Ex-Lymm High head sets up teacher training agency

THE former principal and vice principal of Lymm High School, who resigned earlier this year after being suspended by the governing body last year, have set up a recruitment and training agency for teachers.
Angela Walsh and Jamie Sheils say they are a unique agency run by an Ofsted rated “outstanding” principal and vice principal.
RedApple Education’s website states: “We are the only agency in the North West with this level of experience and we know better than anyone the needs of a teacher, the needs of support staff and the needs of a school.”
The site claims the agency urgently requires staff for school placements in September.
Angela Walsh was appointed principal at Lymm in September 2008. She was soon embroiled in controversy when she introduced new uniforms which were unpopular with a significant number of parents and pupils, who staged a sit-down protest at the school.
Subsequently Miss Walsh (pictured) appointed Mr Sheils as her vice principal and strategic director of community and finance.
At the time the pair were suspended, morale among teaching staff was low and there was an exodus of teachers leaving for other posts.
A subsequent investigation into financial affairs at the school, carried out by the Education Funding Agency’s external assurance team, in September last year, highlighted various concerns, including cash and credit card expenditure on alcohol, flowers and hospitality.
It identified various weaknesses and issues in relation to financial management and governance, including missing personnel files – including those of Miss Walsh and Mr Sheils.
The individual employed in the principal finance role – Mr Sheils – may not have been appropriately qualified nor had the relevant experience required of the post. But it was not possible to substantiate this as the individual’s personnel file could not be located.
There were inadequate quotation/tendering records available to fully support and explain the award of contracts or high value purchases.
The school’s governing body has welcomed the findings of the audit report which, it says, will help people to understand some of the issues that the governors dealt with robustly last year.
RedApple Education’s website is promoting training courses for people who would like to be a teacher, may be already working in a school as a non-teacher or may have aspirations to work in a classroom.
Courses in July and October are already fully booked but there are six places available in September, the site states.
They deal with classroom management, behavioural management, pupil development and achievement and include intense school-based training, one-to-one mentoring and free mentor support.
The agency claims a 100 per cent employment success rate for its “dynamic, hands-on training programmes.”