OFFICIALS have approved the application by STEP Academy Trust to merge two schools in Hailsham.
Following a long campaign by parents and local councillors against the STEP Academy Trust’s plans to merge Burfield and Phoenix Academy, bosses now plan to complete the merger by September, following the thumbs-up from the Department for Education (DfE).
In a letter to parents, Regional Director for the STEP Academy Trust, Alun Evans said: “The decision to merge two academies is one which STEP and the DfE take incredibly seriously.
“We appreciate the rigorous scrutiny from the DfE, as well as the time they have invested in visiting the sites and discussing the matter with planning professionals, in order to make a fully informed decision.
“We would also like to thank our parent and carer community for their patience and understanding throughout this process, and we hope that the clarity now provided by the outcome allows all to move forward.
“We will be communicating further details with you as soon as possible, which will include engagement as to the new name for the academy as well as any requirements as mandated by the DfE.”
Two hundred pupils were moved out of the troubled academy in Oaklands Way in 2023 due to safety fears and a ‘major programme of intrusive works’ was to take place during the summer holidays. The pupils were sent to Phoenix Academy instead and never returned to Burfield.
Then, in March last year, the Academies’ application to East Sussex County Council to withdraw the planning condition of supplying a ‘kiss and drop’ area for parents, as it says the current area is unsafe for children, was refused by councillors.
In November, the Department for Education (DfE) Regional Director, alongside the South East Advisory Board, declined the trust’s amalgamation of Burfield and Phoenix schools in the town.
The Trust then resubmitted another application to be considered, which has been approved.
The school located in Oaklands Way in Hailsham was taken over by the STEP Academy in 2017 and was commissioned by East Sussex County Council the year before.
