Archived decisions

Appendix 1

Consultation meeting with Knights Enham Infant School and Knights Enham Junior School joint staff and governors

Date: 08 March 2006

Time: 4.00 - 6.00 pm

Venue: Knights Enham Junior School

The meeting was attended by:

Mrs Sandra Hunter - Headteacher, Knights Enham Infant School;

Mrs Anne Hughes - Headteacher, Knights Enham Junior School;

Peter Colenutt - Assistant Education Officer (School Review);

Alex Munro - Education Officer (Admissions & Special Projects);

56 members of staff and governors.

Issues raised:

· It would be a better use of public money if only one school was built at East Anton with the surplus places at the other schools being filled.

· How was it possible to assess future numbers at East Anton until the housing profile was known?

· If a decision is taken, when will the public notices be published?

· Will a railway station be built at East Anton?

· If a school is to close, how will parents get their children to the new school at East Anton?

· Safety concerns were expressed about walking across the footbridge and dual carriageway.

· Knights Enham is an area of high deprivation. The school is the only community facility in the area apart from the pub. What will be re-provided if the school is to close?

· The playing field at Knights Enham School is the only "open space" in the area. Children are safe on the school site and make excellent use of the facilities at holiday clubs.

· Has consideration been given to establishing a 3 - 18 school at the new development for primary and secondary aged pupils?

· Why does it have to be Knights Enham children that lose their facility? Why not make East Anton children come to the surplus places?

· There is a deficit of 65 pre-school places - why are we proposing to close the nursery, which is an integral part of the Knights Enham school?

· Why was a new school not provided for Saxonfields?

· The Children Act has the themes - "be healthy" and "stay safe". If this review is to try to achieve these aims, how can it be that children are being asked to cross a busy road?

· The Balksbury schools have recently had new classes - why has the County Council invested in that community and not ours?

· The new development at East Anton should be seen as part of the existing community and not as a stand-alone community.

· The disruption in pupil's education could have an impact on their SATS results. Will children be given the opportunity to re-take?

· If the SATS results are low, this will have an impact on the perception of this school.

· Why should the parents of East Anton have a local school and not us?

· Will there be support for parents as well as staff if a decision is taken to close a school?

· Why is the County Council looking at closing the Knights Enham schools? The nursery is oversubscribed, the school has excellent standards and highly skilled staff.

· This review has had a real impact on the children. Are we going to meet and hear their views?

· Why are the options so limited?

· The decision-makers must visit the schools and talk to the children to understand how the schools work.

· Can the money proposed for East Anton's new school not be re-invested into the existing school provision?

· Knights Enham School has a high number of SEN children who find it particularly difficult to adapt to change.

· Has land been set aside for a secondary school site in the new development?

· How does closing one of the Knights Enham or Shepherds Spring schools fit in with the green transport policy?

· Has any consideration been given to road safety and the inevitable increase of car travel if schools are closed?

· The Knights Enham schools have good core structures. Will the proposed new schools have such structures?

· The governors have been impressed by the local community's feelings about how important they consider the Knights Enham schools to be.

· It takes 30 years to build a community - that's just happened, don't take it away.

· The County Council seems to be asking local people to decide the future rather than taking responsibility itself.

· It is important that councillors and other members of the Children's Services Policy Review Committee visit all schools and spend time talking to staff and children.