A CORNWALL councillor says that he believes a ‘shift’ is coming in the way things have been run at one of Cornwall’s notorious academy trusts.

After Athena Learning Trust told the Post that it was entering a period of ‘reflection’ in an effort to explore what the best course of action was for the organisation, its staff, and students, local councillor Adrian Parsons (Altarnun and Stoke Climsland) has said that he expects all of those involved ‘will be seeing a shift away from how things have been done in the past.’

It comes following a meeting held between Cllr Parsons, Cllr James Ball (Roskear and Tuckingmill) - who has also been very vocal on the issue - the interim CEO of Athena Learning Trust, Mark Blackman, and trust principal, Matthew Thompson.

Cllr Parsons has said that the meeting provided an opportunity to speak ‘openly and honestly about the situation’ within the trust.

Speaking to the Post, Cllr Parsons explained: “Councillor James Ball and I were given the opportunity to meet with the interim CEO of the Athena Trust Mark Blackman and Head of the college. Matt Thompson. This allowed us to speak openly and honestly about the situation we appear to have reached with the Athena Learning Trust. There are many people with differing opinions, and they all deserve to be heard, many concerns were raised and would like to think that we were listened to.”

As a result of the meeting, Cllr Parsons is hopeful that change is coming, and that further meetings will help achieve the best outcome for all parties.

“At this moment in time I believe we will be seeing a shift away from how things have been done in the past, but this will take some time,” he continued. “I hope open dialogue will continue with further planned meetings, working together we are trying to achieve the best outcome possible for all involved. Most importantly we look forward to seeing the much-needed changes to restore confidence for the children who attend the school and their parents.”