Kingsmead School in Hoylake says it is “hopeful of a great future”, despite ending discussions with a multi-academy trust that appeared key to its reopening.
The Bertram Drive establishment, which supported many children with additional needs, closed during the pandemic in 2020, due to financial issues.
Last year, the Trustees announced they were exploring a partnership with Oasis, who describe themselves as an organisation that works with children “on the margins and from every walk of life”, with a view to reopening as a free school.
However, in a statement issued last week, Kingsmead announced that a “mutual” decision had been taken to end the partnership in its entirety.
They say this is because there is no sign of the recently-elected Labour government reopening the application process for the type of free school they wanted to open. The most recent round of applications for what is known as ‘alternative provision’ closed under the previous Conservative government, in February 2023.
A social media post from Oasis founder Steve Chalke on Threads
Kingsmead has told West Kirby Today that Oasis founder Steve Chalke had more recently explored opening a “therapeutic village” to support young people, with the hope of a fully-fledged small “therapeutic school” being established in the longer term.
Indeed, Oasis were publicly highlighting their plans for Kingsmead as recently as last month, saying they wanted it to be part of the government’s plans for a national wave of ‘youth hubs’ aimed at keeping disaffected teenagers in education.
Kingsmead have told us they worked “very hard” to make the vision work until early October, but that the decision to end the discussions was ultimately down to uncertainty over whether, in time, this project could have been expanded and developed into a school.
They say they are still considering “major educational initiatives” and are “very hopeful of a great future for Kingsmead”, arguing that it is a “thriving site with many occupants and activities” including a disability charity, art studios, a swimming club and a nursery school.
However the most recent accounts. submitted in May 2024 and covering the period up until August 2023, reveal an annual loss of £97,702, compared to a surplus of £103,115 the previous year. Its income has been slashed by more than half compared to the previous year, after it wrote off a historical loan balance which it considered to be no longer repayable, and a coronavirus job retention grants scheme ended.
The accounts also state that there is an “ongoing” exploration of options “including the sale of land and buildings” – although Kingsmead have told West Kirby Today that there are “no plans of any kind” to do so.
In a statement, the Trustees said: “The potential for an Oasis Kingsmead site was profoundly attractive to the trustees of Kingsmead School. So, the original plan grew out of an invitation from Kingsmead to Oasis to work together to set up a free school, with an emphasis on Oasis’ hallmark model of therapeutic education alongside many of the Kingsmead distinctive qualities and characteristics.
“However, with political and other changes, the possibility of opening such a school in the foreseeable future is not now feasible. It is worth saying that in recent changing times, both Oasis and Kingsmead have tried very hard to make this potentially fruitful partnership work in other ways, with some new perspectives, ideas and adjustments.
“There is great respect on both sides but, because of the complexities of the changing situation, we have agreed to go our own ways.
“This decision has been taken as part of a process which always involved a journey of learning, mutual understanding and pioneering experiment. It means that Oasis will continue its leading role in educational reform and innovation and Kingsmead will now continue with its original mission to serve the Wirral community but in a different way.”
The grandson of Kingsmead School founder Arthur Watts, Murray Watts, who grew up at Kingsmead, said: “We wish Oasis well, and we know that they also wish Kingsmead very well.”
Oasis told West Kirby Today: “We wish Kingsmead very well in their mission to serve the Wirral community.”
