Shropshire Council 'ignoring' schools report

Campaigners fighting to save an under-threat Shropshire primary school today accused council chiefs of ignoring a £121,000 independent report the authority commissioned to look at an education in the county.

Members of the steering campaign group of Stiperstones CE Primary School, near Shrewsbury - one of nine schools facing the axe under Shropshire Council plans - said officials were "picking and choosing" parts of the document to suit their agenda.

Heather Dale, from the Stiperstones group, said Shropshire Council refused to consider the "community assessment" and faith school sections in the Independent Policy Review it commissioned in 2009.

Mrs Dale said: "In 2009 the council commissioned an Independent Policy Review to make a plan for education in Shropshire which they have proceeded to totally ignore. If they had no intention of using it, it was a complete waste of money."

Fellow mother Claire Corfield echoed Mrs Dale's concerns about the council's "selective" use of the review.

She said: "Stiperstones is a Church of England primary school and, according to the IPC report, the law states 50 per cent of Shropshire's primary school spaces should be available in CE schools.

"I wrote asking to see evidence that, in the event of closure of all five CE schools on the proposed closure list, the proportion of CE school spaces available was not adversely affected. To date no reply has been received."

But Felicity Roberts, spokeswoman for Shropshire Council, said the authority had used findings from the review as the basis for its closure proposals.

She said: "Further extensive consultation has involved schools and their communities reviewing this and coming up with solutions that suit each local area. This has included working closely with the Church of England as outlined in the IPC report."

By Russell Roberts