OPEN LETTER - "It appears that Lodge Park is now being dragged down to rock bottom"

Leading Corby Town Council members have expressed their concern over serious issues at the school that have left staff considering industrial action. They have shared their open letter with this newspaper in the hope that the trust will take immediate action to improve the school for local children.

Dear Mr Burns CEO

We write this letter, as local Councillors, with deep disappointment in response to the recent news that the current principal of Lodge Park Academy is set to exit from their position this summer and you will now shockingly appoint for the tenth principal within twelve years.

Lodge Park Academy has served thousands of residents of Corby and the surrounding areas during its existence and many of those people hold fond memories of their time spent there. Lodge Park was a school of choice for many years and was a highly regarded establishment whereby students were able to achieve their potential and leave prepared for their next stages in life. Lodge Park was also a place whereby staff chose to work and felt proud to belong to this organisation. It is saddening to learn of the current unsafe and unorganised arrangements within the academy, which have been apparent for some time, and the detrimental impact to which these have upon the community of this academy.

We are extremely concerned to hear that yet another Principal is set to be appointed during, what continues to be, a turbulent period for staff and students alike. Reading the information shared by staff members with the Northants Telegraph, it is clear that there are huge levels of unrest and uncertainty amongst the staffing body with high turnover rates and staff reporting of unsafe conditions in light of escalating behaviour concerns. You, the David Ross Education Trust, share that you have robust plans in place to ensure that these ongoing concerns are addressed and we, along with the parents and carers of your academy community, would be keen to learn more of these plans as a priority.

At the heart of all of these ongoing changes are the students of this academy and the children of Corby whom have been subject to prolonged periods of disappointment, distrust and disarray. As an Education Trust with its mission to Broaden the Horizons of young people, it leads us to question how you are currently considering your duty of care to your students (and staff) to ensure how you plan to provide them with a world-class education when Principals, teachers and staff regularly leave; when working conditions are unsafe and disorderly; and when students and families report of their lack of trust in your decisions and ongoing failures as a trust.

Many of us hold personal connections to Lodge Park, including Cllr Reilly who was a pupil from 2006 to 2013 and Cllr Pengelly whose daughter attended from 2008 to 2015. Lodge Park previously had a strong reputation for its community; its culture of care; and its environment for promoting inclusivity, aspiration and success. It appears that this academy is now being dragged down to rock bottom and at the core of this remains its pupils and its staff, of whom your trust is accountable to.

On behalf of the people of Corby, we strongly urge you to give the families of Lodge Park Academy the time and information that they deserve in order to understand the future plans for this academy and how their children’s education and wellbeing can be safeguarded. We also call upon you to work with the staffing body, many of whom have dedicated years of their life to this establishment, to truly understand and comprehend their growing concerns.

We wait with anticipation to your response in updating us on the progress of your plans.

Cllr Callum Reilly, Cllr Mark Pengelly, Cllr Ray Beeby, Cllr Willie Colquhoun, Cllr Lyn Buckingham

Corby Town Council (Lloyds Ward)

In response to the open letter, a DRET spokeswoman said: “We have responded to local councillors to thank them for writing to us and to suggest an in-person meeting to discuss the points they raise.

“It is worth noting that the most recent Ofsted inspection from January 2024 graded the quality of education as “good” for the very first time in Lodge Park’s history. Leadership and management, personal development and the sixth form were also graded as “good”.

“Behaviour and attitudes were graded as “requires improvement”, and we know there is more to be done here. However, under the leadership of highly experienced, successful and committed Sue Jones, our Executive Principal, we are also starting to see some important improvements, including for instance, reductions in the number of children arriving late for school (down 43%), truancy (down by 62%), children being removed from lessons for poor behaviour (down 37%) and – critically – suspensions down by 46%. We are deeply grateful for the work of our passionate colleagues and the support of many parents which has helped significantly in achieving this.

“We have also seen the first significant improvement in the exam results with the release of government data in 2023/24 showing a 30% improvement in our progress measure - this equates to a quarter of a grade improvement in every subject for every student, or two grades improvement over an average 8 subject curriculum. Again, we aim to improve this further in the coming years and as a trust, provide extensive additional support and expertise from colleagues who, like all of us, care deeply about the success of Lodge Park.

“More broadly, the support and hard work of all who work in our schools has seen us move over the past few years to a position where 31 of our 34 schools are now graded Good or Outstanding and a total of 156 out of 160 individual judgements being Good or Outstanding. Against this backdrop, we are determined to improve of Lodge Park’s current position with four of the five judgements being “good” to a clean sweep of “good” or better.

“Since 2019, we have had two principals or heads of schools, both of whom have been supported by executive leaders. We value stability and are determined to develop and build a highly performing senior leadership team, working under Sue.

“Everyone at the David Ross Education Trust is totally committed to Lodge Park becoming a school of which the whole community can be proud. We have invested over £500,000 in sporting, learning and welfare facilities and will be doing all we can, in a time of decreased funding, to raise more for the benefit of the school. Moreover, the young people of Lodge Park have benefitted from hundreds of thousands of pounds of additional investment (beyond the government grants) in their extra-curricular activities, particularly music, sport and the cadet force programmes, thanks to our trust’s fund-raising activities, donations and the huge generosity of our sponsor, the Ross Foundation.

“We very much hope the councillors will take up our invitation to visit Lodge Park and to see first-hand the work that our fantastic team is leading day to day.”