A positive move (From Basingstoke Gazette)

A positive move

12:50pm Sunday 27th December 2009

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LAST Thursday education chief Councillor David Kirk recommended that Chineham Park Primary School in Popley, Basingstoke should be earmarked for closure at the end of the 2009-10 academic year.

Cllr Kirk's verdict on the school - which has suffered persistent poor performance and has falling pupil numbers - came after a consultation process which proved to be controversial, with some of the school's supporters claiming that there are a lot of unanswered questions, and others maintaining that the decision was a foregone conclusion even before the consultation was over.

Cllr Kirk, the county's executive member for children's services, has accepted The Gazette's offer to write a special article, explaining, in depth, how and why he reached the school closure decision. This is what he had to say...

RECOMMENDING the closure of a school is not a decision I take lightly, and it is never an easy decision to make.

Understandably, pupils, parents and staff feel an attachment and close connection to their school and every school is an important part of its local community. Talk of closure causes feelings to run high.

However, the key issue, which must always be the determining factor, is what is best for the children – now, and in the future.

I want all children in the county to have access to high-quality education and to be able to make the most of their learning opportunities. I want this for the children who currently attend Chineham Park Primary.

Over the past 10 years, the school has struggled. The county council has provided intensive periods of support to help it to improve, but sadly it has failed Ofsted inspections on three separate occasions. That is simply not acceptable.

When the school is being supported by specialist staff from the county council, including primary school inspectors, subject advisers and advanced skills teachers, it has improved for a time, but it has been unable to demonstrate sustained improvement. As soon as the external support is withdrawn, the school starts to struggle again.

As a result of the poor performance of the school, parents who live in the catchment area have increasingly been voting with their feet and sending their children to other nearby schools. The school is now more than half-empty, with only 86 pupils currently attending it.

Research shows that schools running consistently below numbers like this struggle to succeed in the long-term both in terms of being economically viable but especially educationally viable. This has an adverse impact on a school’s ability to offer children a broad and balanced curriculum.

The children who attend Chineham Park Primary and who live in the catchment deserve better – now and in the future.

So, after considering all the evidence put before me, I felt the most appropriate way to achieve this for them was for me to agree to the recommendation to close Chineham Park Primary School.

I realise this is not a popular decision with everyone, and it was certainly not an easy one to make. Some parents may worry that their children will have to settle in to a new school.

But I can assure them that staff from the county council’s children’s services department will work closely with them to find out what their preferred alternative school is, and will do everything they can to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible for the children and their families.

I know some parents have been concerned that if we close Chineham Park Primary they would lose the use of breakfast club and after-school club places currently provided at the school. Again, I want to reassure them that we will ensure there is alternative provision in the local area.

I can also give assurances that, despite unhelpful rumours to the contrary, we have no plans to develop this land for housing. In fact, it is my express wish that we continue to use this site for children’s services.

There is already a children’s centre and childcare provision on the site, and that will continue. I see no reason why the site shouldn’t remain an important community facility offering access to a range of children’s services.

There were similar concerns in Andover when we closed a school and children moved to an alternative one – but I know from that experience the children have settled well into their new school and we have made good use of the vacant premises. I see no reason why the same positive outcomes shouldn’t be achieved in this instance.

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