Church chiefs force review of Wakeman School axe decision
Saturday 24th September 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school.Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school.
The Church of England’s Diocese of Lichfield has referred Shropshire Council’s bid to shut the Wakeman School in Abbey Foregate to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator at the Department for Education.
Church leaders said that it was rare for them to step in to such cases, but they had chosen to use their right as a statutory consultee to appeal the council’s decision, which was ratified by cabinet members earlier this month.
Colin Hopkins, director of education at the Diocese of Lichfield, said: “The closure of any school is a traumatic event for its community and whilst we understand the financial pressures on the local authority that have led to this decision, we believe that a decision of this complexity and magnitude should be subject to external review so that a completely independent assessment of the case for closure can be made.”
National school chiefs would now have to review the decision, due to a clause in the Education and Inspections Act 2006, he said.
Staff and governors at the school welcomed today’s announcement.
Headteacher Karen Moore said: “Staff, students and parents are very grateful to the diocese for supporting us.”
Shropshire Council was not available for comment today.
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Didn’t Aggie Caesar-Homden say that in this very newspaper that
“she had no concerns about the way the consultation and processes had been carried out by the council.”
It would seem that the Church of England does not share her confidence in Shropshire Council’s approach to this one. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.
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This is brilliant news. The Local Government Ombudsman is already investigating numerous complaints about the decision to close The Wakeman, and now that the Church has referred the whole case to the Schools Adjudicator, the decision has been removed from Shropshire Council altogether. The school will get the fair hearing it has been denied by Cabinet, and the decision made will be legally binding. I wonder if Cllr Aggie Caesar-Homden still stands by her claims that she has no concerns about the way the processes and consultation have been carried out by the council.
I would like to send my deepest thanks to the Diocese of Lichfield. The Wakeman is a great school with a great future and it looks like, with your help, it has just taken another step towards securing that future.
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a message from inside the circle.. its going. End of story
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Which circle Tim. I’ve had a look at the credentials of the Schools’ Adjudicators – canons, magistrates etc. But hey, you can tell before the case has even been assessed by them that they will rule in favour of Shropshire Council’s decision. Clever stuff, Tim.
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The Adjudicator is independent. Which ‘circle’ are you talking about? There isn’t a circle that has any influence on this any more.
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Brilliant news?
No just wasting more taxpayer money and I’ll show my bottom on the Guildhall steps if Wakeman remains open. This move unnecessariily gives people false hope.
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Oh dear, Port Hill Boy, that is a bit of a rash promise! Can I book a ticket?!
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can i not..
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what a waste of time. the schools going.
end of story
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Tim-
It’s unheard of for the CofE to intervene in decisions to close non-church schools, but it clearly believes The Wakeman to be an exceptional case. The issue is now with the Adjudicator who is the expert in this field and can, and does, overturn council decisions to close schools. I would be extremely surprised if you know more about school closure guidance than the Adjudicator- why don’t you just wait and see what s/he has to say before declaring that the school will close. If the Adjudicator rules that it should stay open then that is what will happen.
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Well we’ll see won’t we Tim. Better prepare for egg in the vicinity of the face.
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Not without another fight apparently.
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Tim, you don’t understand how this works. The Council’s decision is not final. The Church of England are concerned enough to take the very rare step of getting involved with the case of a Community School (as they are entitled to) because they are so concerned that the Council have failed to make an appropriate case. The Council can’t act as they wish, there are rules and procedures they must follow, and they haven’t done so here. Instead, their inadequate procedures have thrown a lot of our money away. It’s not over until the Schools’ Adjudicator says so.
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What business is it of the church how my taxes are spent?
This is an outrage!
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Andy, what business is it of Shropshire Council to waste thousands and thousands of pounds of taxpayers money on a school closure for which they have little, if any, justification?
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Like it or not we are in a democratic society… not Iran…
The church has absolutely NOTHING to do with my taxes and thats the way it should stay…
well that is if shropshire council want another penny off me in council tax. I do not believe in fairy tales and do not respect men who run around in frocks making claims of an imaginary friend who knows better than the rest of humanity in how to run our lives.
THIS IS A DISGRACE!
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The CoE are fronting the appeal, they are not making a decision on it.
“National school chiefs would now have to review the decision, due to a clause in the Education and Inspections Act 2006″
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Just maybe it’s a disgrace that local authorities can vote to close good schools and that this is the only way that it can be independently challenged.
Whatever your opinion of The Wakeman, it’s not right that local authorities can close a school, any school, good or bad with little or no justification.
Well actually, schools that are “failing” (in special measures) have more protection than good schools….so it is easier to close a good school than a failing school. That is the problem.
I agree that it shouldn’t be for the church to challenge these decisions – but in the absence of anyone else being able to do it, thank goodness that they can. What school can afford to go to the High Court if the local authority acts illegally and against the public interest?
Without the church, the system allows dictatorial decisions (and our Council seem to be pretty good at those) to be made about schools and to go unchallenged – like in Iran, maybe?
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Here’s so free legal advice. If you don’t pay your taxes the council will go to the magistrates’ court for a liability order. That unleashes bailiffs. If they can’t recover the council will return to court. You will probably receive a suspended jail sentence. If you persist you will end up in clink. Imprisonment doesn’t discharge the debt.
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Hey, Kathy,
I think I will refrain from taking legal advice from someone who cant spell “some”…
Thanks ;)
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No Tim , it is not a waste of time, the school will not be going, it is not the end of the story.
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Lets hope the church can show how unholy this council is in running down anything decent in shropshire and especially shrewsbury.
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normally i dont like the church running our education system but in this case im glad
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TIMM
YOUR A WASTER
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Tim, are you God?
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the decision has been made – and the church getting involved a) what influence do they have and b) who listens to what they say?
clutching at straws springs to mind
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The decision hasn’t been made – now that it’s with the Adjudicator he/she will decide the future of the school.
If the Adjudicator rejects Shropshire Council’s case to close Wakeman, which I believe it will, his/her ruling will take immediate effect and the school will not close.
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The decision is subject to review.
The Schools’ Adjudicator is a government appointee who has the job of reviewing decisions like this.
The Church’s involvement is in making the referral. They are entitled to refer cases involving community schools as well as church schools but they virtually never do – they have the The Wakeman because their concerns about the case made by the Council are so severe.
I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
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andy-
I’m not sure you understand how this works. The Church is not going to decide whether The Wakeman remains open. It is a statutory consultee in proposals like this one and, if it has doubts about the decision made by the Council, has the power to refer that decision on to a higher authority- the Schools Adjudicator- for him/ her to investigate and either accept or reject the Council’s decision.
There are cases of schools recently that have been referred on to the Adjudicator and saved- Sacred Heart, Byermoor; Epinay School, South Tyneside; and Gillas Lane in Sunderland are all examples. I am sure that when these cases were referred to the Adjudicator there were people arguing that it was a waste of time and that the supporters of those schools were clutching at straws, but these schools were all saved following appeals to the Adjudicator.
The Wakeman is an exceptional case- if it wasn’t, the Church would not have referred it on to appeal. I am confident that now it is guaranteed the fair and independent hearing that Shropshire Council has denied it, it too will be saved.
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I just repeat – the church getting involved a) what influence do they have and b) who listens to what they say?
too many people think they have influence when in reality they don’t/
my point is the decision has been made to close the school and the machinations of local government will ensure that this not going to be overturned
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It is no longer the call of the “machinations of local government” nor is it the church’s.
You seem to have missed the point entirely.
The church has referred the decision via Shropshire Council to the Secretary of State’s Schools’ Adjudicator. The Schools’ Adjudicator will decide the future of the school, not the Council or the church.
If Shropshire Council is right to propose closure, the Schools’ Adjudicator will rule in its favour and the school will close. If Shropshire Council is wrong to propose closure, the Schools’ Adjudicator will reject the Council’s proposal and the school will stay open.
And as an aside Andy, just because Shropshire Council is democratically elected, does not mean that they can do whatever they like and that we, the electorate have to put up with it until the next election.
There are things called laws, for example, which Shropshire Council has to obey.
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The Wakeman School & Arts College – the first choice for a vibrant, good and inclusive education in Shropshire
. Easily accessible
. Good Ofsted
. Great GCSE results
Back by popular demand – Enroll now!.
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You truly are living with the fairies…
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How’s the iPad Andy. Saving plenty of paper I hope.
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this maybe your view but to the vast majority of the local population the view of the school is somewhat opposite to this, perhaps more realistic and not viewed through rose tinted glasses?
that is if the vast majority really do give it a second thought………………..
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ADJUDICATE!….ADJUDICATE!….
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Where do you get your facts from?
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its called reality and its from people who live in the real world.
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Ok made up by Andy then! when are you going to talk sense?
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Tim and Andy, You sound like you are scared of the possibility of the school staying open? Why is this? I can understand why one would be passionate about keeeping it open but not the other way round! Do you have a vested interest?
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no vested interest whatsoever – it is odd though that soon after the closure was announced the redevelopment of the Gay Meadow site started – call me cynical but the decision isnt going to be overturned the council have a far bigger vested interest in the site being redeveloped
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Andy. You are spot on.
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Scared of keeping it open?
Why would anyone be scared of a school?
These comments are typical of the hysteria gripping the pro-wakeman lobby: a group that is so blinded by their own bias as to render their opinions invalid.
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One more positive point about the Wakeman… I’ve lived on Wyle Cop for 12 years and often walk dogs at about the time that students go home. In all those years I’ve never seen any bad behaviour of any kind. I’ve often been approached by young people interested in the dogs. I’ve always been impressed by their politeness and social confidence. Not all schools are able to foster those qualities.
Btw – someone mentioned that a school can’t afford to go to the High Court (judicial review, I assume). Many barristers work without charging a fee. Google ‘bar pro bono’.
This isn’t an area of law I know anything about but could there be a ‘leap frogging’ procedure which would allow a case to be made directly to the Secretary of State?
Best, Kat
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Thank you, Kat.
The problem with judicial review is not just the potential cost, but also the timescale. The school’s intake has been damaged by rumours of closure and this has, of course, been exacerbated by the current proposal and decision. The beauty of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator is that its decisions are not only independent and legally binding, but are also made quickly (6 weeks or so), minimising further damage and enabling saved schools to recover quickly. Unfortunately it is very difficult for most schools to get a route through to be heard by the Adjudicator. This means that unscrupulous Councils like ours can put forward proposals to close schools without having the grounds they need to do so and without following the appropriate statutory guidance, and often they can get away with it. Thanks to the intervention of the Church, it looks like they won’t get away with it with The Wakeman, but if effective robust scrutiny was more easy to access I doubt whether other recent decisions would stand either. This appeal won’t save the other schools, but least it will enable Shropshire Council’s processes to be challenged. And maybe it will make them think before doing any more damage to our schools in the future.
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brilliant, so if the school doesnt close, what other services or schools will be closed instead, anyone thought about that, doubt it reading most of the comments in this string, shrewsbury is truly an amazing place.
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They really couldnt care less Jimmy.
The word “fanatic” would not be too strong considering the vitriol most of them are spewing here.
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“Fanatic”, “vitriol”. Oh Andy, Andy, I think you need to lie down lovey.
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Vitriol?!. Curious. Come on Andy you’re vesting a lot of time in commenting for someone without a vested interest.
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Well of course I have a vested interest…
I have to justify my tax payer funded iPad by commenting on 10 stories a day and sending 20 emails to community groups per week.
Oh and we all have to click on visit shropshire links 50 times per day to pump up the hit rate on their authority funded website…
(And yes I am taking the mick… Its amazing how these pro wakeman loons see conspiracies everywhere and assume everyone who doesnt agree has an agenda other than trying not to keep wasting the time and money of our council with these NIMBY conultations and appeals).
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Thats big coming from you of no facts or sense.
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Bored now guys (and girls), let’s wait and see what the Adjudicator says shall we. One camp is going to be doing a lot of hat eating.
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The wisest words that I have read since this subject was reinvented.
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If the Wakeaman isn’t closed then it will save local taxpayers the cost of a new secondary school which the Council announced, during the Wakeman consultation, would be needed within the next ten years.
The question about ‘waste of money’ is if the Adjudicator rules that the school shouldn’t be closed, and for that matter if the Local Government Ombudsman rules against the council on the different appeals he is considering about this consultation process, shouldn’t the Councillors have to pay up for the money they’ve thrown away by failing to properly scrutinise? They’ve been told every step of the way that not only what they’re doing is wrong but that they’re going about it the wrong way. Why should we pay for their mistakes?
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Far better to close The Priory on Longden Road. The development potential at Longden Road is far, far greater than that of the Wakeman site. The parcel of land is ideally located to amenities such as shops, and perfect for transport links too.
Going into partnership with a developer with this parcel of land would provide a far better return for the local authority than the site currently occupied by The Wakeman.
There is still a market for larger executive homes, largely because the banks will generally agree to facilitate their purchase. The Longden Road site lends itself to this type of development perfectly, whereas the Wakeman site would be more suitable for high density dwellings.
As the banks will either not lend, or only lend on a limited loan to value ratio where leasehold flats and apartment are concerned, retail prices will have to be keen i.e. margins will need to be small and this will be reflected in the revenue that the local authority will ultimately see.
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HF-
Shrewsbury is a growth area- there is no need to close any of its schools. And school closures have, by statute, to be based on raising educational standards. This is one of the reasons why I don’t believe the Wakeman closure decision will stand. It is also why it would not be appropriate for Priory to be proposed for closure.
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What I want to know is why Priory isn’t an Academy yet. “Outstanding” schools can become academies at the drop of a hat – Priory’s been “Outstanding” for ages. What are they waiting for?
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god bless em
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having not really trusted councillors/ politicans, they take more back handers than the sicillian mafia, we are now told to trust the church, oh dear, out of the frying pan and into the fire springs to mind!!
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Disgusting – so the school might not close because the Council doesn’t have much of a reason and how much money have they wasted on this? We’re up financial creeks – they are taking the piddle doing this kind of thing.
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Is it the place for the church to get involved? The church is unelected and unaccountable.
The Bishop could find himself the subject of a metaphorical bashing if he starts to interfere.
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Members of the House of Lords aren’t elected either. The Church of England is consulted in any decision to close a school by law- in a sense it is automatically involved in all decisions to close schools, although it almost never takes the step of referring the cases of non-church schools on to appeal. That it has exercised its legal right to here says more about the dubious nature of Shropshire Council’s decision on The Wakeman than the ‘interfering’ of the Church. All the Church has done is acknowledge that the decision is ‘questionable’ and refer it on to an independent authority who will look at both sides and decide whether the school should close or not.
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