Having read what Mr Hutton was reported to have said in the Evening Mail we come to the conclusions below. Mr Hutton either has no idea of what goes on in his ‘wonderful academy’ or is a bare faced liar! We will give the true reasons for academies and the reasons they fail your kids in future. 1) Douggie is on a minimum £135k, not £100k, which is higher by around double the income of the average earnings in the area. Quite a big difference to you or me but clearly not Hutton! This is assuming the academy goes in to special measures! If it doesn’t he will get a £60k bonus on top! How is that for a good bonus? Do your job and get £60k but if you fail you still get £2,500 a week! Not bad for those that can get it! 2) No mention is made of the fact that a ‘super head’ is already being drafted in to ‘guide’ the current management along and prevent the school from totally failing. Everyone on the inside that we have spoken to, although now supposedly gagged from speaking their minds under threat of losing their jobs, has told us what an absolute shambles the place is in. It may appear serene from the outside with quotes like Hutton’s but the truth is pandemonium on the inside. A friend who works in a doctors surgery in town has said ‘you would not believe how many people from that place come here because of stress’ 3) It is being run totally illegally under the duty of care rules and if OFSTED went in last week or goes in next week it would immediately be in special measure, if they actually do their job properly* (see below). As we have stated previously we tested the academy when we had some parents ring in to the school and it failed on every call by not having the whereabouts of the children in its’ care. Since then we have heard of many more horror stories about the failures both to parents and pupils. I know from experience that if my child does not arrive at school I will be contacted by around 9:30 to ask why they are not there, they do not attend the academy. I have spoken to a parent who rang in first thing on day to say my child will be off due to illness. That parent got a call late afternoon to ask why the child did not attend school! This is a double failure under the duty of care that must be provided. 1st the parent should have been made aware before 10 in the morning and contacted then. If there had been an accident or incident then nobody would be in a position to report to the authorities. 2nd Information is clearly not being collated in accordance with the rules which is another instant failure to put a school in special measures. *The reason we call OFSTED in to question is due to the fact that they have already broken their own rules to help out Moira Swann. We do not understand how this could happen, as they were beyond reproach so we thought, but it would appear not. Walney was due a full inspection 12 months ago at the absolute latest, but due to the academy plan being railroaded ahead, it did not happen. It would not have been possible for the academy to go ahead if Walney had a bad report or was put in special measures due to rules regarding the creation of an academy. This inspection is now imminent but the reports we are getting is that there are no worries about it being failed as the outcome will be ‘satisfactory’. You heard it here first! Before the inspectors even step through the door! The reason for this? Well somebody has to take all of the exclusions that the academy is able to make under the relaxed rules they need to adhere to. St Bernards is a faith school and Dowdales is over subscribed as it is so dump them on Walney!