SAVE OUR SCHOOL - Public meeting - 18th October 2006 at Stoney Middleton school

11.42.50am GMT Tue 24th Oct 2006

74 people including staff, governors, county and parish councillors, parents, pupils, village residents and friends of the school attended a village meeting on Wednesday 18th October. Apologies were received from a further 45 people.

Peter Hobson, Chair of Governors, welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced County Councillor Nigel Allwood who opened his remarks by saying he had visited the school on many occasions and been very impressed by the vibrancy of the work displayed on the walls

Nigel went on to report that he had been surprised to be asked to attend a meeting on Wednesday 11th with Councillor Charles and David Humphreys (Head of Development) when he was given the consultation documents (see home page). Nigel had done his homework and he pointed out to Councillor Charles that if the school closed it would be a significant loss to the village as it was the only place where village activities and meetings could take place. He also took with him a copy of Stoney Middleton - A Working Village - which demonstrated that the school is at the heart of village life.

The danger of 21 young children walking to school at Curbar which involved crossing the busy A623 at least three times was discussed and Councillor Charles promised to investigate alternatives before the public meeting on 2nd November.

Councillor Charles told Nigel that Curbar were not in favour of federated status although the Stoney Governors had been encouraged to explore this possibility of sharing head teachers while maintaining schools in both villages. In addition the acting head teacher would need two years of training by which time the person concerned would be of retiring age.

Nigel encouraged everyone to write letters as the number of letters received has to be declared at Council Meetings.

Sue Bettney - the acting vice chair of governors chaired the remainder of the meeting and commenced by explaining the actions of the Governors during the summer following the decision of Beth Ely to retire as head teacher.

The Governors met with Bob Ashford (from County Education department) to set a timetable for an appointment of a new head teacher. Bob Ashford suggested three options for the future:-

• A federated status where a head teacher of another school manages two school and resources are shared.

• Closure of the school

• Appoint a new head

The Governors had made it very clear to Bob Ashford at the start that closure was not an option they would ever consider and there was no further discussion with the county. Some discussion took place about a federated status as the governors were led to believe Curbar school had expressed an interest in such an arrangement. This information turned out to be quite false.

The appointment procedure went ahead and dates were set for advertising in the national press, short listing and interviewing. The Governors were unable to appoint and agreed to advertise a second time in the Autumn as Sue Fitzpatrick had agreed to be the acting head teacher. At all stages parents were kept fully informed and were happy with the acting head teacher.

Sue Bettney also explained that the school budget was robust and funds had been set aside for advertising for a new headteacher and for supporting the acting head teacher. Also the Friends, Parents and Teachers Association (FPTA) support the school by raising substantial funds through a variety of activities.

The costs per pupil, ownership of the building and how surplus places are dealt with in primary schools was discussed

The consultation document stated that it costs Derbyshire County Council (DCC) £5,678 per pupil at Stoney school compared with a county wide average of £2,640 at other schools. These figures are averages and do not compare other small school costs with Stoney. Derbyshire support small schools with an extra allowance per pupil

The building is owned by the diocese

Forward projections by DCC of the numbers of children coming into Stoney school low.

Beth Ely, former head teacher, said that Stoney School, and one other school in the area, had been offered Beacon Status our school, because of the quality of its education on two occasions.

DCC Cabinet had agreed on the 17th October to begin informal public consultations about a possible closure of the school in July 2007. The consultation period is from 30th October to 27th November and Cabinet will consider the responses on the 12 December

If cabinet decide to proceed with the proposed closure, the publication of the statutory notice is scheduled for early January 2007, the end of notice period is mid February and the School Organisation Committee meets in early March.

The full County Council meet on the 1st November and we can put forward 2 questions.

An Action Committee was appointed - See Contact Us and an Action Plan discussed - see notes of minutes under Friends and Parents.

As the education of the children is paramount, it was stressed that the school will be fully supported to continue as usual throughout this time.

Further comments were made about the extended school day which is a government priority in education.

It was noted that Derbyshire consider itself an "excellent" authority and its logo is "Improving Life for Local People".

Mr Griffiths noted that the governments current agenda is "Every Child Matters"

The governments' aim is for every child whatever their background or their circumstances to have the support they need within the 5 criteria :

1 - Being healthy - enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle

2 - Staying safe - being protected from harm and neglect and working in a safe environment

3 - Enjoying and achieving - through learning - getting the most out of life and developing skills for adulthood

4 - Making a positive contribution to society - being involved in a positive and active way with the community.

5 - Achieving Economic Wellbeing - not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life.

OfSTED Inspectors now make judgements about all these aspects of a school based on questions such as:- How much do children enjoy learning? Are they working in a safe and healthy environment? .

This government initiative now gives children more say about issues that affect them.

At all stages of a child and/or young person's school life the children need to be involved.

These aims are also important aspects of other areas of children's services such as the care services.

Councillor Charles and another county representative will meet with staff at 3.30pm, governors at 5pm and all parents and residents at 6.30pm on the 2nd November at 6.30 pm at the school.

Please would at least one parent from each family be there.

www.everychildmatters.gov.uk more information about Every Child Matters

Every Child Matters

Related Links:

Consultation on the Future of Stoney Middleton School .

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

Every Child Matters.