Pupil fears for crisis-hit Synergy Trust school in Norfolk

A GCSE student has told of fears for her school’s future, amid “immense” financial pressure and calls for the chief executive to quit.

Synergy Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools in Norfolk, plans to cut teaching and support staff, while reducing school curricula, to offset its £2.7m deficit.

Martha, 16, said: “The face of my school is changing for the worse.”

The trust said “difficult and sensitive” decisions were necessary because of increased costs and reduced funding due to falling birth rates.

In December, Synergy told parents it was facing “a significant number of financial challenges”.

It said it would be launching a comprehensive review to fill its deficit and constructing a three-year phased programme aimed to ensure financial stability.

For comparison, last year the trust spent £34.3m on education.

Initial redundancy plans detailed 30 losses across three schools – Reepham High School, Litcham School and Sheringham High School – but, following staff resignations, these numbers are currently in flux.

All three schools ended the last financial year in a deficit position, with the trust saying “their costs have outstripped their income”.

Changes are also to be made to the teaching hours, including:

• Additional time being given to English, Maths, History and Geography
• Modern Foreign Languages losing two periods per fortnight
• Art losing one period in Year 7
• Computer Science losing one period in Year 9
• and the reduction of PE from four to three lessons for Years 10 and 11

In the trust’s latest financial accounts, the board of trustees expressed concerns over the lack of an “adequate and effective framework for governance, risk management and control” for the 2023/24 academic year.

While cuts are being planned, the trust maintains plans to take on two additional primary schools in, as yet, undisclosed locations.

Last year’s financial accounts also highlighted changes in staff salaries between 2022 and 2023:

• The number of staff earning between £70,001 to £80,000 rose from just one to nine
• Staff in the £80,001 to £90,000 bracket went from one to two
• The number of staff earning between £90,001 to £100,000 went from two to zero
• While no staff earned above £100,000 in 2022, in 2023 one fell into the £100,001 to £110,000 bracket and another earned between £130,001 and £140,000

In December, more than 100 parents and pupils protested against the changes outside Reepham High School to show support for teachers.

Karen has two daughters at pivotal points in their education, with her youngest planning to join the school in September.

“It would be a shame to now have to look somewhere else but it’s probably now too late anyway,” she said.

Her eldest, Year 11 student Martha, said teachers at the school seemed upset, adding: “Obviously GCSEs are really tough as it is.

“With all this stress on us already, it’s very worrying to think what might happen to the future of the school on top of that.”

National Education Union representative Scott Lyons said staff were “voting with their feet”, with some having voluntarily departed at Christmas and others making plans to resign.

“With the cuts to provision and the cuts to curriculum options for the children, some staff won’t abide by that – ethically and professionally,” he said.

“They feel really strongly that they’re going to fight this.”

Last month, 39 parents signed a letter calling for the trust’s chief executive Louise Lee to resign.

In a statement the trust said it had “every confidence” in Ms Lee and the senior team to deliver what is needed, adding that staff salaries were proportionate and reflected the “correct mix of expertise necessary”.

The trust also said changes were needed so that school structures, pay awards, education provision and pastoral care reflected sector best practice. This would also apply to pupil/teacher, teacher contact and income/staffing ratios.

It added: “The decisions we as a board are having to take are difficult and sensitive in the extreme.

“They are, after all, about the future education of the children in our care. Sadly, the taking of these decisions is not optional if the trust is to remain in operation and continue to deliver against its vision, values and educational successes to date.”

It also said that it aimed to become financially stable in the long-term and would achieve this while maintaining a duty of care to staff and minimising disruption to pupils.