It's been a while since we posted some updates....

why - is it because we haven't had anything to report or is it because we have been busy. Bit of both really and MUCH has happened since we last posted.

To cut to the chase, we (SOCK) had a meeting with the council (in fact with some of the senior officers and councillors) - we talked about the proposals and our mutual concerns and we think that we made some progress in setting the scene for progress.

Then there was the cabinet meeting, very well attended by the SOCK supporters, and once again accurately reported in the press. The councillors said some nice things about SOCK and the campaign, but I think the biggest compliment I heard was to the pupils who had represented themselves and the school in typical style - Alan Jarrett commented that he wished everyone who lobbied the council did so in such a polite way.

Cllr Chambers talked of a meeting between the senior councillors and officers with Lord Adonis -the government minister in charge of schools and learning and Bob Marshall-Andrews - our local MP - a meeting which resulted in some much needed clarity of the framework on which the academy could move forward. The product of the meeting was a letter from Lord Adonis to Cllr Chambers, the content of which was made public at the meeting ( The council have posted a copy here ).

The bottom line is that there are some definite statements around the timing and the intention to manage the transition in a structured, gradual way, a couple of very positive things for all the children affected by the changes that are coming. I think its fair to say that some notable progress has been made, and also that there are some clarifications and more discussions to be had.

I welcome the fact that the communications channels appear to be opened, and I thank the officials involved for the progress so far.

I also should publicly thank Bob Marshall-Andrews for his understanding, help and support so far, he has represented our views well and has done a great job for us.

Where does that leave us -well, much further forward than we were, and with a real possibility of working with the council and the sponsors going forward to understand the details around the transition that will help to keep the disruption to the children to a minimum.

SOCK are still very much active and working towards a solution, we see a direction and we think that our cautious optimism of late has been well founded.

More when we have it - in the mean time, thanks for all your support so far.