CALMORE INFANT SCHOOL

CONSULTATION WITH STAFF AND GOVERNORS (23 June 2003)

33 Staff and Governors present

Officers were welcomed to meeting by the Chairman of Governors who then gave a response to the consultation paper (copy attached).

Buildings

· Staff and governors were keen to make sure that any proposed changes will include the same specialist accommodation currently on offer to the pupils to allow the delivery of the curriculum, especially the delivery of ICT and music/drama.

· Staff wished to know what the term amalgamate meant with regard to their position.

· A governor wished to know about the alternative use of the site because the possibility of using it for residential redevelopment could be problematic owing to the restrictions on the site. It was also stated that the Town Council may own some of the land being proposed for disposal/redevelopment, which may leave the site landlocked and incapable of being redeveloped if this is the case.

· A governor raised a question about the use of the Calmore School building as a SEN school and whether or not it would be possible for the school to be used in that way. If a SEN school would fit into the building the governors wished to see the feasibility study for the SEN school and was this possible?

· Staff and governors wished to be assured that the needs of the whole community would be taken into account including the early years provision in the area. A strong feeling was that any pre-school provision should be close to an infant or primary school to allow ease of transfer from the early years setting into the reception classes.

· Some concerns were raised about the size of the school and how daunting a 400+ place school could be for a four year old and that by providing a primary school there is an issue for parents wishing to opt for separate infant and junior schools.

· A number of classrooms were "lost" nine years ago following Age of Transfer work so why did HCC not take out of use other classrooms at that time?

· Could some of the surplus places not be used for additional early years facilities as there is a need for additional provision in the area, as outlined in the report taken to the Executive Member (Education).

· There is a proposal for the grounds to be developed but the consultation process now means that it is unlikely that any external agency will wish to invest in the site development programme until the outcome of the consultations becomes clear. This may have a detrimental effect on the environment for the pupils attending the school.

· A governor made the point that the two schools have had surplus places almost since they were built so why seek an amalgamation option now?

· Concern was expressed about the new net capacity assessment method for calculating the new capacity of the school, especially with the amount of space per pupil.

· It was stated that some of the classrooms in the junior school are too small to accommodate 30 pupils although this is not necessarily borne out from the new net capacity assessment for the junior school.

· If the school is to become a 2FE infant school then could the surplus capacity be used for the expansion of the pre-school provision in the area which would negate the need to consider amalgamation of the two Calmore Schools.

· A general view was that anything provided should be better than the existing provision. Concern was expressed that the infant age pupils would not be able to access ICT unless there were two ICT suites because the junior school suite is in full use. Other concerns focussed upon the amount of space each of the infant pupils would have should an amalgamation take place. The drop from two ICT suites, i.e. one in each school, to just one ICT suite appears to be making the ICT provision worse not better.

Staff Recruitment

· It was stated that a number of members of staff work at the school because it is close to home and may not be able to move anywhere else. How does this fit with the County Council's policy of no redundancy?

· Some concern was raised that owing to a drop in pupil numbers some staff may not have a job even if no amalgamations were to take place. Should staff start looking for new jobs elsewhere?

· A further question dealt with the issue of good staff leaving and the school having to run with temporary staff. Should this happen the parents may seek to move their children to other schools which will have a more marked effect on the viability of the school. What does HCC do to help the school in those circumstances?

· A number of governors voiced concern about the morale of the staff during this process as it drags into the next calendar year and wished to see a resolution to the proposals as soon as possible.

Pupil Numbers

· Questions were raised on the accuracy of the projected numbers for the school and area and what would happen if the numbers were completely wrong?

· A similar question asked about which housing developments had been included in the projected numbers as there appeared to be a number of sites in the area that had been earmarked for development but did not appear in the forecasts. The answer to this was requested in writing to the Headteacher. Governors also wished to know how these projected numbers sit with the Government's target for additional housing in the area.

· A similar question asked about how the LEA factored in the additional pupils that will be resident within any new development area.

· SEN resourced provision is one of the possible uses of surplus accommodation in the review. If it is cheaper to provide this at Calmore Infant School would this be taken into account?

Educational Standards

· A real concern for the staff was the possibility of standards falling should a number of good staff had leave the school and the school is then in line for an OfSTED inspection. A knock-on from the inspection would be the need for an action plan that could become irrelevant for the new school.

· The governors made the point that the school has a good ethos which contributes to the educational standards in the school and they would like to see this ethos retained.

Funding

· One question was specific about the cost of carrying out any work to the junior school building (should the schools amalgamate) and how does that fit with the expected receipts from the sites.

· A general view was that it was unfair to sell off the Calmore Infant school site if some of the receipt would go towards funding the SEN schools review.

Decision

· The staff and governors wished to be assured that no decision has been taken on the outcome of the consultations and this assurance was given at the meeting.