Lodge Park head Carly Waterman exits school as staff say they're 'in a state of shock'

A Corby headteacher who managed to bring back a secondary school from the brink has formally left her job.

Carly Waterman had not been at Lodge Park Academy for some weeks, with pupils only being told that she was ‘unwell’.

But now Mrs Waterman has left the school after three successful years at the helm, leaving staff with serious questions.

Two other respected teachers, one a senior leader, have also resigned from the school run by the David Ross Education Trust (DRET).

This newspaper believes that Mrs Waterman and the trust fundamentally disagreed on the direction the school should take on a number of issues, leaving the much-loved head with no choice but to leave.

Teachers told our reporter that Mrs Waterman had ‘completely transformed’ the school within weeks of her 2019 arrival.

Staff were called into a six-and-a-half minute meeting after school on Monday (November 7) to be read a statement by new head of school Ruth Roberts who will remain in post to the end of the academic year. A new executive principal Megan Morris, who has been brought in by DRET to oversee matters at Lodge Park, was also present.

Teachers who were present told our reporter that Ms Roberts thanked staff for their work during the past six weeks and told them that they would not be allowed to ask questions at that meeting, instead encouraging them to book slots for private meetings with her.

She said: “Conversations are about you and about your concerns or what you want to tell me about Lodge Park and how we are going to move forward. Conversations are not about Carly and what has happened.”

Ms Morris told staff that she would take on a supportive function on a part-time basis alongside her role at Malcolm Arnold Academy to make sure the school continues doing its ‘mighty work.’

Students were told the news in an assembly on Tuesday morning.

Several staff members have contacted our reporters to express their dismay at Mrs Waterman’s exit.

One said: “There is no way that Carly would have chosen to resign. She loved Lodge Park Academy. Anyone who spent any time with her here could tell that by the way she spoke about the students, the staff and the whole LPA family.”

Another said: “I don’t believe she’d have left unless it had been made impossible for her to stay.”

And a third teacher said: “Staff are in a state of shock. We need DRET to come in and explain this to us.”

In March 2019, the school received a grim Ofsted report and was plunged into special measures just a month after a child fired a BB gun in a classroom.

In May 2019 the department for education issued a pre-termination warning notice to DRET giving them a last chance to turn things around ‘rapidly’ before the school was removed from their control.

In August 2019 Lodge Park appointed education leader Carly Waterman, who grew up in Corby, as the school’s new head. Within two years she and her staff had turned the school around, bringing it out of special measures and quickly improving its reputation locally.

This newspaper put a series of questions to the David Ross Education Trust. Our reporter asked the reason for Mrs Waterman’s departure and whether she felt she had no choice but to leave because of a fundamental discord between her aspirations for the school and those of DRET.

The trust was also asked why staff were not allowed to ask about questions about Mrs Waterman’s departure and how they would now seek to allay staff fears over the future direction of the school.

The trust did not directly answer the questions, instead sending a statement that said: “After successfully leading Lodge Park Academy out of special measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, improving exam results in 2022 and transforming behaviour and attitudes, Mrs Waterman has resigned from her role as principal after three years.

“Lodge Park Academy now has a distinct culture, robust systems and is fully staffed with specialist teachers. It is in a much stronger position than it was in 2019 and its future is bright. We are grateful for Mrs Waterman’s contributions and we wish her the very best.”

The statement also included a message from Mrs Waterman which read: “Lodge Park Academy has been a massive part of my life and I have loved every second of my time there. I am very proud of the culture we have created, and of the transformational improvement in teaching, learning, behaviour and outcomes. Lodge Park academy is a wonderful place to learn and work and I will miss it greatly. I am confident that the school is now in a really secure position and will go from strength to strength.”

DRET, which has 34 academies and an annual budget of £80 million, is led by multi-millionaire businessman David Ross, who it was announced this week will be nominated on Boris Johnson’s outgoing honours list for a life peerage.

He is a major Tory donor and has handed thousands to the campaigns of local MPs including Tom Pursglove, Chris Heaton-Harris and Michael Ellis.

The trust recently appointed former schools minister Nick Gibb, said to be a personal friend of David Ross, to its board, although it is unknown whether he will be able to continue in this role after he was reappointed as education minister two weeks ago.

Mrs Waterman was unavailable for comment.