Parents are fighting plans to force Sheffield鈥檚 last maintained secondary into a trust that has 鈥渃oasting” schools, reigniting controversies over the transparency of academy decisions. The Department for Education wants the Brigantia Learning Trust to take over the King Edward VII School (KES) after its . Department bosses said its regional director had taken 鈥渟wift action鈥 to give the secondary 鈥 which calls itself one of the 鈥渕ost prestigious鈥 in the city 鈥 a 鈥渞apid鈥 boost. Contradicts ‘coasting’ crackdown But education professor Mark Boylan, whose daughter is a pupil at KES, said the move contradicted the government鈥檚 own 鈥渃oasting” crackdown to force schools with two less-than-good inspections into new academy trusts. Two of 鈥 Yewlands and Concord Junior 鈥 are 鈥榬equires improvement鈥 and classed as 鈥渃oasting鈥 under the government鈥檚 criteria. The latter has been run by the trust for nine years with less-than-good Ofsteds in 2017 and 2019. Parents, who said most did not think Brigantia was the right choice, also criticised transparency over the decision. They planned to protest outside Sheffield鈥檚 City Hall this weekend. They were only alerted to the proposal when a 鈥渧igilant parent鈥 spotted a copy of a draft agenda for a regional director鈥檚 meeting next week. Parents said this left them with just three days to 鈥渕ake our views known鈥. They also claimed KES was not made aware until this point. The school has not responded to a request for comment. ‘This has been done to us, not with us‘ Emma Wilkinson, whose 12-year-old daughter attends KES, said: 鈥淭his has been done to us, not with us. “It’s being done behind closed doors. We have asked for the criteria used to select this academy trust, but have been told we’re not allowed to have it. 鈥淲e asked who else came forward, to be told we’re not allowed that information. There’s no transparency at all.鈥 An official complaint to the government from Boylan, seen by Schools Week, also questioned a potential conflict of interest. Rizwana Parveen, one of Brigantia鈥檚 trustees, is a senior DfE civil servant, based in the Greater Sheffield area. She also worked in the office of the regional schools commissioner (RSC) for the East Midlands and Humber between 2020 and 2021, which made decisions for Sheffield schools before boundaries were redrawn and it became known as the current Yorkshire and Humber office. Boylan called on Alison Wilson, the regional director, to 鈥渃onsider whether it would be appropriate to declare a conflict of interest in the matter鈥. Previous guidance outlining the approach of RSCs to finding sponsors for schools stated factors that included the trust鈥檚 capacity and 鈥渢rack record of school improvement鈥 be considered. But it has since been superseded by the regional directors鈥 decision-making framework, which is less specific and notes that the aims of transfers are 鈥渆ducational excellence for all鈥, 鈥渃reating a self-improving system鈥 and 鈥減reserving independence鈥. Boylan said Brigantia had not delivered significant and sustained improvement for its existing academies. “Adding KES to its portfolio sends an unfortunate message to schools and trusts about DfE expectations.鈥 ‘Academisation is liberating鈥 However when challenged by Wilkinson during a Times Radio call-in on Thursday, Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said: “I wouldn’t worry about academisation 鈥 it’s a liberating experience. “It’s not a punishment. It gives professional autonomy to the school. They’ll have a sponsor to help them [KES] deal with the problems of safeguarding to help them improve.鈥 KES was rated 鈥榠nadequate鈥 over ineffective safeguarding. Inspectors said leaders did not do enough to keep children safe, with a significant minority of pupils feeling they did not have 鈥渁n adult to speak to鈥. But three of the five areas were rated 鈥榞ood鈥. The DfE said there was 鈥渘o requirement鈥 for the governing body, the chain or regional director to carry out a consultation. The department also claimed Brigantia was in 鈥渢he process of driving up standards鈥 at its two less-than-good schools and had 鈥渁lready made improvements鈥. A Brigantia spokesperson said further information would be provided by the regional director, advisory board and the DfE after the regional meeting. 鈥淯ltimately a decision will be made by the secretary of state.鈥 The trust and the DfE did not comment when asked about Parveen鈥檚 position in the civil service.