Governors, Parents and Friends attend Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Meeting

12.00.00am GMT Fri 20th Oct 2006

Governors, parents and friends visit County Hall

A group of 13 governors, parents and friends of Stoney Middleton School attended Derbyshire County Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday 17th October to hear for themselves the reasons for the proposed closure.

Councillor Alan Charles introduced the Consultation Paper. The residents of Stoney Middleton were dismayed by his negative tone which presented a picture of our school which we simply did not recognise.

The site, said to be "restricted" but is in fact in a safe area in the middle of the village, away from the dangerous main road, and is easily accessible to many parents bringing and fetching their children on foot.

While there is "No nursery provision" this applies equally to Curbar, Eyam and Grindleford Primary schools and so is not relevant to this discussion.

The buildings "date from 1835" but are sound and well maintained and indeed have been much improved in recent years: a new classroom has been added in previously unused space - this and the other "teaching area", apart from the main classroom, are not "very small" for a school of this kind.

In addition to full computer facilities and specialist instruction twice a week, the school has been fitted with 2 interactive whiteboards and a computerised overhead projector.

The children's wash room and toilets have been completely upgraded and new storage space established.

There is a fully equipped kitchen and the children have always enjoyed properly cooked meals at lunchtime.

Office and staff facilities are sufficient for the size of the school.

Out of doors there is a tarmac playground which can accommodate twice the present number of pupils, and in addition use is made of the village playing field and tennis court (all accessible by a safe pathway, away from the main road) for organised exercise activity.

The previous Head Teacher did indeed retire in July 2006 but she gave extra notice allowing ample time to appoint a successor. The post was advertised once, not twice as alleged in the background paper. The Governors had scheduled a meeting with the county officials to advertise again this autumn. But this was pre-empted by the notification that DCC intended to recommend closure. We now have a strong candidate for the post.

Future Housing Developments - there may be no "significant planning applications", no surprise in a small Peak District village, but a number of properties here have been sold recently, and some others are currently on the market, and younger people with families are moving in, some having done so because of the existence of the school. Needless to say this situation would change very quickly if there was no school in the village.

Educational Considerations - The quality of leadership in our school has been excellent and the recommendation of Beacon Status on two occasions in recent years bears witness to that. We were distressed to read the words "in spite of the intensive support of the Local Authority" in relation to recruitment of a new Head Teacher as this did not match the our experience of what took place. As mentioned above there is now a good candidate available. A good quality of education is being provided and will continue to be, and we consider it important for pupils to interact with other children, of all ages, within the community where they live.

The DCC criticises the option to continue with a new head mainly on the grounds of their forecast of falling rolls which they suggest would compromise a broad, balanced and well resourced curriculum.

DCC appear to favour the "Closure" option and that our children should go to Curbar Primary School. This is horrifying in terms of their getting to and from that school by the main A623 road. This is one of the busiest roads in Derbyshire with very heavy traffic, including many huge lorries, passing though during the day (it is classified by the EuroRAP as a dangerous road, at medium-high risk, the highest but one risk rating). The pavements are in places too narrow for real safety and are not continuous on one side or the other. A child living near our school now would have to cross that main road three times to reach Curbar, only one of which is by a light-controlled crossing. Parents here simply will not accept that option. To suggest that cars are used for the journey is not on where a car in not available (in more than just a few families), and surely flies in the face of the environmental consideration of use of cars for short journeys.

Financial Considerations

To compare the cost per pupil at Stoney Middleton with the average for all Derbyshire is misleading. We all know that small schools are more expensive per pupil.

What is more relevant is a comparison with the three, also small schools, nearest to us here:- Curbar, Eyam and Grindleford Primary schools. We also need to see whether other primary schools in the county are costing the same, or more than Stoney Middleton. It has not been stated by Councillor Charles what the "budgetary savings" would be if our school was no longer available.

In conclusion Stoney residents would maintain that the cost per pupil can be justified if the Council acts in line with its stated aim of "Improving life for local people".

No mention is made in the consultation document of fact that Stoney Middleton is the only community facility in the village and is extensively used by many community groups for meetings and functions.

The school is in a very real sense, at the heart of our village.

Related Links:

Consultation on the Future of Stoney Middleton School .

Cabinet Agenda Item - Consideration of the future of Stoney Middleton School.