Has school which chose to ignore parent critics of its academisation gone against the Nolan principle of accountability?

Have a school’s governors, who have refused to engage with parent critics of possibly the biggest decision they could ever take, violated one of the Nolan principles which they are supposed to stand by?

The Department for Education’s Governance Handbook, which “sets out the government’s vision and priorities for effective school and trust governance” states: “everyone involved in governance should be aware of and accept the 7 principles of public life”, as set out by Lord Nolan and applying to anyone, locally and nationally, who is elected or appointed as a public office-holder.

The fourth Nolan principle is “Accountability”. This reads: “Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.”

It is hard to see how the governing body at Steyning Grammar School (SGS), in West Sussex, can have upheld such a principle given the school’s recent reaction to those criticising the decision, of this school with origins back to the 17^th century, to academise under the Bohunt Education Trust (BET).

The background