In Mossley Hill, one primary school’s parents are fighting against the Archbishop

How much control do we have over our children’s schools? It’s a question the parents of St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School have presumably been asking themselves since the end of April, when it was revealed that the Archdiocese of Liverpool would be transforming over 200 Catholic primary and secondary schools into academies — and one that appears to have troubled both protesting parents and striking teachers, with concerns arising over what this will mean for the finances and running of the school.

Our reporter, Ethan, recently attended the stormy meeting between the school’s leadership, reps from the trust hoping to academise the school and parents — the same meeting that was reported on by the Echo. What would happen if the school governors opposed the move to the new trust? the Echo asked parents who had attended, who described the Archdiocese’s director of education referencing a “nuclear button option”. 

This was a claim the Archdiocese appeared to shrug off, telling the Echo “that some ‘unofficial minutes’ circulated after the meeting contain information that they believe to be ‘incorrect and misleading’.” So what was the truth? There's no need to take it on anonymous sources' testimony — Ethan was in the room and heard it for himself. That's today's story.

'Behind St Anthony's is a vast plan to transform Catholic education in the region'

I slink around the back of the school hall, trying to find an empty chair. It's a September evening in Mossley Hill, and 80 tense parents have pulled away from hard-fought bedtime routines to hear the fate of St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School. 

In June, a letter from the chair of governors outlined a proposal to take the small Catholic primary out of the local authority and into an academy trust controlled by the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

At first, there was confusion. Academisation is usually reserved for struggling schools, and St Anthony of Padua was, by all accounts, doing well – Ofsted inspectors marked it as Good, describing a “school at the heart of the community” where pupils arrive with a smile on their faces. 

Why mess with a good thing, parents thought. Someone, clearly, had made a mistake. No matter – this is what consultations are for. But June elapsed without a meeting. Parents pinned hopes on the board of governors, who would have the final vote on academy plans. But staff and parents caught wind that governors had been handed ultimatums: sign the plans, or leave. The meeting they were promised is the one I am sitting in now. Before the evening is out, the Archdiocese will dangle a mysterious "nuclear option" in the case of rebellion.

At the back of the hall, I get it all on tape.