Students at Whitstable school worry over closure during funding dispute with County Council

KentOnline / KMTV

The Far Academy provide SEND provision to dozens of young people, including those who have dropped out of mainstream education.   Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00For young people who struggle to attend mainstream schools in the Whitstable area,

00:04the Fastgate Academy provides a place where they can continue their learning in an alternative setting

00:08while making sure they get their qualifications.

00:11One of those students is Kira and she's studying maths, English and photography

00:14but before that she wasn't in mainstream education since primary school

00:18and was on authorised absences for four years

00:20and says she didn't have any help before coming to the academy.

00:24The Farcademy has helped me a lot.

00:26There's a lot of people around here that just understand me

00:29and I've been able to make friends that have my interests.

00:35They just know me here.

00:36They know how to deal with me, how to handle me if I have issues and problems

00:41and they're really kind to it.

00:44They understand your mental health here, don't they?

00:47And they really help you with it.

00:48If you're having a bad day, they make it better.

00:52Kent County Council say they were informed on the 13th of October 2025

00:56by Farcademy of its decision to cease operations on the 15th of October.

01:01This unexpected action has left us no choice but to immediately begin arranging suitable

01:05alternative provision for the 23 young people currently funded by the council.

01:09The decision to close is part of a funding dispute between the council and the school

01:13wherein a change of price from a previous year's discount due to the amount of students

01:16brought about the decision.

01:17So this year we've had to put them on our standard published fees which are on our website

01:25so it's all very transparent and they agreed to that.

01:29So we haven't put up our fees at all.

01:32We're just back onto our standard fees which have been on our website for 10 years.

01:36I spoke to the council's cabinet member for Education and Skills about this dispute.

01:40There was an agreement in place for 23-24 which was an agreed amount per pupil of £23,000.

01:49When the invoice was expected which would have been just start of the new term

01:55an invoice came in which was basically for £35,000 per pupil.

02:01The academy has different facilities like a skate park and skate shop

02:04that they can incorporate into a more practical teaching style.

02:07Now this place is for those who the school system might have failed.

02:11So in order to get them to fall in love with learning again

02:13they can learn a variety of different subjects.

02:15Obviously they can still cover their maths and English qualifications

02:17but if they've got an interest in graphic design

02:20they can design their own skateboards and sell them here in the shop.

02:23Maybe behind the counter someone working towards a business qualification

02:26is able to show off their design and marketing skills

02:29or learn how a product is really sold.

02:32The families of pupils at the school say they hope that Kent County Council

02:35and the Fire Academy can reach an agreement.

02:38Finn McDermid for KMTV in Whitstable.

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