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Campaigning to save Herefordshire's schools | |
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The Herefordshire schools review proposals in January 2008 put 35 mainly rural schools at risk of closure or merger. We believe this is a grossly disproportionate response to Whitehall pressure. The initial proposals were quickly withdrawn and assurances have been given that no schools will be closed outside the existing small schools policy. This website has been set up as a one-stop county-wide information resource for all those who believe in, celebrate and wish to protect Herefordshire's schools. Please join the campaign now! If you have events to advertise or information to share, please send them in.
Upcoming Events HEREFORD EARTHWATCH 2008 Monday 9th June is a Schools Day and school groups are invited to attend by appointment. For more details contact Christianne Wakeham on 01547 560 021 or via christianne@kyreoak.co.uk. FAIRFIELD SCHOOL CONCERT AT ABBEY DORE For details or tickets contact The Friends by email via website - http://www.doreabbey.org.uk/, or call Enquiries on 01981 570 251 or 01873 821456. All proceeds to the Dore Abbey restoration fund. POPULATION TRENDS SEMINAR CLEHONGER VILLAGE SHOW
Links Herefordshire schools closures on BBC Radio 4's You & Yours (21/01/2008) Hereford Council education review Herefordshire Association of Governors Schools review consultation email: schoolreview
Save the Herefordshire Schools Facebook Group Bromyard "Close Our Schools Kill Our Town" Facebook Group Save Fairfield High School! Facebook Group Kings Caple School Facebook Save Michaelchurch Escley Primary School Facebook Group
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News NEW ON THE SITE
COMMENT Readers of the local papers will have had to search hard in recent weeks to see the news that Philip Price, Councillor for Golden Valley North, has been appointed to a new role by the Council as Cabinet member for Schools Improvement and ICT. Given the continuing pressure on our schools, this may prove in time to be a rather significant appointment. Meanwhile the Hay Festival event gave a fascinating insight into Whitehall attitudes. The event was filmed and I am trying to get a linkage on the SF website. See below for more details and links. Please encourage friends and supporters to sign up on this site and show their support.
LATEST NEWS Lea School praised by Ofsted Hereford Times Ofsted inspectors have given a primary school near Ross-on-Wye the thumbs up after a recent inspection. Lea CofE Primary School was inspected by Hazel Callaghan who said: "It is a good school with many strengths."
Lucton School's Ofsted result Hereford Times The headteacher of a north Herefordshire school says she is delighted with the results of a school inspection. Ofsted inspectors described Lucton School's Gill Thorne as providing "strong, clear leadership" and praised governors and teachers at the school, which celebrates its 300th birthday this year.
Schools are victims of their own success Hereford Times A senior education officer claimed county schools threatened with closure under now withdrawn council plans were victims of their own success. His comments came at a Hay Festival debate called "The Schools Crisis and After".
Jesse calls for fairer funding for Herefordshire Schools: Radio 4 Schools campaigner Jesse Norman has publicly called for fairer funding for Herefordshire's schools on the BBC's flagship radio programme Any Questions? The programme was chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby and also featured Health Minister Ben Bradshaw MP, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee and the economist Ruth Lea.
Parents have little choice in selecting schools: Daily Telegraph One in seven parents has little or no choice when picking a school, official figures suggest. They show that 465,000 children live within walking distance of only one secondary, casting further doubt on Government claims that mothers and fathers can easily choose between many different schools.
Herefordshire schools in national spotlight: Politics Show On Sunday the BBC's Politics Show turned its attention to possible schools closures in Herefordshire. Pencombe and King's Caple primary schools were featured, and there was an interview with Cllr Roger Phillips and Eugene Gooch of HACS. Cllr Phillips highlighted the contradictory nature of government advice--and crucially said that he expects no school to close before 2011.
In the morning, this headteacher was told his school was one of the best in England ... In the afternoon, he was told it would be closed: Mail on Sunday "At 57, Chris Barker has near shoulder-length black hair and is widely admired for his charisma, his originality ... and his results."
Don't close rural schools says Minister: Guardian "Schools minister Jim Knight is writing to all local authorities in England to remind them that they should not close rural schools. The move comes after a campaign to prevent the closure of rural schools."
Labour should value village school benefits: Telegraph "How hollow the promise now rings. Fresh into power, Labour's then schools minister, Stephen Byers, pledged in 1998 to give "tough new protection for village schools". "Closing a village school can be a death-blow to the community," Mr Byers observed. He was absolutely right. Weekend reports of a new purge of village schools on economic grounds suggest that up to 300 are already being targeted for closure and the total could reach 1,000."
RECENT DOCUMENTS NEW PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION SHOWS HEREFORDSHIRE LOWEST IN COUNTRY FOR U-8 WALKS TO SCHOOL Newly released information from Parliament reveals Herefordshire has only 74% of primary pupils under 8 with two or more schools within walking distance (2 Miles). This is the lowest number for any local authority in the United Kingdom. | click here
DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES LETTER Primary Capital Programme: Notification of issues/concerns to be addressed in primary strategy for change. | click here (6.59M)
School Organisation Plan - Policies Relevant to the Provision of School Places | click here to download (pdf) I have just found the Orwellian "Every Child Matters: The Primary Capital Programme". This is the Government document that instructs local education authorities to prioritise the removal of surplus places, due to falling birth rates. | click here
COUNCIL LETTER Following the huge march against schools closures in Hereford, the Council has published a formal letter of guidance to school heads on the current position. | click here
Information Number 10 Downing Street petitions go live! Llangrove School Action Group have put up a national petition on the 10 Downing Street, calling for Government to honour its promise to protect rural schools against the "spiral of decline" that school closures cause in rural communities. Please visit the site and sign up! http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Villageschools/ A petition against the closures is now available on the Number 10 website at the following address: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ruralschools/. Petition against the merger of Fairfield and Kingstone schools: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/fairfieldmerge/. Petition against the closure of Michaelchurch Escley Primary School: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Michaelchurch/. Petition against the closure and amalgamation of Eastnor Primary School: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Eastnorschool/. Key Documents Summary of Officers' closure and merger plans | click here to download (ppt) Full presentation of Officers' plans, part 1 | click here to download (ppt) Full presentation of Officers' plans, part 2 | click here to download (ppt) Council Statement of Principles | click here to download (doc) Provisional list of proposed dates of Council officer meetings with schools | click here to download (doc) HM Government - Closing a School document | click here to download (pdf) Demographics We strongly believe the demographic data used by the Council are wrong. Below are the original critique by Staunton-on-Wye PS Governors, Mike Gibson's independent spreadsheet, plus latest ONS and economic analysis (not too hard to read!) and a graph of relative cost of small and large schools. Mike Gibson's rough demographics analysis Jan 2008 | click here to download (xls) Letter from Prof Shirley Dix of London University - Demographics relating to Staunton School | click here to download (bmp) NEW: Staunton-on-Wye Primary School's analysis of demographic trends | click here to download (pdf: 3.19M) ONS UK Demographic Picture 2007 | click here to download (pdf) Regional Economic Indicators 2007 | click here to download (pdf) Small School cost per head | click here to download (gif) Freedom of Information Make a Freedom of Information Act request: | click here to FOI request form
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Join SchoolsFirst and help save Herefordshire's schools from cuts! Join SchoolsFirst
What You Can Do 1. Write to your local councillor The names, addresses and emails addresses of Councillors are all here. Please consider writing to your local Councillor. As well as let them know what you think of the proposals, please consider if there are constructive suggestions you can make. It all helps them to represent you. 2. Write to the Consultation Co-Ordinator The Consultation Co-Ordinator is Mr George Salmon. He can be reached by email gsalmon@herefordshire.gov.uk or by post at: Herefordshire Council, 3. Form an Action Group In order to maximise the effectiveness of your campaign, you need to form an action group. This might be 4-5 people who are both committed and have the time to campaign. Ideally you want people who are very close to the school, who really know and can well represent the local community, and who have skills you may need. Lawyers are very useful!
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