I want to update parents at Freebrough Academy in Brotton about the latest situation. You should by now have received a letter inviting you to a special meeting at the school at 5.30pm on Monday 25 February. This is because the school is going to receive new leadership and classroom support from the Northern Education Trust.
Nothing matters more than a good education for our children. At Freebrough, standards have fallen away seriously so that a "Good" rating from Ofsted in 2015 became "Inadequate" in 2018. This is a different picture to education standards nationally and is something we need to fix, as this impacts directly on children's life chances.
I'm pictured at the visit I made to the school last summer to discuss the situation. Since then there has not been adequate progress in turning performance around, and I therefore support the decision to invite the highly-regarded Northern Education Trust to step in. It would quite simply be wrong to allow more time to pass without decisive action.
I have spoken to both the Department for Education and to Rob Tarn, the CEO of the Northern Education Trust, this week and am satisfied that their arrival at the school will make a big difference. I will be monitoring their impact closely.
I would urge all parents to attend this meeting, and I will be visiting Freebrough myself next week for a further briefing. If you have any additional concerns, or issues you want me to raise, you can always contact me at simon.clarke.mp@parliament.uk.