Academy bosses running a Sikh free school have said they will look at mounting a legal challenge against a decision to hand the school to another trust following a damning Ofsted verdict.

Khalsa Secondary Academy, in Buckinghamshire, was rated “good” until last December, when inspectors heavily criticised safeguarding failures, insufficient provision for students with special educational needs and disabilities, and a narrow curriculum, with children starting on GCSE work in Year 7.

As a result, the school - run by the Khalsa Academies Trust - saw its rating downgraded to “inadequate”.

On the basis of this Ofsted inspection, the trust received a termination warning notice from Dame Kate Dethridge, interim regional schools commissioner for North-West London and South Central England, dated 18 February.

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The letter threatened to withdraw the trust’s funding agreement in respect of Khalsa Secondary Academy, and gave it until 10 March to submit “written representations”.

Now, a letter from education minister Baroness Elizabeth Berridge, dated 4 June and published today, informs the trust that the funding agreement is being withdrawn and the school will be moved to another trust.

Academy trust vows to protect ‘faith and ethos’ of school

According to the letter, the regional schools commissioner is of the opinion that the representations offered by the trust:

• “Fail to demonstrate that the trustees have a robust understanding of the role and responsibilites of the central leadership team, in particular the chief executive officer (CEO), in an education trust.”
• “Lack evidence of the trust holding the central leadership team, in particular the CEO, to account for the performance of academies in the trust, the safety of children and the inadequate Ofsted inspection at the academy.”
• “Fail to demonstrate oversight of safeguarding by the central leadership team despite the need for this being raised in the Ofsted report.”
• “Lack focus and detail in relation to the improvement of provision for children with SEND.”
• “Fail to demonstrate that the trust has the necessary experience or knowledge to improve a failing school”, and
• “Fails to demonstrate how teachers are going to become better at teaching reading.”

The letter adds: “I do not believe, as you allege in your letter to me of 24 May 2020, that the regional schools commissioner has allowed any coordinated correspondence from religious groups to influence her recommendation.”

Baroness Berridge writes: “I hope that the trustees will continue to work closely with officials to ensure the best possible education for all the pupils as the academy transfers to a new education trust. The strong preference of the department is for the academy to transfer to a strong performing sponsor that will respect the Sikh ethos of the school.”

Responding to the news in a letter to parents posted on the school’s website today, trust chairman Shaminder Kaur Rayatt and chief executive officer Nick Singh Kandola write that they are “shocked and angered” at “news from the Department for Education where they have stated their intention to transfer Khalsa Secondary Academy to another trust”.

The letter continues: “We are not sure which trust they wish to transfer our school to, and remain very concerned about the rationale of this decision.

“We would like to reassure parents, staff and students that we will do everything in our power to protect the faith and ethos of the school. We will be considering all options, including a legal challenge.”

An independent review of governance, undertaken by the Confederation of School Trusts, had “praised the progress that the school and trust is making”, the letter says.

It adds: “We have tried very hard to convince the DfE to postpone their decision until Ofsted’s next visit to the school, as we are confident that they will rate it as a ‘good’ school. We also find it distressing that the DfE has chosen to ignore the positive findings of the independent review, something that they recommended.”

The academy trust currently runs three secondary schools; the other two are based in East London and Wolverhampton.

In a separate letter to parents today, Khalsa Secondary Academy’s headteacher, Chris Drew, writes: “Today, the regional schools commissioner’s office made it known that Khalsa Secondary Academy is going to be taken from Khalsa Academies Trust (KAT) and be handed to a new, as yet unnamed and unknown, trust.

“I must tell you that I am extremely disappointed and greatly concerned by this decision, as since my arrival as headteacher in February, I have been nothing but extremely impressed by the genuine commitment and determination of the trust to ensure the students of Khalsa have the very best educational experience.”

Since Ofsted’s inspection, there has been “huge progress” in areas including safeguarding, special educational needs, the quality of teaching and learning, and curriculum design, he writes.