Parents 'happy' as principal of Northampton secondary school is set to leave

The headteacher of a busy secondary school in Northampton is set to leave after just a year in charge – with parents said to be ‘happy at the prospect of change’.

Abbeyfield School has announced principal Jay Kerby will be leaving at the end of the October half term.

A spokeswoman from the trust which runs the school said: “After having made a positive impact at Abbeyfield School, including significantly improving behaviour, Abbeyfield’s principal Jay Kerby has recently accepted a promotion to executive principal outside of our trust.

“We are grateful to Mr. Kerby for his dedication to Abbeyfield, helping ensure it is a calm, orderly and respectful school where students learn in a positive, welcoming and inclusive environment.

“Mr. Kerby will be leaving Abbeyfield at the end of this half term. We are pleased to announce that Fiona Aris will take on the role of interim principal at Abbeyfield. Fiona is currently Head of School at Ellis Guilford School in Nottingham which was recently judged to be ‘good’ in all areas by Ofsted.

“We look forward to continuing to support the committed team of staff at Abbeyfield to work together with students and parents, taking the next positive steps in the Abbeyfield’s journey together.

The school added: “We are absolutely clear that bullying is always unacceptable and we take any reports regarding bullying extremely seriously. Whenever any complaints are raised these are investigated in line with our safeguarding policies.

“We encourage parents and carers to speak with staff about any concerns they may have so that we can ensure all students have a positive, enriching and enjoyable experience at school.”

Parents are said to be happy about the change in leadership, with one local councillor explaining why.

Independent councillor Julie Davenport (Rushmere and Delapre ward) says she has had ‘many complaints’ regarding issues at the school in the last year.

Councillor Davenport said: “I did try to arrange a meeting with Principal Kerby but I have been unsuccessful. All I know is that I’ve had so many complaints from parents in the past year whereas I did not receive any complaints in previous years concerning Abbeyfield.

"Because I have not met the Principal it is difficult to judge but maybe he is more suited to a different type of school. Yesterday alone I received another two complaints from upset parents due to bullying of their children – one boy was attacked yesterday. Something has to change. I do know that parents are very happy at the prospect of change.”

Chron and Echo has reported on a range of issues at the school in the past year including bullying and ‘prison-like’ rules.