Chief executive of England’s most indebted academy chain said to have moved to Scotland, and offered his services as a drummer to a band

Latest twist in saga of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust comes with two of its school chairs of governors having gone public with emails expressing no confidence in the leadership, with nine Labour MPs also raising concerns.

 

UPDATE: Kevin Gritton, chief executive of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, has resigned "with immediate effect," the trust has announced to governors this morning.

 

 

The chief executive of England’s most indebted multi-academy trust, based in the Midlands, is said to have moved to Scotland, in the latest bizarre twist in a multi-faceted saga which is calling into question the actions of bodies ranging from a Catholic diocese to the Department for Education.

Kevin Gritton, chief executive of the 25-school St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust (SRSCMAT), is alleged, including in a public letter of no confidence sent by the chair of governors of one of its schools, to have offered his services as a drummer to a band operating in the Glasgow area.

The new twist comes with:

-Two letters having been sent from chairs of governors at the chain’s schools stating that they have no confidence in the chain’s leadership, one by a chair who is also a parish priest, calling for an independent investigation;

-Nine local MPs having written to the chain’s chair, voicing concerns about proposed redundancies;

-National Education Union and Unison members at 14 of the trust’s schools on strike, with striking staff due to head to London to lobby the Department for Education next Wednesday;

-A parent petition calling for the leadership to resign having been launched, with more than 1,100 signatures at time of writing;

-Allegations continuing to emerge of the chain not paying bills for services received, this website having revealed last month that it had admitted it was failing to pay bills on time.

I have sought responses from both the trust itself and from the Diocese of Nottingham, under which it sits, but have not received any.