All the governors from a primary school have resigned following allegations that a councillor behaved in a way that breached a York academy trust’s code of conduct.
A statement published on South Bank Multi Academy Trust’s (MAT) website on 13 September says that a number of governors of Scarcroft Primary School, in Nunthorpe Road, had resigned.
Governors had said in their resignation letters this was due to the “appalling treatment” of Cllr Jonny Crawshaw.
South Bank MAT’s statement does not name Cllr Crawshaw but outlines that a governor’s behaviour “fell well below” standards in their code of conduct.
Cllr Crawshaw believes this is due to concerns he raised about new teaching assistant contracts which would only see them paid during term time.
He has also tweeted pictures of picket lines outside the school.
Cllr Crawshaw said: “During my conduct hearing I had to ask twice if trustees were interested in the content of the complaint before I was asked to expand on the issue.
“Once explained, the vice chair of trustees appeared to understand why this would be of significant concern – and yet no further action appears to have been taken.
“For this alleged breach of the code to subsequently be upheld against me suggests the trust board is either unconcerned by these behaviours or is also querying my integrity.”
What the governors said
One governor, John Bryan, wrote in his resignation letter: “The final straw has been the appalling treatment by the MAT of a fellow governor.
“Due process has not been followed and the MAT’s behaviour appears frankly to be vindictive and high-handed.
He added: “I have never met with such a lack of proper procedure in over 40 years of working in education.
“This is not the type of organisation any self-respecting person would wish to serve, and contrasts markedly with the way in which Scarcroft School itself operates, which is friendly, child-centred, humane and sensitive to every individual child’s needs.”
Another governor Tracey Barrett said: “The final straw for me has been the appalling treatment of Jonny Crawshaw, a long-serving and committed governor who was summoned to a conduct hearing without any proper due process or notice.”
What the academy said
Ian Wiggins, chair of trustees at South Bank MAT, said :“We take our duty of care towards our staff seriously and as such have clear expectations on how we interact with each other and that we ensure everyone in the trust is treated with respect and kindness.
“Regrettably, over an extended period of time, we saw behaviours from a governor at Scarcroft Primary School which fell well below the expectations and standards set out in our code of conduct.
“Trustees met with this governor, who has since taken the decision to resign along with a number of other members of the governing body.
“The former governors have made a number of allegations within their resignation letters which do not reflect the reality in Scarcroft or in any school within the trust.”
Cllr Bob Webb, executive member for education, said: “What we’ve got is a multi-academy trust which has taken over the governance of some schools and that’s happening across the country.
“But what’s not happening across the country is entire governing bodies resigning.”
Cllr Webb will meet with the CEO of South Bank Multi Academy Trust next week and says he will “certainly be raising the issue.”