A WEST Bridgford academy has been told it is allowed to help struggling schools – weeks after the Government said it couldn't.
Rushcliffe School had been working closely with Eastwood Comprehensive to drive up standards.
It had planned to sponsor it in its quest to become a academy but the Department for Education intervened, saying it couldn't go ahead as its own Ofsted report wasn't good enough.
Now head teacher Phil Crompton has had a letter informing him of the change of heart.
But it is too late to re-ignite the Eastwood deal, as Arnold's Redhill Academy has already stepped into the breach.
Mr Crompton admitted it was "frustrating".
He added: "Staff, governors and parents at Eastwood have all been told that they will be working with Redhill now.
"We don't want that to change. We don't want to cause more disruption."
Mr Crompton and senior staff at Rushcliffe had been working closely with Eastwood since late last year to drive up standards.
It is one of a number of increasingly-popular partnerships between a successful school and one which is judged to be struggling.
But they were contacted by the Government to say only academies rated "outstanding" can act as sponsors of others.
While Redhill has an "outstanding" rating, Rushcliffe has the next-best "good".
Eastwood Comprehensive is currently in the "requires improvement" Ofsted category. More than half of pupils (58 per cent) failed to get the benchmark of five GCSE grades between A* and C in 2012.
Redhill will act as Eastwood's sponsor when it changes to an academy in September. The Government's change of heart followed a letter Rushcliffe School governors wrote to the secretary of state for education Michael Gove and local MP Ken Clarke reminding them that earlier this year they had received a letter from the Department for Education congratulating them on being in the top 100 schools in the country. Meanwhile Ofsted has indicated it expects the next report to be "outstanding".
Mr Crompton said they would be available in the future should any school need help.
Richard Jenkins, chairman of governors at Rushcliffe, said: "It is unfortunate that confusion has led to the long-term plan to sponsor Eastwood having to be shelved. They are a great group of people to work with and we know we were making a difference."
Anthony May, corporate director for children, families and cultural services at Notts County Council, said: "Rushcliffe is a highly impressive school and the work they have done at Eastwood is acknowledged to be of the highest standard. They have made an enormous difference."
