An academy trust has withdrawn from becoming a primary school's sponsor after governors and parents voted against the move.

The Thinking Schools Academy Trust (TSAT) announced today that it was pulling out of the process which could have seen it become the academy sponsor for Twydall Primary School.

Last month the governors at Twydall Primary School voted no to adopting TSAT, the Department for Education's preferred sponsor for the school, with the governors calling it "the most difficult, decision the Governing Body has had to make since the schools merged back in 2011". The decision was made despite "bully boy tactics" from Lord Nash to remove the governors if they voted no.

The news has been greeted with delight by parents who have been protesting against the move as they did not believe the trust is right for the school, which is one of the few primary schools in Medway which has provision for a large number of special needs pupils.

They were worried that TSAT did not have proven experience in this area and wanted the decision to be fair, transparent and to give them a choice in the future of their children’s education. They also believed the vote to become an academy was "rigged" after it was discovered that governors on the board has undisclosed interests or connections to TSAT. Two governors have since stood down.

A spokesman from Parents and Twydall Together (PATT) said: "We felt right from the start that they were wholly unsuitable sponsors for this unique school on a number of grounds - in particular the lack of relevant experience of supporting children with complex special needs and the disdain with which they have treated Twydall’s parents at every step of the way throughout the consultation."

During the consultation, a total of 436 written responses were received by the school's governing body of which 383 said no, they did not agree that Twydall Primary School should become an academy and join TSAT.

In a statement released today, TSAT said they had decided to formally withdraw, after much consideration.

The statement said: "School improvement is at the heart of what we do and we have not taken this decision lightly. We have however reflected on the length of time it has taken the governing body to proceed in the sponsored academy process.

"The ongoing delay not only affects the pupils of Twydall, but also affects the pupils of other schools in Medway who we are supporting and would like to support in the future. We feel we can no longer continue to have our plans in this regard remain on hold indefinitely, during which time Twydall remains in Special Measures."

The move to turn the school into an academy came after it was placed in special measures by Ofsted in May 2014. The inspection was unscheduled and came after allegations of a “serious incident”. Following protests from staff and parents, Ofsted deleted references to the incident.

But a recent Ofsted visit found the school is "making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures" and that Ann Pratt, the interim headteacher, provides "astute inspirational leadership" and works closely with the "extremely able deputy headteacher, whose leadership is flourishing as a result".

The PATT spokesman added: "We are delighted with the improvements Ann Pratt has already brought about in the school and trust our governing body to find an academy sponsor who will embrace the qualities of Twydall and work with the whole community to help return it to the outstanding rating it deserves.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our governors for standing up for what they believed in and particular thanks to Councillor Glyn Griffiths and to Paul Clark for their endless support throughout the campaign."

The school in Twydall Lane, merged with the infants school in September 2011.
With 555 pupils aged between three and 11, Twydall is a larger than average primary schools.

TSAT already run Rochester Grammar School, Chatham Grammar School for Boys, All Faiths Children's Academy, Gordon Infant and Junior School and New Horizons Children's Academy.