…

"We urge you to provide clear info on what selection criteria is being applied, for which potential sponsors, and how judgement will be reached." In a letter to DfE King Edward VII School parents effectively asking questions for an entire system here. tes.com/magazine/news/…

Teachers really don’t want to have to strike in July, but this timeline shows that they have been given no choice. Gillian Keegan needs to do her job and negotiate so that we can save the education system in this country. Please share! National Education Union #DoYourJobGill #PayUp