school closure

Oct 22 2010

STOP PRESS! Epinay School Saved!!

Great news. The outstanding special school in South Tyneside has been saved from closure by The Schools Adjudicator! I have just been told today by the Head Teacher of the victory for common sense. All credit to her and all the rest of the Epinay community who have fought hard and long against the flawed (and ultimately ridiculous) proposal to amalgamate 3 special schools on one site.

The Schools Adjudicator rejected the proposal because, amongst many cogent arguments put to him which he accepted, he could not see that the standards of education could be improved for the majority of pupils affected (namely those currently at Epinay). Yes – why close an outstanding school and expect for that school’s ethos and standards to be replicated at a new site with new teachers and in a different environment? South Tyneside’s cabinet members  should hang their heads in shame for trying to close one of the few outstanding schools in their area.

But – jubilation for Epinay. May their celebrations last for a long time. At least someone eventually listened to them. Someone without a vested interest. At least The Schools Adjudicator brought some reality into this farcical situation.

Long live Epinay.

By David • Blog • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

Sep 10 2010

Effective Campaigning Action – Sharing Ideas

I cannot believe that I am the only one with examples of effective action against school closure. Surely there must be other people, other groups who have been successful in fighting off a school closure proposal! Give me your examples and experience and let’s put them on this site for all to see and benefit from. The more examples of effective action we can display, the better the site will be for those folks who are suffering from a school closure proposal for the first time.

Please comment here or email me your experiences so that we can improve the advice and assistance that we can give on this site. The site is well regarded by Google and generally appears on the first page of searches involving the term “school closure”. So people looking specifically for information on fighting school closures will generally find this site.

Let’s give people the ability and the confidence to resist any closure proposals  that parents do not want. Please help the cause.

By David • Blog • 0 • Tags: , ,

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.

By David • Blog • 0 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Jun 2 2010

Parents’ Rights?

If you have ever been involved in a school closure it is difficult to avoid the conclusion  that parents seem to have no rights and their views are ignored during the consultation process. This is how many local authorities treat the parents in the process either deliberately or inadvertently.

But it is important to know that even the law says that parents have an important influence. The statutory guidance says:


“A System Shaped by Parents

4.17 The Government’s aim, as set out in the Five Year Strategy for Education and Learners and the Schools White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools For All, is to create a school system shaped by parents which delivers excellence and equity.  In particular, the Government wishes to see a dynamic system in which:

· weak schools that need to be closed are closed quickly and replaced by new ones where necessary;

· the best schools are able to expand and spread their ethos and success; and

· new providers have the opportunity to share their energy and talents by establishing new schools – whether as voluntary schools, Trust schools or Academies - and forming Trusts for existing schools.

4.18The EIA 2006 amends the Education Act 1996 to place new duties on LAs to secure diversity in the provision of schools and to increase opportunities for parental choice when planning the provision of schools in their areas.  In addition, LAs are under a specific duty to respond to representations from parents about the provision of schools, including requests to establish new schools or make changes to existing schools.  The Government’s aim is to secure a more diverse and dynamic schools system which is shaped by parents. The Decision Maker should take into account the extent to which the proposals are consistent with the new duties on LAs.

Standards

4.19 The Government wishes to encourage changes to local school provision which will boost standards and opportunities for young people, while matching school place supply as closely as possible to pupils’ and parents’ needs and wishes.


Surplus Places

4.34 It is important that education is provided as cost-effectively as possible. Empty places can represent a poor use of resources - resources that can often be used more effectively to support schools in raising standards. The Secretary of State wishes to encourage LAs to organise provision in order to ensure that places are located where parents want them. LAs should take action to remove empty places at schools that are unpopular with parents and which do little to raise standards or improve choice. The removal of surplus places should always support the core agenda of raising standards and respect parents’ wishes by seeking to match school places with parental choices.”

These are not idle words but local authorities seem to be blind to these sections of the guidance. These words can be used to support your case particularly when you have experienced a poor consultation and will resonate with The Schools Adjudicator if they get involved.

By David • Blog • 5 • Tags: , , , , ,

May 31 2010

The Importance of Community

I just thought I would do a short post about the importance of community in the closure of a school. As part of the decision making exercise, local authorities are supposed to take into account community use of the school. It usually centres on how much use is made of the school premises by local community groups. This is actually what the guidance states. If there is a lot of use by community groups then it is more difficult to close the school.

However, in the case of Gillas Lane Primary School, we found The Schools Adjudicator to be open to a much wider interpretation of “community”. We argued that the community valued and supported the school in different ways even though there was little community use of the school’s premises. We pointed to the history of the area and the role the school had played when there was social disruption for several years. The school was seen as an oasis of calm for the children of the area and it never received any vandalism during this period. We were supported at meetings by members of the local community who did not have any links to the school. They stood up in meetings and supported the school in their own way. The school was a living symbol for the community of the good things in the area rather than a resource to be used.

The Schools Adjudicator did comment on this. He felt from the meeting and the written representations made that the local community valued the school and was impressed by the support given. I am sure that this had an impact on his final decision.

It just shows how The Schools Adjudicator is more likely to take a much wider view of the overall context of the school than the minimum that the statutory guidance states.

By David • Blog • 0 • Tags: , ,