It would be easy to think that some of the worst days for the city’s Muslim free school are behind it now that Schools Minister Lord Nash has decreed its future direction.
Revelations and reports from the past two months have revealed that Al-Madinah School has an appalling record both academically and financially, despite only being open since September 2012.
But the trustees – Shazia Parveen, Shahban Rehmat and Ziad Amjad – have declared their intention to quit by the end of January and a new broom, in the form of Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, is being invited in to sweep clean.
So it is now that the really hard work begins to clear up the mess and ensure that the 412 pupils, aged four to 16, start to get the education they deserve.
The man who may get the task to oversee the transformation of the failing school, which has sites in Nelson Street and Friar Gate, is academy supremo Barry Day.
He is chief executive of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, which runs 22 other schools and is renowned for taking on schools in challenging circumstances.
The trust already sponsors the former Sinfin Academy, now renamed City of Derby Academy, which it took over in May.
Mr Day has been asked to “bring in a more experienced trust with the skills and capability required to deliver the improvements needed at the school”.
Mr Day, who has still to commit long-term to the school, has said he was very keen to meet everyone connected with the school as soon as possible.
He said: “I want to talk with parents, trustees, staff and the wider community to get a clear sense of where they want to go with the school.
“I particularly want to build relationships and I am convinced that, by meeting, we can move the situation forward in a good and purposeful way.
“I am happy to involve everyone who wants to be involved in any discussions that will take place in the next few weeks.
“The bottom line is that we are not taking over the school immediately, rather we are exploring what benefits we can bring to the school and if the situation is right for the school and for us.”
Last night, Mr Day admitted he had still to visit the school or see all the documentation connected with it and that he would have to ensure that his board were happy with taking Al-Madinah into the trust.
He said: “Discussions with the school and its stakeholders need to start as soon as possible and probably as early as next week or early the week after.
“This is not a formal consultation but a chance for us to hear from the people involved and as quickly as possible.
“I always lead on potential new projects and will be heading up any meetings which take place.
“I want people to be honest about what they want to happen with the school, particularly parents, for whom the education of their children is extremely important, because they made an active choice to move them out of a mainstream school into this one.
“The whole process of transformation needs to be transparent and open for everyone.”
Mr Day met officials from the Department for Education and two of the school’s three trustees earlier this week.
He said: “I believe the meeting was extremely useful and positive.
“We will look at the processes currently in place, especially those regarding safeguarding, procurement and finance. We will look at all the reports written about the schools, such as those by Ofsted and the Education Funding Agency.
“I believe there is likely to be a further Ofsted monitoring visit in the very near future and so we will be looking at that to see if any recent progress has been made.
“Once that process is complete, a report will be written by myself for the Greenwood trust board to determine the way ahead.”
Parents may be wondering whether or not the school will stick with its Islamic ethos in the future.
Lord Nash appeared to think it would when he wrote to the retiring trustees about Greenwood Dale.
He says: “An important factor in making my decision is delivering your original vision for an inclusive, all-through school with a Muslim ethos, serving the local community.
“The Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust has a track record of providing a high-quality education to children from a Muslim background.”
But parents will be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on at the school, which has been the centre of national focus since the Derby Telegraph revealed exclusively on September 20 that female non-Muslim staff were being forced to wear a hijab – an Islamic head covering.
Within two weeks, Lord Nash had ordered the school to stop insisting on Muslim dress for those who did not want to wear it.
And, while the school’s trustees are set to depart, a statement was issued on Thursday evening that the governing body was not resigning.
Additionally, the interim principal Dr Stuart Wilson, wrote to parents on the same day sympathising with them that they did not know what was happening but adding that he was in the same situation.
The trustees had been given time by Lord Nash to come up with an action plan for tackling problems at the school.
In the end he decided he was not satisfied that they had “demonstrated a strong basis for the transformation required at the school”.
He promises a “swift resolution” because, he says: “I cannot tolerate any child experiencing a poor quality of education in any state-funded school.”
Free schools have come under fire because, up to now, they have only been accountable to the DfE and Ofsted.
But it was revealed this week that eight regional boards are to be set up to oversee the country’s academies and free schools – an idea that was rejected by Prime Minister David Cameron when it was put to him by the Derby Telegraph less than a month ago.