Controversial academy plans for Walsall special school to be decided this week

Staff at the King George Crescent school have been on strike since March 11 and held several protests outside the school, Matrix Academy offices and the council house in Walsall.

Protesters state that the statutory consultation has not been transparent, and that they have been kept in the dark.

A spokesperson for Elmwood School has disputed the protesters’ claims, stating that the consultation has been ‘open and transparent’.

The National Education Union said that if the transfer were to go ahead it would result in a loss of £700 of funding per pupil.

Walsall Council said it did not recognise the financial figures disclosed by the NEU.

The most recent salary data for Matrix Academy Trust from the financial year of 2023/24 states 13 staff members were paid between £80,000 and £150,000, excluding pension contributions.

One staff member was on a salary of up to £150,000, another was paid up to £130,000, five were paid up to £110,000, three paid up to £100,000 and another three between £80,000 and £90,000.

Matrix Academy said the trust’s ‘top slice’ is in line with other academy trusts.

On April 7, a notice of motion was put before a full Walsall Council meeting, where leader of the Independent group, Councillor Aftab Nawaz, called for ‘straight forward answers’ on how much funding each pupil would receive should the transfer go ahead.

Portfolio holder for Education and Skills at the time, Councillor Pardeep Kaur, said an anonymous independent survey would be carried out to consider the views of teachers and parents.

Now, governors are scheduled to make their final decision on whether to go ahead with the academisation at a meeting on Thursday June 12.

Regional officer for the NEU Matthew Raine, said: “The school has failed to hold meaningful consultation with parents over the plans despite them being discussed as far back as July last year.

“The school and the trust have left everyone in the dark. The school and local authority have failed to produce business plans, budgets and details of governors meetings, or any information from Matrix on their financial plans and costs for the school.

“Staff are concerned that Elmwood pupils will lose out by over £700 per year as Matrix charges schools more than the local authority for central services and to pay senior staff.

“Under the local authority, all of Elmwood school funding is ring fenced for Elmwood school; it can’t be reallocated. Whilst we are not aware of any plans for this to change, academy trusts can and do move money between schools.

“The takeover by Matrix will see Elmwood School lose its governing body, with staff and parents losing their voice in the governance of the school.

“It’s disgraceful the way parents have been treated. They should have been the first ones to be consulted over the future of their children’s school.”

A spokesperson for Elmwood School said: “We value the views of our school community and would strongly dispute claims there has been no consultation with parents and staff during the proposed academisation process.

“The final decision to become an academy sits with the governing body, and consultation has been open and transparent throughout the entire process.

“This includes individual discussions with all staff, parents, and carers, and regular updates have been shared through our usual means of communications. As a school, we have made ourselves available to talk through any concerns the school community has.

“We’ve received support from Walsall Council to facilitate impartial engagement and consultation exercises with stakeholders, and the general feedback from this has been relatively evenly split amongst staff and parents. All the comments and feedback will be shared with the governing body ahead of their final decision.

“There’s no doubt this has been a challenging time for us to navigate as a school, managing a reduced timetable for almost three months, and we really appreciate the support we’ve received from parents and carers during this time, and hope the school can return to running at a full timetable as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “As a council, we have been doing everything we possibly can to stop disrupted learning for children at Elmwood school and are disappointed their education has been impacted due to industrial action.

“Since the very start, we’ve worked closely with the National Education Union (NEU) and Elmwood school to find a solution, which includes facilitating additional, independent consultations with the school community. The feedback from this consultation has been shared with the governing body for them to consider as part of their decision-making process.

“The council does not recognise financial figures disclosed by the NEU which suggest children would be worse off at an academy school and have asked the NEU to clarify these figures several times.

“We want to thank the parents, carers, and most importantly, the children and young people who attend Elmwood school for their patience and understanding whilst the disputes have been taking place, and as always, we want their education to resume without disruption at the earliest possible opportunity.”

A spokesperson for Matrix said: “Elmwood’s leaders have shared their expertise with Matrix leaders for years and we are looking forward to strengthening this mutually beneficial relationship.

“The wellbeing of Elmwood’s children is and will continue to be our priority throughout this voluntary transfer process.

“Elmwood’s Governing Board made the decision to collaborate with Matrix Academy Trust on a voluntary basis due to our relationship going back over 10 years. This was approved by the Regional Director on 13th December 2024.

“As required under TUPE regulations we issued a measures letter to the current employer on 12th February 2025 confirming that there is no intention on behalf of the School or Trust to make staffing changes as a result of the transfer. Throughout this process the Trust have met with staff, Trade Unions representatives and parents.

“The Trust’s top slice is in line with other Academy Trusts. The services we provide achieve value for money, focus on efficiencies and are significantly enhanced to include services that local authority schools are required to purchase additionally.”