Plans to convert a Merseyside school with a ‘bad rep’ into an academy have been hit with a series of delays.
After a series of inspections highlighting failures at Savio Salesian College, an order was made by the secretary of state to convert it into an academy, an order which was given approval by Sefton Council in March 2021.
The school, on Netherton Way in Bootle, received the lowest possible rating by Ofsted inspectors twice in a row after being first rated ‘inadequate’ in October 2016.
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Savio Salesian College was then placed into special measures and given an extensive list of improvements that had to be made.
Yet in March 2019, a further Ofsted inspection report suggested things had gone from bad to worse at the school.
In March 2021, Sefton Council approved the school's conversion into an academy – a move which a council report said would cost the authority around £700,000.
However, one parent said that the school has put back the date of conversion several times since that approval was granted, with Savio Salesian College remaining under local authority control.
In a letter seen by the ECHO and sent to parents earlier this year, the then interim CEO of Pope Francis Multi Academy trust, which also runs St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy in Prescot said: “You will all be aware that Savio Salesian College is due to convert into an academy and become part of the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust.
“It is our aim to secure the very best for your school, the adults that work within it, the students that attend and the families that have chosen Savio as a school for their children.
“We are fully committed to safeguarding the future of Catholic education in Bootle.
“The Trust has applied to the Department for Education for a range of different funding stream to allow us to make the necessary improvements to the school, one of our requests has been for significant funding for necessary improvements in the buildings. I am sure you will agree that this is much needed.
“In order to allow the necessary representation to be made to the Department for Education and then to allow time for the decision-making and any subsequent liaison between the Department and the Trust, we will unfortunately need to delay the conversion of Savio Salesian College.
“The date for the conversion was 1st June 2021 and now we will be working towards a new date of 1st September 2021. This delay will be beneficial for all involved.”
However, although that proposed date for conversion passed, the school has yet to become an academy.
The ECHO contacted Salvo Salesian College for an update and explanation as to the further delays and received a response from the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust saying that due to a “number of issues” the trust does not yet have a confirmed date for when the school will convert.
Interim CEO of the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust, Andrew Dawson, said: “Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust and Savio Salesian College are keen to work together to enable Savio to become part of the multi academy trust family.
“The journey towards any school becoming part of a multi academy trust is as individual as each school, and there are always a number of issues that need to be addressed.
“The school and the Trust are working with external partners to move this forward and will be able to provide clarity about timescales in due course. “
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