Letter: A warning over Shropshire schools policy
Tuesday 23rd November 2010, 6:25AM GMT.
Letter: In 2006 Kent County Council merged or closed 40 primary schools in the light of falling rolls and the apparent high costs of surplus places. At the time, campaigners against the closures warned the long-term population was increasing.
Just four years on, and Kent already faces a shortfall of primary places in some areas, and at least one new school is being planned.
It now appears that Shropshire Council will be treading the same path.
I hope that the council will recognise that, due to the very large number of C of E schools, any capital receipts from building sales will go back to the church whereas all the additional costs of building, redundancy, school transport, etc, will fall on the council. To this mix can now be added the future costs of acquiring land and buildings for the inevitable upturn in primary numbers.
I am sure that councillors are still being fed the line by officers that kids in larger schools are somehow being robbed to fund small schools.
Leaving aside the “emotional” arguments surroun-ding supporting small sch- ools, in the light of the Kent experience (and they are not alone) at the very least I would hope that before any decisions are made, officers present to councillors a full cost benefit analysis of any closure programme, with all costs identified over say 10 years and contrasted with the claimed savings.
Andrew Whyte
Shrewsbury
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Self interest is only too apparent on this issue .
SC’s responsibility is of financial accountabilty of what has been for many years a chaotic system of schools policy .
SC’s political accountabilty is to its own electorate which shall no doubt be an obvious consideration is its decision making on its small schools policy . Many small schools lie on the borders of other local authorities and their provisions may be an obvious consideration .
Consider schools such as Buildwas primary where the majority of pupils reside in its neighbouring borough of Telford & Wrekin. T&W having opened its new £5 million bespoke school at Lightmoor having over 140 places to be available to accomodate what would would effectively an whole school of 70 or so children. The dichotomy is a simplistic one in such circumstance. Education ,education education ,may be used as a political aphorism but the apophthegm is justified when considering a school’s integral structure and buildings provision.
A 150 yr old victorian small school vs a new bespoke and financially supported and ofsted recognised school for the 21st century ?
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