Avoid the Valentine Day massacre! Have your say on Purbeck school closures BEFORE 14 FEBRUARY
1/ As part of Dorset County Council's 'great debate' there is a Questionnaire you can complete to ensure your opinion is counted. You can find out more at
http://www.dorsetcc.gov.uk/greatdebate
You can complete the Questionnaire online at
http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/Learning/GreatDebate.nsf/GreatDebate?OpenForm
There is a real chance that much-valued schools may be forced to close, so please find out more, and act NOW.
You may also write to :
John Surowiec
Deputy Director of Education
County Hall
Collliton Park
Dorchester
DT1 1XJ
Please act NOW, so that you don't miss the deadline.
2/ If you are particularly interested in St George's, Langton, there is a very real possibility the First School and Pre-School might be closed. You can find out more information at the meeting in the school hall at St George's, Langton at 8pm on 8 February
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3 comments:
Do the authorities (Dorset County Council) REALLY want to know what people think ? The Questionnaire they have produced seems designed to confuse and deter. Perhaps the hope is that information overload will make people give up and go away.
Just look at the very first question.....
Q1. The general arguments about working together and the case studies provided, such as the Chesil Partnership, are the right approach for Dorset to adopt." How strongly do you agree or disagree with this statement?
So, from the very beginning, you are expected to either know what they are talking about or go off and research the information somewhere.
Don't most people just want to know about the pros and cons of the 2 or 3-tier system and how this will affect their local schools?
If the Council DO want to involve the public, why not make the process more more user-friendly, to actively encourage debate rather than require would-be contributors to jump thrugh seven hoops to get involved?
Here is the text of an email I have sent to Mr. Surowiec today. His email address is: j.surowiec@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Dear Mr. Surowiec,
As a parent with children at a primary school in Dorset, I am writing to register my serious concerns over the Great Debate.
It is not much of a great debate when we have only found about the consultation questionnaire by chance. Why have you not communicated this to all parents via the Schools?
The format of the questionnaire, requiring background reading documents, is far from user friendly. I think the Plain English campaign might be interested. I have seen examples of this type of so called consultation elsewhere, and I am not impressed.
May I suggest that if you really want to see some legitimacy in this exercise you make sure that all parents are properly informed of the process prior to closing down any options.
I should add that I hold no brief for any particular options or approach at this stage, other than wishing to see an approach of continuous improvement in education provision. This may of course change when I have had the chance to try to decipher your documents and questionnaire.
Even if there is no intent to mystify the process for ulterior motives, the appearance of mystification is just as bad. Perception is reality!
Thank you,
Richard Sutherland
Regarding comments about the process of the'great debate'..I see in the glossy Public Discussion Documnet, it says ... If you have any concerns about the process for these discussions or their fairness, please contact the Chairman, Rob Pryke, through:
Rob Starling Tel 01305 224454 or r.j.starling@dorsetcc.gov.uk
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