The discussions with DCC about options for a secondary school are ongoing. DCC are very negative in their language and approach, and essentially they don't want to spend any money (if they have any to spend, which they say they do) but there are interesting developments and the more negative they become the more it seems to be in desperation to prevent a momentum building around the town which might make them do something visionary. A broad curriculum is an issue which we need further expert advice on, but the experts we have spoken to already tell us it's all doable with a little imagination and some timetabling software. Maybe I'm just being overly positive, but why be anything else?
Anyway, at last Education Swanage has a public face and (maybe foolishly) we welcome comments and questions. Most people on here seem to value their anonymity, so post questions etc here if you do, otherwise we can be contacted through our website at http://www.educationswanage.co.uk
Lots of info on there to digest, and as we gather it in we'll be publishing more.
Posted by Paul Angel to swanageview at 9:26 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
48 comments:
I don’t understand. How can there even be any discussion about schools before the results of the Local Development Framework consultation are in, and decided upon? If Swanage gets 412 new houses then the situation has changed dramatically. hasn't it?
Some thoughts on reading the Education Swanage blurb....
From your website: 'Swanage attracts dozens of new or returning families a year, attracts tens of thousands of secondary-aged children from around the country, and attracts thousands of foreign students every year who could be interacting more with local children in a new secondary campus.'
Yes it does and thank God for that but....there is a difference between attracting children here for a week's residential and being educated in the town until the age of 16.
You say: 'Under the 14-19 curriculum children choose where they want to pursue particular lines of education. Some children will be spending a day a week at sites other than their main school so that they can pursue the particular diploma they have chosen. Swanage children at that stage might choose to study part-time at the Wareham Campus, or in Dorchester, Poole, Weymouth - wherever is offering the 14-19 diploma they have selected.'
Will all transport to these places be available free of charge? If children want to pursue traditional GCSEs instead of diplomas and vocational courses, will they be able to do this at the Wareham Campus? What if they'd like to study an option that is avalable at Swanage? Will this mean that they will be discouraged from travelling to Wareham if they want to 'escape the confines of their home town'?
Oh. And what wil happen when the Tories get elected and scrap diplomas?
The Tories probably won't scrap the Diploma, what they 'care' about is ensuring that the GCSE and A Level remain available for the more academically gifted.
This will mean that each skool will have a Grammar and Secondary within it.
They could of course just be pandering to the silent majority - hi Mum and Dad.
They're also suggesting that 15% of the current money for refurbing/rebuilding skools will be channelled towards new skool places.
As for the LDF I think you'll find that PDC expect that most of the new homes will be bought by mature couples - seem to remember reading that, but can't find it.
Ok, one more, this may just be my ignorance, but 'Swanage attracts dozens of new or returning families a year'.
Does it?
Are you saying they move here?
Wow.
The only new family that I know of, that has moved here in the last few years, is Jonathan Ross's family, and its their second home, so they don't count.
At least he can afford to buy a property here.
The reason this discussion is going on with DCC is because DCC says it has to make changes to our schools NOW - whether or not the LDF says whatever it says and regardless of who's in power and what so-snd-so says they'll scrap if they win the election.
The reality is that the 14-19 diplomas are coming at the moment, and much of DCC's thinking revolves around making a Purbeck School that woks with them - at present they plan to use the Wareham Middle site for diplomas while the GCSE courses continue in the Purbeck School buildings - a split site school, but all in Wareham. And who can say whether transport will be free - it isn't even guaranteed that transport from Swanage to Wareham will always be free.
Anonymous 6.10 is right that there's a difference between a week's residential and living here - the point is that Swanage IS an educational honeypot for children all over the country. Our kids deserve to get some secondary education here too!
That's a funny but ill-informed comment about Wossy by the way - I'm right in the middle of Swanage and on my street and within a stone's throw there are 10 children who come from families who've moved here or returned in the past 5 years. Several other older children on the street have moved here in the last 10 years.
We don't make these things up, you know - we've spent months doing our research! DCC are trying to keep up...
Well done Education Swanage for your canvassing of the town this morning. It is great to see your commitment and to hear that you are raising awareness with so many people. It sounds like support is growing. DCC need to give this credit, and undertake a properly objective feasibility study.
Keep it up!
Yes I can confirm that there are many new and returning families in Swanage. In fact quite a few of them are the key players in the secondary school for Swanage campaign.
http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/pdf/g/e/SECONDARY_SCHOOL_MODELLING.pdf
Here's a link to DCC's response for anyone interested in reading
Extracts from DCC's Cabinet report found on Dorsetforyou.
Response: The authority recognises that the idea of full secondary provision
up to the age of 16 is an attractive proposition to the town of Swanage. It
respects the thinking behind both proposals and recognizes how this would
reduce some of the transport implications of moving to two tier for Swanage.
Nationally the vast majority (95%) of secondary schools have a population of
500 pupils or above; most have a population considerably more than that.
Whilst accepting that small secondary schools do exist, it is difficult to identify
the educational arguments in favour of such moves for the Purbeck area.
It could reinforce some of the least satisfactory aspects of the status quo. A
Swanage secondary school would at best sustain three forms of entry per
year group. On the face of it this sounds attractive in encouraging small
teaching groups with a strong community feel to the school. It is also
recognised that a couple of case studies do exist where secondary provision
has gone down to this size school. However, with the new 14 -19 curriculum
coming into being, this will make it even harder for those schools to deliver the
full national entitlement. Such examples of small secondary schools are
extremely rare; this is for a variety of sound educational reasons.
more:
Assuming a split site hub or a separate secondary school existed for years 7-
11; this model would be based upon the increasingly discredited 3 year KS3
model and would be counter to the new secondary planning from QCA.
Crucially it would result in there being virtually no sustainable subject option in
years 9-11 because optional subject class sizes would either be unsustainably
small or so small that there were would be no flexibility at all in terms of
grouping students.
Examples would be Key Stage 4 Textiles or the three separate sciences
subjects; comparatively small subjects but intrinsically important to a rich
secondary curriculum. In a typical year group of 300 about 25 – 30 students
opt for each of these subjects. If 10 were based in Swanage and 20 in
Wareham for example how could the secondary school(s) meet those
choices? It would pose serious problems both in the organization of classes
and access to specialist equipment. Even if the funding per students (AWPU)
could support this level of expenditure it would be difficult to justify in value for
money terms.
9
At Key Stage 4, apart from English & Maths, every subject is optional and the
scenario described in the previous paragraph would be repeated at least a
dozen times over. This would negatively affect opportunities, not only for
Swanage 13-19 year olds but all those in the rest of the pyramid. The only
possible way forward might be to cut choice dramatically but even this would
not guarantee viable groups at either site. The likely outcome would be to limit
opportunities for staff, parents and students which could result in increasing
numbers becoming dissatisfied and moving away from the area.
more still:
Furthermore, there are concerns around equality, standards and the quality of
learning and the efficient use of resources. The equality argument operates at
a number of levels. At its simplest, unless there were to be an exceptional
resource investment, students not based in Wareham could not routinely
access the outstanding sports facilities currently on offer. Neither could they
access the specialist equipment in Music, Science & Design Technology
which are vital to spark the interest and enthusiasm of younger children even
if they do not go on to specialist study. Serious questions would need to be
asked for example in investing in specialist equipment in subjects such as
D&T. Equipment would have to be doubled with the subsequent cost.
Some of the inequalities in the status quo would be reinforced but more
sharply focused on Swanage children. In terms of standards and the quality of
the learning experience, the implications could become unacceptable not only
for Swanage children but all of years 7 & 8.
There is plenty of legitimate scope for discussion about how best to organise
the curriculum for learning whether by age or ability. However, reducing the
pool of students at any one time reduces management options. The possibility
of setting by ability (used by most secondary schools and positively supported
by parents and government) would be extremely limited and students of all
abilities would lose out. It would not be possible to provide the necessary
stretch, pace or challenge at any level. It would be most evident, at the
extremes that the best that could be offered to a group of about 90 students
would be some rough ability banding. The most and least able would be
especially at risk.
Beyond the classroom there would be concerns about student’s personal
development and the development of the school as a vibrant learning
community. At 11 years old, there is a powerful argument that young people
need to stretch their horizons. With 90 young people in each year group set
apart in Swanage, serious concerns would be raised in offering school plays,
competitive sport, musical events and the development of a confident student
voice.
nearly there:
The move would build in inequality and do nothing to contribute to Ofsted’s
social cohesion agenda. The efficient deployment of resources also impinges
on standards and the quality of learning. With specialist teachers travelling to
Swanage there would inevitably be financial and environmental costs most
likely to be in excess of the transport implications with one proposed
10
secondary school at Wareham. More importantly, as far as the quality of
learning goes, the flexibility to deploy staff to their strengths across the entire
age range would be severely compromised. The timetable would also be
severely compromised as a massive constraint is introduced. Students of all
ages would have large blocks of time with a limited range of teachers and
while that may not be all bad, it would be negative in terms of providing
specialist teaching in Key Stage 4 & 5.
The economic costs would be substantial. The staffing bonus and curriculum
flexibility resulting from economies of scale would be dramatically reduced
and spread more thinly. Assuming 3 forms of entry over years 7 & 8 there
would need to provision for at least 300 teacher contacts per cycle. In a
secondary school every student has contact with at least 10 subject
specialists per cycle. Assuming that just 25 teachers were travelling to
Swanage, at least one full time equivalent would be swallowed up in travelling
time. There would also be practical considerations e.g. after school meetings
would not be able to start before 4.15. The directed time budget would be
severely stretched and it is likely that there would be a largely negative
response from staff.
finally:
However, we do recognise community concerns about provision for 11-16
year olds in Swanage. New provision in Swanage needs to recognise the
needs of this group and the authority would want to work with all parties to
develop an exciting educational future. All partners (including schools, youth &
health service) need to engage and provide study, personal development and
social opportunities in Swanage as well as a genuine extended school
provision focused on the Every Child Matters outcomes. It may be possible to
develop a flexible learning facility that provides for the primary ages and
enables students from 11-18 to study, do homework, engage with the wider
community or just socialise when they get off the bus at the end of the day (or
earlier perhaps for some groups e.g. post 16). It is not difficult to envisage,
based on a new primary focused learning campus in the town available from 8
am to 8pm or later. The authority would want to work with the Swanage
community to see what provision could be put in place.
In conclusion, it is fully acknowledged that secondary provision as outlined in
options 1 and 2 are attractive propositions to the Swanage community.
However, there would be grave educational consequences on all secondary
provision across the area which would most likely affect standards.
A flexible learning facility sounds like a good idea. Is it not possible to have after school clubs, sports facilities and extended schools provision with some community links at the middle school site? Is it not possible to do this without having a small secondary school in Swanage. Children can still go to Wareham to school where the larger school can provide science, dt labs, etc and full curriculum coverage but also have the opportunity to be involved in more after school and extra curricular activities, some of which can make use of our excellent location.
Thanks for picking some key beits of DCC's response out. The majority of their report was based on assumptions made about the 'tiny' school that would be created in Swanage (ignoring their own ward projection figures and assuming that the large numebr of families who choose schools outside the local area would increase) and also on negative assumptions regarding curriculum and timetabling.
Having showed this to a number of secondary specialists they say that yes, if you run a school badly DCC are right. Run it well and it will do as well as small schools and dual-site schools do outside Dorset. DCC are assuming that Purbeck will continue to under-perform, and they need to be challenged on this.
Not that this will make any difference to a lot of Swanage View readers, but Jim Knight read this document (former Schools Minister, so he's seen a few education reports before) and described it as one of the worst reports he'd seen - it drew conclusions based on negative assumptions and described the worst case scenario without presenting any positives. Anyone can do that - DCC have to show at some point that they can do something special.
The question remains: why do other counties acknowledge that schools other than large centralised comprehensives can work and do work and why do they not only fund them but use them as models of excellence? Why can't we do this in Dorset?
1.You say that you have spoken to 'experts'. Who are they? If I was in a meeting and said that an 'expert' had told me, I'd be laughed out of the room, unless I said who they were.
2.You say 'Swanage attracts dozens of new or returning families a year'. Again, source? Or are you extrapolating from your later post '10 children ….'.
3.You seem to be suggesting that a new Secondary school would get a sports centre – which Swanage desperately needs. DCC haven't said 'no', but reading between the lines …..
4.About 10 years ago PDC spent 11 or £12,000 on a survey. The No 1 request from the people of Swanage was for a sports centre. I was at the meeting where PDC decided to use this survey as 'for information only'. Which means there's too much money and planning tied up in the Purbeck centre to risk any competition.
5.Adult Ed in Swanage is a great idea, so why haven't the Weymouth, Poole & Bournemouth or Kingston Maurwood colleges done anything about it? About 12 years ago Weymouth very kindly ran the CLAIT course up at the Youth Centre. The courses were full, the attendance was great, the pass rate was fantastic. But, the students were largely 55 yr old plus, and they don't attract much funding.
6.Both Weymouth and Poole now run buses to their campuses. I haven't seen it around recently but K Maurwood used to, maybe still do, run one as well.
7.Dorset Adult Ed ran a Maths course last year in the Library, but it was by referral only. That's where the funding is.
The looooonnngggg post above is a very convincing argument – as your “Swanage IS an educational honeypot for children all over the country”. - is a very convincing emotional statement.
If we look at that in a somewhat different manner – Oxbridge is (are?) an 'educational honeypot'. Swanage and Langton are an educational honeypot for environmental issues. It's part of the 'value added' education. Which, whilst incredibly important, isn't essential. It won't teach kids to read and write, but those who've opted for it, and their parents can afford it, will hopefully benefit greatly.
Also please bear in mind that the Townsend Centre, where many of these kids stay/learn, is owned/run by Widehorizons and Greenwich/Lewisham councils and a couple of years ago Leeson had a hell of a fight to secure funding; whilst I don't give them too much credence there are always rumours about Harrow House closing as well.
From my reading of the situation what DCC are saying is that having a Secondary in Swanage would stretch already thin resources too far, risking the quality of the education received by the students of Purbeck. Their way of preserving, and hopefully, improving the quality is to have one large skool. Their experts – who we can name, versus your unnamed experts.
Yours
inexpert and unnamed.
Actually Paul I posted all of the extracts from the report to cabinet that were freely available on the Dorsetforyou website (cut and paste the entire paper but haddto chop up to fit into the word limits). I did this so that others could read an alternative argument and to opem up debate rather than just accepting that a new secondary school is necessarily the best idea. I find that many people fail to delve below the surface and really get to grips with both sides of opinion.
Before you jump at me. I know that the DCC report is biased but so is yours. It's in the public interest to hear from both sides. I am not saying which side I agree with at the moment but would like some of the people who are very pro a small secondary to also think about the educational issues in a broader sense, especially with regard to the most able pupils.
Anon 7pm - good point - I was too quick to criticise. The full DCC view is at: http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=393504 which gives the negative perspective to the positive one at www educationswanage.co.uk... now to see if those links work!
You're more expert than you say, 'inexpert and unamed' - or at least you do know your local educational history! I often wonder why there's no adult ed in Swanage - I work for adult ed in Bournemouth from time to time, and the provision here by Dorset Adult Ed is very poor. I'm sure they have their reasons, and many of them will be to do with funding the courses.
Your reading of DCC's position is right, too, though they haven't really talked about stretching resources too thinly, more that Swanage is too small, has too few children, our children need to mix with children from Wareham and beyond, and that they couldn't develop a curriculum that could serve anything other that a school of more than 1400 children. On two sites in Wareham. We say Swanage has 800 children, is a larger town than many in Dorset that have schools, is as socially mixed as any other town in Dorset (if not, more so) and that a curriculum can be developed that is broad and delivers high standards, just as other schools in other counties manage to do.
To answer your points: 1) In the confidential Options Forum meetings I attend with DCC they don't name names when they've spoken to people (mainly senior teaching staff) confidentialy. It's taken on trust that they have and that they are reporting accurately. Personally, I trust them. We disagree, but they're not bad people. I can't name the people we've spoken to, especially here, as some work for DCC and only speak to us as a campaign group if they're not quoted directly. I'm afraid you can either believe me or not... up to you!
2) The 10 children of 'new' families are only those I can see from my house - if my house were at the top of the hill I would have included the others across Swanage and in Langton.
3) & 4) DCC have promised new facilities at a new build primary, so that would logically suggest they'd do the same with a secondary. Also, to get Building Schools for the Future funding, which DCC still plans to use, they'll have to show that a new Purbeck School fits this: "every BSF school will be an extended school, offering additional or dual use facilities, such as sport halls, libraries, nurseries and ICT resources. BSF offers a great opportunity to integrate schools into wider regeneration projects, repositioning our schools at the heart of communities." (from the BSF Guidance doc). Purbeck School fulfills that for Wareham, but it isn't at the heart of Swanage, as far as I can tell.
The adult ed stuff applies to the paragraph above too.
The 'honeypot' phrase is emotive perhaps, but sometimes it's nice to counter the dry approach of educational beaurocrats with something that speaks to the heart and not just the head. It might not win prizes with them but it reminds other people what's so great about our town.
The DCC stuff is about an age 11 to 16 school, i.e. no sixth form. There are serious snags with that and its hard to see how the outcome would be different from a modern secondary.
About 10 years ago PDC spent 11 or £12,000 on a survey. The No 1 request from the people of Swanage was for a sports centre. I was at the meeting where PDC decided to use this survey as 'for information only'. Which means there's too much money and planning tied up in the Purbeck centre to risk any competition.
How did Harrow House get planning accepted for its dome-it can be seen from miles away, it stands out like a sore thumb. Was it because the owners promised to share its facilities with the Swanage community. Fantastic these facilities were too. But, it was not long before the owners withdrew their offer to Swanage people and put them out on the streets.
Why is Wareham considered the centre of the universe (Purbeck). Why were the plans to improve sports facilities withdrawn. Why was so much invested recently on the Purbeck Sports Centre, when Swanage has so little. Its about time the funding was shared out equally between Swanage and Wareham particularly as the population of Swanage is greater.
The best use of the Grammar School would be to return it to its rightful use-a secondary for Swanage, next to the football, cricket, and near the tennis courts at Beach Gardens, the grounds could be developed for further sports activities and a new eco build could be created on this site. Come on DCC buy it back from the Welfare Dwellings Trust, it should never have been sold in the first place!
Well done Ed Swan for organising your own drop in at the Co-op and raising the awareness of a new secondary for Swanage. And well done the co-op for not sitting on the fence and allowing them to do it, so many would have said 'no we can't get involved'.
Paul
thanks very much for your response. As I'm very much on the edge of this, I don't even have kids of skool age I think I'll shut up.
All the best.
Yours
inexpert and unnamed.
Has everyone forgotten tha fate of the primary schools in all of this?
Well, this particular post on Swanage View is about what happens to Swanage kids post-11, but no, trust me, the discussions about the primary schools have been ongoing at county and local level!
The good thing is that DCC are genuinely talking to local representatives, heads and governors this time so the resulting public consultation should be based on local ideas. Once that's underway, no doubt there'll be a Swanage View post about it!
But how much talking are you doing about First Schools Paul? It seems to me that you are so involved in the secondary campaign that perhaps you (and others)have lost interest in the First schools, which is odd since you were so forceful in your Save Swanage First campaign.
What a funny comment! Yes, I was 'forceful' in the SFS campaign (in a good way, I hope!) but being very involved in one campaign doesn't exclude me from thinking about another.
The fact is that at the moment SFS isn't under direct threat. I'm not involved with any other first school but where they have asked for advice I have given it - and sometimes I've even sounded like I know what I'm talking about!
If you only knew what we've been working through at the Options Forum meetings you'd realise that we are all thinking very hard about education from pre-school to life-long learning.
Education doesn't start at 4 and end at 11, and thinking / campaigning about education can include all age groups and all levels of school.
Anonymous said...
Has everyone forgotten tha fate of the primary schools in all of this?
2:27 PM
But how much talking are you doing about First Schools Paul? It seems to me that you are so involved in the secondary campaign that perhaps you (and others)have lost interest in the First schools, which is odd since you were so forceful in your Save Swanage First campaign.
6:52 PM
Why oh why can't I resist looking at the postings on this site??!
It would be best to ignore but
If this person were in any way involved with Education Swanage
he/she would realise that most of its members have been heavily involved in all of this since January, in the First School campaign, and now the Education Swanage campaign. If this person was aware of the hours and hours of work many people have put in for the sake of local children, community and environment I do not think they would be critising. Education Swanage has not just been focussing on a Secondary School. Many Swanage people have also been supporting the St Georges Action Group too. We are a community and do not work in isolated little pods! There is nothing separate about the Education Swanage Group, it is as its name suggests 'Education for Swanage'. There would not have been a second consultation for Swanage and Wool, if there had not been such strength of community response. What's wrong with supporting First and a Secondary School.
Nothing wrong with supporting both primary and secondary if that's what you are doing. It was just a question because there doesn't seem to be much talk about the first schools lately. It wasn't a criticism and I don't doubt that you have been working hard in the Education Swanage group. Perhaps you could shed some light on what Education Swanage wants to see for primary schools because I can't find it on the website. Apologies if I've missed something. Not criticising but seeking information.
Fair comment; there is no information on the Education Swanage website about Primary Schools. Here's why:
DCC wanted a new debate within the local community on the primary school arrangement for Swanage. They excluded the secondary issue because in their view a large secondary in Wareham was the only option. Education Swanage formed to lobby for the debate to include secondary in Swanage as well as outside. DCC agreed to talk but were still very opposed, so Education Swanage exists to keep secondary education for Swanage on the agenda.
The primary school debate is taking place between 'key stakeholders' and Education Swanage only has a seat at the table because DCC were good enough to give us one. I think they recognised that a large proportion of the Swanage community would wonder why the question of a secondary in the town was never properly discussed. While all of us who are active in the Education Swanage have connections to or a direct interest in each of the first schools it isn't our place (and it would be wrong for us as a lobby group) to come up with a solution for existing schools who are already working hard on their own behalf to do this.
Education Swanage's input to the debate is through the Options Forum where everyone is trying hard to come up with a solution for Primary Schools that will provide the very best for each part of the community and as many children as possible, of all ages.
Paul said 'If you only knew what we've been working through at the Options Forum meetings you'd realise that we are all thinking very hard about education from pre-school to life-long learning' and 'Education Swanage has not just been focussing on a Secondary School' but then says 'it isn't our place (and it would be wrong for us as a lobby group) to come up with a solution for existing schools who are already working hard on their own behalf to do this.' As those existing schools may or may not become primary schools I'm a tad confused because these statements seem to contradict each other. Education Swanage either is or isn't involved in the debate about the future primary schools.
When do the opinions of the options forum get shared with the wider community?
A. Nony-mouse 5.55: you are obviously trying to pick holes in Education Swanage as a group, yet you never say what you stand for or why.
I'll humour you and will try and put this in the simplest terms: It would be wrong for a secondary school lobby group to suggest on their website a solution for the Primary schools when the First Schools are already in the process of discussing options with DCC and each other.
In the Options Forum meetings if it is useful for me to put a point of view across or to suggest something regarding Primary provision then I do, but that is in an entirely different situation and is held confidentially so that 'stakeholders' are free to express their views openly.
That said: I've no idea when or even if the Options Forum discussions will be publicised. It might be a case of using the Freedom of Informnation Act, but I really couldn't say if even that would be helpful!
Can I just say: some of us really like this town and want it to be a better, more resilient, economically and environmentally sustainable place within which to live and to bring up our children. There's nothing wrong with criticism and please continue to pick holes if you like, but try to be a bit more constructive at the same time!
5.55 here.
Paul, Asking questions and trying to find out a bit more is not picking holes. I just felt that there were some inconsistencies in the points you were making and am trying to understand the situation. I was simply responding to things that you had said and trying to gain a clearer picture.
I suggest you are being rather defensive and patronising in your reponses which is a shame. Up until now you had come across as someone who is willing to enter into reasoned debate. I do think that if we are going to talk about the issues raised by the purbeck review and education swanage, you should expect some of us who don't have the same insight as you to ask questions.
5.55 again
Paul could you please also show where I have said that I don't 'like this town and want it to be a better, more resilient, economically and environmentally sustainable place within which to live and to bring up our children'?
Please recognise too that I am not the only person posting on this blog.
.55 again
Paul could you please also show where I have said that I don't 'like this town and want it to be a better, more resilient, economically and environmentally sustainable place within which to live and to bring up our children'?
Please recognise too that I am not the only person posting on this blog.
This isn't Paul, but like you I remain anonymous. I don't think in Pauls post it implies that you dont like this town...etc etc. So not sure why you are saying this. If you would like to know what is happening re the first schools, then ask Rick Perry directly, but I doubt if he knows either. If this is a proper consultation then he will be listening to all the views of the local people from each of the first schools, and then will be trying to make the right decisions for our community.
The The people on the options forum, from what I understand are working as a united team, to try to come up with something that benefits the education of all local children, the community and the environment.including Swanage and Langton Why would anyone in their right mind want to do anything other that that?
If you would like to email Rick Perry for a First/Primary school update then his email is: R.Perry@dorsetcc.gov.uk
E-mail Address(es):
R.Perry@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Has everyone forgotten tha fate of the primary schools in all of this?
Are there any that are fated, it seems they are all defending their identity rights quite admirably. I think it was Peter Cooper that said there is nothing so scary as a Brownie!! Fortunately there are alot of ex Brownies in these parts of the world, and we are most certainly scary. Be assured the First/Primaries have not been forgotten. Its just that the picture is now bigger.
Perhaps he didn't say that exactly but I felt it was implied as he wrote it in the same paragraph in which he accused me of picking holes (when I was asking questions)and said I should be more constructive (perhaps I will be when I find out a bit more about the situation, hence the questions).
Anonymous - sorry if I appeared patronising, but there are lots of us working really hard to get DCC to genuinely investigate a secondary school option to get the best for our children and spending time trying to explain why a secondary school campaign group doesn't have anything on their website about primary schools is really not very fruitful.
How about asking a question about secondary schools? If you want to start a debate about Primary, ask for one on the Swanage View home page. It could be useful.
http://www.daviesbell.co.uk/documents/LTDGC.pdf
I wonder if this link would help to explain why education should be at the heart of 'any' community.
Apologies, I don't think you will be able to click on this to find the website, you may need to do it manually.
I suppose that a secondary school for Swanage might fall outside the usual criteria for this government to support. It is a shame that there is not a Charter School provision here as in the States, which would allow Swanage to create a secondary school that would meet the town's specific needs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_school
Is anyone brave enough to suggest this (I would, but I live in America!).
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6879294.ece and http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/
It looks like Charter Schools are coming! To Swanage???
Interesting and new - to me.
But reading the criticism of Charter Schools in the Wikipedia page quoted above is a bit of a worry.
Who thinks that DCC will support an untried idea, and who knows, the Cons may not get in anyway.
'But reading the criticism of Charter Schools in the Wikipedia page quoted above is a bit of a worry.'
My first comment is: don't trust Wikipedia. It is often inaccurate or biased.
By way of introduction, I am American who has lived in and had connections with Swanage for 20 years. I have been in UK education for 35 years and have twice been a headteacher here. I have retired to the US but maintain a holiday home in Swanage. I have been involved with starting up schools both in the UK and in America, including charter schools.
My point: IF the comments on this blog are accurate (about the desire for a secondary school in Swanage), and IF the parents are prepared to roll up their sleeves (it will be an immense task) then a charter-type secondary school in Swanage is the only way forward.
I will be happy to assist if possible.
Have you posted your comments to the Education Swanage Website.
Thanks for your support and comments. Will post a reply after half term break!
http://www.coastalhost.co.uk/education-swanage/education-swanage.php?pagename=HaveYourSayEdcu
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "NEW SUBJECT":
Swanage gets a bit uppity - quiet at the back!
A brave move?
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/districts/purbeck/4715963.Swanage_parents_poised_to_start_own_school/
just in case
http://tinyurl.com/yhf5bor
The security word is 'rabbled', should anyone care.
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 7:23 PM
While I am wholeheartedly in support of a new secondary school for Swanage, the tenor of a number of posts has made me realise that our young people could prosper by spending some of their formative years outside Swanage - even if only Wareham. At least, their sixth form years, where the Purbeck School will offer more breadth - this is the plan, right?
Food for thought.
In response to the post from anonymous (8.03pm)
Firstly, thank you for supporting the proposal for a secondary campus in Swanage. You make a valid point that members of Education Swanage agree with - young people flourish when they widen their horizons and meet people from other communities.
It is worth bearing in mind our proposal for secondary provision in Swanage is a twin site model - a campus in Swanage and another in Wareham. It will be one school, adding 'more breadth' not just in the 6th form, but in key stages 3 and 4 as well, across both Swanage and Wareham. You are right to point out the plan is to have all Post 16 students based in Wareham, but with an Extended School provision in Swanage which could cater for a range of age groups including adult learners.
We would very much welcome further dialogue from you to ensure we take every opportunity to consider the full range of views within the community.
I am really pleased to see that you are putting so much of effort for hopeful the readers with valuable posts like this.
teachershub
Post a Comment