Crawley primary school joins University of Brighton Academies Trust

The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, in letters to the trust and to school governors, said the Department for Education would be entering into a funding agreement for the conversion, stating: “Your academy will now have the opportunity to use the freedoms and flexibilities of academy status to share best practice and work with others to bring about sustained improvements to all schools in the area.”

Senior leaders at the Desmond Anderson Primary School, judged ‘good’ by Ofsted, today welcomed the announcement.

Krista Elledge, Headteacher said: “We are delighted to be joining the trust as we continue to build on the success of our dynamic, happy and welcoming school. We are confident this new and exciting partnership will provide a wealth of opportunities for our school community.”

Clare Hoggan, Chair of Governors said: “Our governing board believe the trust shares our ethos and values, which will enable it to provide us with the support we need to make sure our children receive the best possible education.”

Dr John Smith, interim Chief Executive of the University of Brighton Academies Trust, said: “We very much look forward to working with the school to build further on their strengths by providing opportunities for sharing good practice and making further improvements to children’s educational achievements.

“The University of Brighton provides higher education to more than 21,000 students and we have been training and educating teachers for more than 100 years. Our provision has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and we want to share this expertise and our education research with new academies to benefit pupils, staff and local communities.”