Free schools chain sees half of board step down, including chair, with no apparent announcement to parents

An academy trust which has featured extensively on these pages in recent months has seen half of its board of directors depart, including its chair –without seemingly having told parents.

Canary Wharf College Ltd, which runs three free schools in Tower Hamlets, East London, saw its chair, Alfie Padro, replaced in that position on New Year’s Day, the trust’s governance information on the DfE’s “Get Information About Schools” (GIAS) official website discloses.

Mr Padro had stood down as a trustee/director on December 31^st, GIAS states, although, strangely, on the trust’s Companies House page, his leaving date is stated to have been January 9^th. Two other directors, Silvia Asole and Emma Curtis, also stood down last month*, according to Companies House.

A new chair, John Afolayan, took up that position on January 1^st, according to GIAS (Companies House does not record changes in the chairmanship of boards), having only been appointed as a director on December 6^th.

Mr Afolayan is a medical doctor. He was not listed on the trust’s website as a trustee/director as of Friday, though by yesterday (Monday), information had appeared, though no specific education governance experience was included in his biography.