In the last edition we told you about the schools review currently taking place in Cumbria. The review is needed because falling pupil numbers in primary and secondary schools across the county mean that one quarter of school places will become empty over the next decade. This would create real problems. To make sure our children get the best education, it is important that we have the right number, type and size of schools in the right places. The review is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve education in the county.
Things are already changing; so far the schools review has resulted in proposals for new academies, school mergers and closures, and proposals for special educational needs.
Now the review is focusing on primary education. In April the council launched its draft primary strategy for public consultation. What
Due to the demands of central government, the consultation period had to be short and this caused concerns across the county. Brenda Wile, the council’s head of service, Building Schools for the Future, explains,
“The timescale to get the initial draft to government was very short – about 150 other local councils were in the same position. Because of the tight deadline, we needed to get responses to the strategy back by the end of April so that we had time to reflect people’s comments in the final draft which was sent to the government in June.
“The primary strategy is not about school closures – it is about ensuring we give children and young people the best educational start to life. The draft strategy only suggested principles and strategies that could be used to shape Cumbria’s primary schools for the future.
“Before any decisions are made about specific schools we will take into account its location, the area it serves and the surplus places it has. There are a number of ways surplus places can be dealt with without closing schools; indeed, as Cumbria is a rural county, with many small schools, there is actually a presumption against closing small schools. The main aim is to make the schools sustainable for the future.
“Proposals for what primary schools will look like in the future in any given area will come from local communities following further extensive public consultation.”
For more information on the strategy and the schools review please visit cumbria.gov.uk/childrensservices
Green light for Barrow academy
The proposed academy for Barrow has received approval from Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Minister, Andrew Adonis.
The green light for plans to progress with an academy, and significant investment in St Bernard’s and Walney school, will see Barrow’s 11-16 year olds benefiting from a total of £30 million investment. It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide the best possible education for young people in Barrow.
The go-ahead will see a new academy school replace Alfred Barrow, Parkview and Thorncliffe schools from September 2009. The academy will be built on the Parkview site and the brand new buildings are expected to be up and running by September 2012. Until then the new academy will be run from existing school buildings.
Planning the Barrow Academy will now move on to the ‘feasibility stage’, where money is released by the DCSF to enable the plans to move on including formal consultation with the communities in Barrow on such issues as the admissions policy, curriculum and school uniform.