** An emergency governing board has taken over at Whitby School after North Yorkshire Council used its statutory powers of intervention. Parents were told this week that an Interim Executive Board (IEB) has been established with immediate effect, following a warning notice issued to the school's governing board on 21 September. The move was approved by the Department for Education's regional director.

Who sits on the new board

The board is chaired by Nick Hinchliffe, principal of Selby High School. Its other members are Richard Adams, an education programme specialist at Anglo American; Darren Holmes, chief executive of Enquire Learning Trust; Marianne Best of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council; and Louise Bell, head of learning and development at North Yorkshire Council.

What the board will do

The IEB assumes the full responsibilities of the governing board and will work alongside school leaders to drive improvement, according to the letter sent to parents on 4 November. An interim executive board is a temporary governing body introduced when a school is judged to require significant improvement. Both the [Gazette & Herald](https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/26707868.emergency-board-takes-governance-whitby-school/) and [The Whitby Anchor](https://thewhitbyanchor.co.uk/interim-executive-board-appointed-at-whitby-school-after-intervention-from-department-for-education/) report the same appointments and timetable.

Reasons not yet given

North Yorkshire Council was contacted for comment on the reasons for the intervention but had not responded by the time of publication. The school's letter did not set out the specific concerns behind the warning notice. Parents will now be watching for the board's first decisions and for any further statement from the council or the Department for Education about the school's future.