recession

Dec 6 2011

Wakeman School to Close – Schools Adjudicator Lessons

I’ve received the sad news in recent days that the fight to save the Wakeman School in Shrewsbury from closure has been unsuccessful. Despite putting up a fantastic fight and with the support of most of the local community and the local Diocese, The Schools Adjudicator has approved the Shropshire County Council plan to close the school.

Having read the Adjudicator’s report in detail, I must say that I am disappointed with his report which does not, in my opinion, provide the level playing field that I have previously supported and championed. He glosses over some of the clear inadequacies of the council’s process and consultation and does not delve sufficiently deeply into the statistics which were contentious and challenged strongly by the Wakeman Parents group. There were no reprimands, slight or otherwise, for a council that did not plan to consult formally with the school’s pupils or the feeder primary schools. He stated that these things had happened but chose to allow the council off scot free with the argument that eventually these groups were aware of the consultation (mainly because of the school and parents’ actions) so they got their opportunity to make their representations anyway! He seems not to have seen this as a failing of the council which seems inexcusable. In similar situations, I have seen Schools Adjudicators criticise councils in their reports for identical failures.

Up to this point I have felt that access to The Schools Adjudicator is a positive thing to ensure an unbiased and objective assessment of the situation. This report shows that the Schools Adjudicators are individuals and have their own predispositions. In other words, your chances of getting a fair hearing might depend on which Schools Adjudicator you get for your appeal.

In many ways this is still preferable to a more cynical interpretation of this report which might suggest that, generally speaking, councils’ arguments are now being given more priority because of the dire financial circumstances they find themselves in. But where does this leave good schools and parents and pupils? Is the Statutory Code of Guidance being interpreted in favour of councils to help save them money? Let’s hope this is not the case or else the code’s phrase “an education system shaped by parents” sounds very hollow and deliberately misleading.

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Sep 9 2010

Government Policy on School Closure

It seems to me that the present government is in a bit of a bind on school closures. On the one hand, it now has to plan for an increasing number of primary school children for the next decade at least (15 -18 % increase up to 2018) and yet it is in the middle of the worst recession since the second world war and feels it has to make serious cuts in public spending. It has already indicated that the Building Schools for the Future programme has been scrapped in its present form. So how is it going to cope with added pressure on current school accommodation?

Many local authorities are way behind the times with their school provision strategies. They are still stating in their consultation literature that they expect rolls to fall so there is, in their eyes, an argument for closing schools. Clearly, this is not the case with government statistics verifying the forecast increase. But they seem to be wary of reviewing their current strategies as they still have surplus places that need to be dealt with now. But surely the surplus places issue will begin to diminish as pupil numbers rise over the next few years. Closing schools just reduces capacity at a time when that capacity may be needed. Schools are becoming assets now and not the liabilities they have been treated as in the last decade.

Everyone would like to have brand new, purpose-built schools for their children but this may have to be sacrificed to deal with the recession. New building may make way for refurbishment where possible as a lower cost option to help reduce public spending. Maybe all will become clear in the Spending Cuts this autumn. But any local authority closing schools now may hamstring themselves if there is no more money for new build into the future. Maybe they should look after what they already have and avoid the embarrassing situation that some London and Midland authorities found themselves in last year and this year where they do not have enough places for their primary school population because of a previous over-zealous school closure programme.

Local authorities should take stock now and not make any decisions on school closure that will disadvantage their electorate over the next decade. Now is the time for contemplation and not action until the Government’s policy on school provision becomes clear.

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Jun 30 2010

School Closures and the Economy

Everyone knows that we are in the most difficult economic circumstances for generations. The new coalition government has just announced drastic measures to cut public expenditure. Figures of 25% over the next five years have been mentioned. This may be an underestimate as some public services will be protected ie NHS. Where does this leave education?

There is no doubt in my mind that education will face some severe cuts particularly in the new schools capital programmes. This will have a significant impact on education. Yet local government will also be faced with jaw dropping reductions in their day to day (revenue) spending as well. The only way that local authorities will be able to balance the books in education will be to close or amalgamate schools and make teachers redundant. So there will be even more pressure on local authorities to find schools to close or amalgamate from now on. Whatever the rights and wrongs of this approach, it will happen.

Small schools are easy targets. Economically they represent a less efficient use of scarce education financial resources regardless of the educational benefits that a small school can bring to its pupils. Even if the small schools survive they will have to operate on a much smaller budget. Class sizes will rise. In some cases the operational viability of small schools will come into question. It is a gloomy picture but one which I fear is realistic for the next few years as the country tries to get back into a more positive economic footing.

I do have some sympathy for what local government will have to go through and education in particular. But parents still have the right to fight for their child’s education and they will have their say in the matter of proposed closures. The rule of law becomes ever more important in the closure process and the statutory guidance is key to any successful challenge. If local authorities do not carry out review processes comprehensively, fairly and consistently, if they ignore statutory guidance, if their consultation methods are poor, then parents have a right and a duty to complain and challenge the proposals.

The nagging fear is that the government will change the rules on school closures to make it easier for local authorities to make closures happen in order to meet the financial targets being set. This could erode parents’ ability to challenge and object to proposals they feel are unfair. Unscrupulous local authorities could use any changes to ride roughshod over parents’ wishes and preferences.

The situation is serious and needs to be monitored constantly. We need to be vigilant and watch the press and the media for any proposed changes by the incumbent government affecting education. I will try and assess the impact of any possible changes on the guidance given on this site.

In the meantime, fight the good fight using all the means at your disposal.

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