By Steph Johnson

Last updated 16:18, Thursday, 25 September 2008

Carlisle's new Richard Rose Central Academy will give parents a chance to share their worries on the school’s website after reports that rival gangs were causing trouble.

School’s out: Pupils leave the new Richard Rose Central Academy

Richard Rose Federation chief executive Peter Noble told the News & Star the move was a response to the reports of problems following the merger of St Aidan’s School and North Cumbria Technology College (NCTC) to create the new establishment which opened in September.

Mr Noble said staff had not been told about any alleged clashes between students who previously attended the different schools. And, although he believes there are no serious problems, he wants to make sure the school has all the information it needs during the transition.

He said: “We have not made it easy enough for parents to lodge their concerns. This is one of the things we have learnt over the past few weeks. What we want to do is to make it as easy as possible for them.”

Parents at Richard Rose Morton Academy will be given the same opportunity on their website. Even though its pupils have not undergone the same upheaval, Mr Noble is aware that there will still be issues to raise.

He hopes parents will also make use of the sites to let staff know when they are pleased with what is happening at the schools.

There will be a guaranteed response time and all feedback will be considered by federation bosses at regular evaluation meetings.

Mr Noble accepted that there have been teething problems at the Central Academy site which used to house NCTC in Harraby.

But he said that was inevitable with such a large and complex project.

He promised to investigate problems such as litter, pupils playing truant and parking which were raised at a Yewdale Neighbourhood Forum. Local scrutiny committees have been set up for both academies.

The websites are: www.richardrosecentralacademy.org and www.richardrosemortonacademy.org