Move to turn schools in Kent into academies

Two Catholic schools in Kent have been granted academy status by the Department for Education as part of a proposal for all 32 ­voluntary-aided Catholic schools in the county to be made acad­emies, writes James Macintyre.

The plan for increasing numbers of Catholic academies is being overseen by a new organisation called Kent Catholic Schools Partnership (KCSP).

KCSP was formed as a company on 12 August last year, to co­ordinate the conversion of a cluster of Catholic schools, partly because, in Kent, schools are relatively spread out geographically and an “umbrella” approach was sought.

The new Kent academies are  St Joseph’s Catholic Primary in Aylesham and St Simon Stock Secondary in Maidstone. Both have converted from voluntary-aided status to academies. The plan was initiated by the Archdiocese of Southwark two years ago but had been “beset by technical delays”, before its launch, KCSP said. A further 12 Catholic schools are set to join KCSP as academies by the end of the school year.

A number of Catholic schools have converted to academy status after 2010 legislation made it ­possible for any school to do so. But some in the Church are not in favour, such as in the Diocese of Salford where Bishop Terence Brain has not allowed any Catholic school to become an academy.  

Sr Judith Russi, an education adviser to dioceses, sounded a note of caution about the Kent plan, saying that Catholic schools becoming academies are in the hands of ministers at the Department for Education. “These are uncharted waters and I am not convinced that our ship is strong enough to withstand the inevitable storms that may well come upon us,” Sr Judith told The Tablet.