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Parents must pay £100 a week for play scheme while school is closed
Anna Davis, Education Correspondent28 Oct 2011
Parents will have to pay £100 a week to send their children to school under a scheme organised by one of the country's highest-paid headteachers.
Mark Elms has announced his intention to close Tidemill Academy in Deptford early for Christmas because of problems with building work. Parents are being asked to enrol their children in a £20-a-day play scheme to cover the time when they would normally have been in class.
The primary school, which was granted academy status only recently, had been due to move to a new site during the half term break, ready to reopen there next week, but the building delays mean the move will now be postponed until December.
The timetable is being juggled to fit, meaning that the school will now close on December 7, two weeks earlier than planned. Families have complained that if the school had still been under local authority control - rather than being an academy in charge of its own budget and timetable - the local authority would have provided free child care.
Mr Elms, who earned about £200,000 last year in salary, backdated pay and by helping other schools, has to shut the Tidemill site in Frankham Street early so that the academy can be moved to Giffin Street nearby.
Leila Galloway, 47, who has a child at the academy, said: "If this had still been a council-run school this wouldn't have happened surely? The council would have had to offer a free or cut-price arrangement until mid-December to help parents in this difficult situation."
Tef Afante, 50, whose eight-year-old child is at the school, said: "For working mothers like me it's a nightmare.
"This service will cost parents with one child £100 a week and mums and dads with more children could pay much more."
In a letter to parents Mr Elms wrote: "We appreciate that the changes to the moving dates are extremely difficult and frustrating for parents - especially when we were so close to starting the move. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do and we have to now wait for the problems to be resolved. We would like to thank you all for your understanding."
Keith Geary, chairman of the governors, explained why the school had set up the play scheme, which is run by Schoolfriendetc, a national charity which runs after-school, breakfast and holiday clubs nationwide offering numeracy and literacy help and creative activities. He said: "With the Schoolfriend club we are trying to give parents an option - there's no obligation for us to provide this service."
The school is moving to a new building in the £20million Deptford Lounge complex nearby, which will also house a library and community building.
Reader views (3)
Unfortunately, this is the problem with academies. They are virtually a law unto themselves. If Mark Elms cannot organise things better, then he isn't worth the money he is being paid. Primary school aged children cannot be left without childcare and he is failing in his duty of care.
- Janee, London, 20/11/2011 17:17
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Lets look at his Salary this year, bet he is still steling from peter to pay Paul
Ged rid quick!! the man is a walking PR nightmare for Local Education
surely Gove can find him something to do in his dugeon?
- Cosmic Elms, London UK, 31/10/2011 14:24
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£200,000, More than over paid? You could get thee good Headmasters for that kind of money, get rid of him.
- Vince London, West London, 28/10/2011 17:09
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