Plans to turn Shene School into an academy hang in the balance after the council admitted it was rethinking whether to continue with its proposed sponsor.

Just six months before the state secondary is due to launch as an academy under Richmond Council’s preferred sponsor, Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust (EACT), a Government report has exposed “significant concerns about the way the trust has been managed.

The findings were outlined in a letter from David Bell, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), to Minister for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight, and resulted in the resignation of Lord Amir Bhatia as chairman and member of EACT.

The letter stated “a number of ineligible items had been paid and claims made” which breached the terms and conditions of EACT’s grant and highlighted “significant concerns over the governance of EACT”.

However, Mr Bell expressed his newfound satisfaction that the trust “has responded fully to our concerns”, established a new board and revised management arrangements.

Council cabinet member for children's services, Councillor Malcolm Eady, said: “We now need to review our partnership with [EACT]. We have a totally different trust that we are working with – the links to the Edutrust Foundation have been completely severed. We’ve got to go back and check, which is where we were a year ago but we’ll have to do that very quickly.”

Coun Eady admitted it would be a “difficult” few weeks for his team but stressed the importance of making the right decision for parents, staff and pupils rather than responding with a “knee-jerk reaction”.

He said that a decision to go with a different sponsor would “put everything back by another year or so”.

Staff and governors at Shene have refused to let the growing uncertainty distract them from working to improve the school and serving the pupils to the best of their ability.

Headteacher Lesley Kirby said: “It is outside our hands.

“It’s the Government and the council’s decision as to what will happen next. “Nothing is simple and nothing works smoothly but that does not mean it can’t do when things are put right. “It is good that we have found out now and things can be put right.”

Community governor at Shene, Mona Adams, added: “The spotlight will be on that organisation and they will have to work doubly hard to be clean and be seen to be clean.”

Parent and governor, Melissa Cliff, stressed: “My child is very happy at the school and the academy discussion is not effecting the quality of their education.”

Her next child is due to start at Shene later this year.

Richmond Park MP Susan Kramer said she would be seeking an immediate meeting with Lord Bhatia’s replacement, Bruce Liddington.

She warned: “I hope Edutrust can reassure me, otherwise I will be calling on the council to pursue a different strategy.”

Sir Liddington, the former Schools Commissioner, said: “I have used this opportunity to reassure the DCSF that EACT will comply with the very highest levels of corporate governance.

“Our overriding priority is the development of the next set of academies and that’s what we’re concentrating on.”