'New Consultation for Wool, Bere Regis, Swanage and Langton'.
Consultation: definition - 'to seek information or advice from someone'
Consultant: definition - 'a person who is qualified to give expert professional advice'
Here we go again!
Future school provision in Purbeck - consultation
A review of educational provision in the Purbeck area is currently under way.
The key purpose is to create a school system which is more efficient, effective and fit for purpose, enabling all children and young people to achieve high standards.
Update on progress
A period of public consultation is currently taking place in the Langton Matravers, Swanage and Wool areas on fresh proposals for primary school provision. In addition, public consultation is taking place in Bere Regis concerning which pyramid of schools Bere Regis School should reside in. Copies of the consultation documents for each of these areas can be found by clicking on the link below marked "Consultation documents".
Update letters have also been sent to staff, governors and parents and can be found below by following the relevant links.
Drop in sessions are being held within these areas during March. They are informal and are designed to provide anyone with an opportunity to meet officers and to submit their views. Attendance can be at any time during these sessions. Dates, times and venues are listed below:
3 March 2010
Wool First School, High Street, Wool
3.30 - 5.30 pm
3 March 2010
D'Urberville Hall, Colliers Lane, Wool
6.00 - 7.30 pm
4 March 2010
St Mary's Catholic First School, Folly Lane, Wool
3.30 - 5.30 pm
9 March 2010
Bere Regis First School, Rye Hill, Bere Regis
3.00 - 5.00 pm
9 March 2010
Children's Centre, Chapel Lane, Swanage
6.00 - 7.30 pm
10 March 2010
Swanage First School, Mount Scar, Swanage
2.00 - 4.00 pm
16 March 2010
St Mary's RC First School, Manor Road, Swanage
3.30 - 5.30 pm
17 March 2010
Swanage St Mark's First School, Bell Street, Swanage
2.00 - 4.00 pm
18 March 2010
St George's First School, High Street, Langton Matravers
3.30 - 5.30 pm
Project Manager
Name: Rick Perry
Email: r.perry@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mobile: 07979240761
Full details for Rick Perry
Name: Purbeck Review
Email: purbeckreview@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Full details for Purbeck Review
http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=388931
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
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21 comments:
Roll up, roll up, and listen.
We know what's best for you.
Signed-
DCC
Yep, listen to DCC, they know best??
Hey, what about if we think for ourselves, that would be a refreshing idea.
But surely they know what's best for us...don't they?
Mmm not sure about that, perhaps we should just start to think about all of this. Seems that the last article in the Times Ed, talks about school closures recommended because of empty seats and then, having to reopen and build new schools because of population increase.
Listen we know what's best for you.
DCC
DCC :::
D on't
C ount on
C onservatives to fix our schools!
I’m surprised that there haven’t been any more comments here regarding this latest round of ‘consultation’. Perhaps people are burnt out having already contributed to the discussion on the “Swanage Secondary School” blog (3rd Feb 10). Oh well, let me jump right in and say that in my humble opinion the proposals regarding the potential future of primary school education in Swanage and Langton are a total disaster. Retaining all four first schools as primary schools with a single form entry is plain crazy. I find it very sad that there seems to have been so much inflexibility regarding any possible consolidation of the first schools in Swanage and Langton. Having said that it has to be said that DCC’s approach to the subject has been inconsistent, ham fisted and insensitive. We’re told that experiences gained by local authorities during school reorganisations are shared on a national basis - something I find very hard to believe judging by the consultations that have taken place to date.
Primary school years are in many ways just as important as the secondary ones and lay the foundations for later achivements. Indeed in the ‘good old days’, year 6 education concluded with the 11+ exam. The DCC consultation paper which has just been distributed to the first schools states that quote “children’s education should not be subject to avoidable compromise”. Well I’m sorry but the proposals as they stand will risk doing just that – in particular in respect of years 5 and 6 who today benefit from the vastly superior environment at Swanage Middle School. How St. Mary’s and St George’s in particular can honestly say that they can provide a fully effective 21st Century primary school for all ages (4-11) on such small existing sites is frankly beyond me. Even Mount Scar who have the largest first school premises in the town have playing fields which are a third of a mile away from their main buildings (the same distance as the Middle School site is from the Langton Matravers village boundary incidentally). Also, does it make educational or financial sense for St Marks to move to the Middle School site – with all its space and potentially excellent facilities - and form a primary school all on their own? I can’t see how it does.
There must be a risk that these proposals will ultimately be unsustainable and that one of the schools may fail. Particularly if the continued effects of property speculation and low employment opportunities result in further decreasing birth rates.
The bright children and those from wealthier backgrounds will always tend to rise to the top but the less able pupils will fare less well under the new proposals. We are happy for our children to integrate and attend the Middle School site at age 9 so why not any younger? Secular and faith arguments should not be allowed to undermine what should be the over-riding issue – the quality of our young children’s education.
The scenario that we lose all 11+ education from the town and are left with multiple primary schools with low rolls risks compromising pupils’ education. It is something that we as a community should reject.
Ah, the tangled webs .....
Because of the consultation DCC have changed their desire to close or merge certain First Schools.
This may just be a bed we have made ourselves.
Having Post 11 education in Swanage was NEVER going to happen. Purbeck is below numbers, that is DCC's main concern. They think that they know how to address this issue. Do I have the knowledge to 'nay-say' them, er, no.
A new Gov't may change all of this, but somehow I doubt it.
Whoops, I might be wrong.
"Head teachers warn on Tory 'corner shop' schools plan"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8553617.stm
That's the ASCL, it's NUT who are the, er, um, more radical!
Although from my reading of the Tory ideas that may only be allowed in areas where schools are failing.
I’m surprised that there haven’t been any more comments here regarding this latest round of ‘consultation’. Perhaps people are burnt out...
Mmm lets think about this.
Do you think it could be because the Community is generally confused at DCC's intention to plough ahead with this regardless of lack of BSF funding, economic recession and unknown leadership ?
Consultations in Swanage this week. If you can make one, please press the officers for answers to exactly how and when the renovations will be made to turn your first school into a primary.
If they don't know, ask them how we are supposed to comment when we don't know how our children's education will be affected.
Also, as taxpayers who will be repaying the interest on their borrowing, ask them how they can press ahead in light of the loss of BSF funding.
These would all be reasonable replies for the response document too
Yep, I agree, but it could also be that DCC are the only people who know how much money they already have, they know how much they've got for 2010-11; they know how much they're losing with Purbeck being below roll.
So far as I'm aware, none of us know that.
For education that's quite simple. Dorset get roughly £1500 per pupil from Government and DCC take a third. This pays for all those accountants working out how to spend a third on buraucracy and keeping an eye on the heads spending their two thirds on unimportant stuff like teachers, heating, books and pencils.
In addition about £8 million a year comes from the council tax payer. This pays for e.g. new secondary buildings in Wimborne or Sherborne and every other town apart from Swanage.
Interestingly, any secondary pupil being pushed to take a vocational Diploma instead of the academic route bags an additional £1000 per year from central government. This is no way affects the decision to turn the Purbeck into the only school in the country offering almost all the Diplomas.
Interestingly, any secondary pupil being pushed to take a vocational Diploma instead of the academic route bags an additional £1000 per year from central government. This is no way affects the decision to turn the Purbeck into the only school in the country offering almost all the Diplomas.
What happens if the majority of 16-18 year olds decide to leave Purbeck School and choose to go to college to do vocational subjects.?
Ok, influence can be bought to bear, but if Purbeck are offering so many Diplomas then that's the decision of the School, it's Head, it's Govenors and as they're not on strike, then presumably the Unions agree with it as well.
Whoops, forgot to say that Diplomas are chosen at 14, and will be provided in 'partnership' with other bodies.
What if we wave some white flags..and say that we surrender..do you think DCC would stop attacking us, and listen to our community.
What if someone 'mighty and powerful' came to our aid for a change..
Sounds like the stuff of fairy tales and dreams..but far better than the horror stories we have been experiencing so far.
Leave the white flags at home. Swanage is doomed, as far as the big boys in Dorchester are concerned.
Ironic, one thinks, when the Tory mandarins forget about a rich vein of Tory votes in Swanage. Yet we return them to power time and time again.
Maybe, just this once, everybody should vote for one of the other parties, to wake the Tories up.
Purbeck can't offer most of the new diplomas - no school in the country is doing that. In Weymouth & Portland they are boasting that between the entire partnership of schools plus the college they'll be offering 'most' diplomas. Purbeck has enough trouble with GCSEs and Alevels, getting some of the lowest results in the county - 21st out of 28 schools for GCSE and 15th out of 21 at A level.
Purbeck can't offer most of the new diplomas - no school in the country is doing that. In Weymouth & Portland they are boasting that between the entire partnership of schools plus the college they'll be offering 'most' diplomas. Purbeck has enough trouble with GCSEs and Alevels, getting some of the lowest results in the county - 21st out of 28 schools for GCSE and 15th out of 21 at A level.
24/03/10
I don’t recall any contributions from those closely involved with St Mary’s School in any of the various school threads on Swanageview. However, with the primary school consultation now in full swing I see that St Mary’s has surfaced with its ‘Don’t Axe Excellence’ campaign. Better later than never I guess. See the following link:
http://www.stmarysswanage.dorset.sch.uk/NewsArticle.aspx?id=75
No doubt many people in Swanage will instinctively support this campaign, as they have all the other ‘SOS’ campaigns. However, I’m struggling to fully understand where St. Mary’s are coming from here. The Headteacher’s report on their same website states that (quote) “Proposals are that St Mary’s become a Primary School on this site. We welcome this proposal and aspire to having a state of the art building to accommodate our seven class school” (end quote). So are they now completely against a move to three tier or are they advocating moving? To me it’s been obvious for some time that St. Mary’s were always going to find it impossible to accommodate an effective primary school on such a restricted site. In fact the original DCC ‘consultation’ document recognised this fact and proposed that they move to the Mount Scar site…….
Yet another piece in the jigsaw of what has become a truly awful process.
We would all be surprised if something other than 'awful' happened within this consultation process.
However 'Joseph' is an amazing show of excellence from all at the Middle School. Well done them !!
The St. Mary's School "Don't Axe Excellence" campaign is fully justified.
For the same reasons won't St. George's School risk similarly compromising their pupil's education in a two tier structure?
But I had heard that the current Reception Class is undersubscribed by aprox the same number of places that DCC are proposing to remove. The removal of surplus places was the aim of the Purbeck Review wasn't it? Some places need to go somewhere. Taking away 4 places is better than shutting entire schools surely?
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