by political editor Paul Francis

Plans for a struggling secondary school in north Kent to become an academy have taken another step forward.

County councillors have approved a proposal by Kent County Council for the Wilmington Enterprise College in Dartford to become part of the Leigh Academies Trust, a three-strong academy.

But they said the county council had let pupils down and problems with standards should have been spotted far earlier.

It also emerged that 12 staff were effectively sacked last term under competency procedures.

While the academy plan drew support at a meeting of KCC's schools organisation advisory board, there was a warning that other nearby schools could be affected.

One councillor also claimed that some academies exploited their more generous funding from Government to poach staff from other Kent schools.

Wilmington was placed in special measures by Ofsted inspectors a year ago but on their most recent monitoring visit, inspectors rated the school as "satisfactory".

Under the academy plan proposed by KCC, the school will be federated with the Leigh Technology Academy and the Longfield Academy as part of what is known as the Leigh Academies Trust. It will no longer be a KCC school, with funding coming directly from the government.

County education chiefs say the failings identified by inspectors can be better addressed with help from the other two schools, which will share expertise and staff.

Simon Webb, KCC's education officer for Dartford and Gravesham, said the school was suffering severe staff shortages, with 12 teachers resigning last term. But he described recent progress at the school as "a signficant improvement" and more than half of pupils were predicted to get good GCSE results next year.

"We have been able to replace some teachers but most have not because we have been unable to recruit. There are up to seven or eight supply teachers in the school," he told councillors.

Cllr Ann Allen (Con), a local councillor for the area, said: "I have to say we have let the school down. It should never have been allowed to get to the point that it has. I am worried that while this happens, it will set the pupils back. We must not take our eye off the ball because we have done in the past."

Cllr Gary Cooke (Con) voiced concerns about the number of academies and their potential impact on other KCC-run schools. "We have seen situations where academies have been poaching staff from non-academy schools. There is going to be a point at which it becomes less advantageous to us to support further academy growth."

If KCC's proposal is eventually agreed, the academy would open in September.

The school, which will take about 750 children and have a sixth-form for 200 students, would be completely re-built by 2013.