Questions in Parliament about South Bank academy trust

York Central MP Rachael Maskell claimed, in a question to Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt last Thursday, that the leadership of York’s South Bank multi academy trust (MAT) was ‘impossible to hold to account’.

She also claimed that children at South Bank schools were experiencing ‘significant harm, school refusal, and an escalation in their own mental wellbeing’ as a result of decisions made by the trust’s leadership.

Ms Maskell’s intervention followed a public meeting called by Micklegate ward councillors on November 30 to discuss concerns over the way the trust was being run.

That in turn followed the mass resignation of the board of governors at Scarcroft Primary School earlier this year in a row over changes to terms and conditions for teaching assistants at the trust, to which Scarcroft belongs.

The trust declined an invitation to attend the November 30 public meeting, saying it had ‘caused distress to colleagues’.

But it has issued a statement strongly repudiating Ms Maskell’s claims made in Parliament - and challenging her to provide the trust with details of children she believes are at risk.

“We are very concerned that Ms Maskell has stated in The Press that children are ‘experiencing significant harm…and an escalation in their own mental wellbeing’ while details of these allegations have not been provided to the schools or the Trust,” a spokesperson said.

“We have asked that Ms Maskell informs us urgently of the names of children who she is asserting are unsafe.”

In her question to Ms Mordaunt, Ms Maskell called for an ‘urgent debate’ about holding the leadership of multi academy trusts to account.

She continued: "It seems that multi academy trust leaders are not accountable for their actions and are impossible to hold to account, not least at South Bank MAT where children are experiencing significant harm, school refusal, and an escalation in their own mental wellbeing.”

In a statement released afterwards, Ms Maskell said her question had followed ‘significant concerns raised by a large number of parents'.

She said: "I have had many concerned parents writing to me to share their deeply worrying stories about the impact on their children's health, wellbeing and education, through the decisions being made by the leadership of the South Bank Multi Academy Trust.

“I have heard about the impact the newly imposed punitive and disciplinary policies have had on children's day to day lives in school; I have been told of how the cuts and subsequent loss of trusted Teaching Assistants at the schools has impacted on neurodivergent children. Something urgently needs to change.

"I know there are fantastic staff in the South Bank MAT schools. (But) the Trust leadership needs to understand that children are suffering, parents are worried, and the community has lost trust in the trust.”

But in a strongly-worded statement, the academy trust said Ms Maskell had made claims that were ‘simply untrue’. “Each school within our Trust has its own behaviour policy and its own system for managing behaviour, which are designed to support all children to learn and thrive,” a spokesperson said.

“Such policies are not ‘punitive’, they do not cause harm, nor are they mandated centrally; our behaviour policies are very carefully considered by school leaders and are approved by our schools’ local governing bodies.

“We are concerned that Ms Maskell’s comments may adversely affect the wellbeing and morale of our wonderful colleagues and distract from their key purpose in educating our children.

“The Trust has not cut the number of teaching assistants. In fact, the provision for our most vulnerable pupils has improved significantly over the last 18 months. Staff in our schools are justly proud of the support offered to all children, including neurodiverse children and those with special educational needs.

“The Trust has in place clear processes for parents and carers to raise concerns. We are always very willing to engage with any parents who have genuine and specific concerns to share with us, however it is imperative that they raise these via the appropriate channels - directly with their child’s school.”

Here is the South Bank Multi Academy Trust's statement in full:

​“South Bank MAT, like all MATs, is held to account and very much welcomes a wealth of scrutiny from Ofsted, the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, as well as internal and external audits and significant scrutiny from our committed Trust Board.

"Our governance arrangements are in line with the requirements of the DfE and our articles of association.

“Over the last week Ms Maskell has made assertions about our Trust which are simply untrue.

"Our Trust and our schools do not apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Each school within our Trust has its own Behaviour Policy and its own system for managing behaviour, which are designed to support all children to learn and thrive while at school.

"Such policies are not “punitive”, they do not cause harm, nor are they mandated centrally; in fact, our behaviour policies are very carefully considered by our committed and experienced school leaders and are approved by our schools’ local governing bodies, all of which include parent governors.

“We are concerned that Ms Maskell’s comments may adversely affect the wellbeing and morale of our wonderful colleagues and distract from their key purpose in educating our children. This is particularly concerning in the midst of a teacher recruitment crisis.

“As we have reiterated on numerous occasions since the support staff consultation concluded in January 2023, the Trust has not cut the number of teaching assistants. In fact, the provision for our most vulnerable pupils has improved significantly across the Trust over the last 18 months.

"Staff in our schools are justly proud of the support offered to all children, including neurodiverse children and those with special educational needs. Our Ofsted reports confirm that our provision is not as Ms Maskell describes.

“All staff members, leaders and schools together make up our family of schools and we all work together for the benefit of our children. “The MAT” is not a separate entity; we are all “the MAT” and so when Ms Maskell makes statements which are not reflective of the reality of the wonderful things which happen in our schools, this is extremely saddening for us all.

“We are very concerned that Ms Maskell has stated in the press that children are “experiencing significant harm…and an escalation in their own mental wellbeing” while details of these allegations have not been provided to the schools or the Trust. We have asked that Ms Maskell informs us urgently of the names of children who she is asserting are unsafe so that we are able to take immediate action in line with our safeguarding procedures.

“The Trust has in place clear processes for parents and carers to raise concerns and complaints relating to their children. The Trust is unable to resolve such matters when they are raised in public forums. We are always very willing to engage with any parents who have genuine and specific concerns to share with us, however it is imperative that they raise these via the appropriate channels - directly with their child’s school.”