Archived decisions
Appendix E6
Special school provision in the East New Forest
Salterns School - parents' consultation meeting
15 February 2007
Present from the Local Authority
Chris Holt - Education Officer (School Review)
Alex Munro - Education Officer
Present from Salterns School:
Mrs N Dando - Headteacher
13 parents
Start of meeting: 10.00 am
Close of meeting: 11.35 am
Chris Holt opened the meeting by explaining briefly the main proposals with regard to the future of the New Forest special schools, saying that this meeting with parents was one in a series involving governors, staff and a number of other representative bodies.
He clarified that the current proposal was for both Salterns and Forest Edge Schools to close and to be replaced initially by a 2 - 19 special school. The Salterns buildings would form part of the new school until the secondary phase was complete and secondary pupils were able to attend the new 11 - 19 school on the Oak Lodge site in Dibden Purlieu.
He explained that funding for the primary phase would be the subject of a bid to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) at the end of May. The secondary phase was equally dependent upon the government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding programme.
Mr Holt also emphasised the key role of the temporary governing body in appointing staff and the equally crucial task of the new headteacher in determining, with the governors, the most appropriate structure for the future.
The following questions were asked and comments made by parents:
Pupils
1. Why would pupils have to transfer to the Oak Lodge site? This was some distance away and would be less convenient for parents.
2. Pupils attending Forest Edge and particularly Salterns needed continuity in their lives and education and this principle was crucial for the future.
3. Would the secondary pupils remaining on the current Salterns site when the new school was established at Forest Edge still have access to the new facilities?
4. With fewer pupils, would the continuing Salterns site still be as stimulating as at present?
5. Will there be post-16 provision at the new secondary school?
6. Salterns is a small school and this is one of its strengths. Would the new school be too large? How would the pupils entering Year 7 cope in a larger school?
7. How is it possible to cater for the much wider range of abilities that would be found in a school catering for a much wider range of pupils? A small school is best for severely disabled pupils.
8. It would be possible to share specialist facilities in a larger school but organise the pupils in separate groupings so that they felt more secure.
9. If 2012 was the earliest any new secondary school could open, this would wreck some pupils' last two years in school.
10. Special needs children do not react well to change. Schools are not simply about education but provide a social focus for children and families.
11. Will former SLD pupils mix well with former MLD pupils?
Procedures
12. Why do the schools need to be improved?
13. What time gap would there be between opening the new school in 2009 and then being able to open the secondary school?
14. What would happen if no money was available for the secondary phase?
15. Why was it not possible to house all pupils in a 2 - 19 school?
16. There was a real danger that Salterns would "die a death" and would have to close early.
17. Why do you have no plans for consulting the parents at Oak Lodge at this stage?
18. Why have parents at Oak Lodge been told that Salterns pupils will not be joining them in the future?
19. Was there a danger that the Salterns role would drop significantly during the interim period because of the current age profile of pupils?
Buildings
20. There was a danger that the "annexe" would be forgotten and the physical conditions allowed to deteriorate.
21. Parking was difficult enough at present at Forest Edge. It was essential that any new school on the Forest Edge site had sufficient parking and, in particular, plenty of space for vehicles bringing pupils to the school.
22. Transport at the beginning and end of the school day was already a problem and it was essential that there were proper facilities at the new schools.
23. It was important that all the facilities currently at Salterns were replicated, and improved, at both the new schools.
24. Would the new secondary school be on more than one storey, bearing in mind that Oak Lodge was not all built on the same level.
25. What will happen to the Clifford Centre?
26. Would there be enough space within the new schools?
27. Why is it not possible for the new secondary school to be built somewhere else and not on the Oak Lodge site?
28. What happens to pupils on site when building works begin?
Staff
29. Salterns' staff are very skilled and these skills must not be lost as part of reorganisation.
30. Is there a danger that well qualified and experienced staff will be concerned about their future and seek to move to other schools?
31. Would staff be made redundant?
Governance and management
32. Proper management of the interim period was crucial.
33. How would Salterns be managed if the current headteacher was appointed as the head of the new school?
34. How would the new headteacher be appointed?
35. How would the temporary governing body be constituted?
36. Would the current small classes be maintained in the new arrangements?
Other issues
37. Whatever the authority said, this was essentially a money-saving exercise.
38. When Greenacres School (Winchester) was closed, this was bad for pupils and parents' morale.
39. Osborne School (Winchester) looks like a factory.
40. As the changes progressed, would resources be lost from the Salterns site?
41. The consultation document referred to partnership working between Lydlynch Infant, Abbotswood Junior and the new school. Would this not stretch resources too far?
42. Would current levels of funding be retained?
43. Are there any plans to change catchment areas?
44. Would Southampton children be expected to go back to Southampton when the new schools became available?
Parents were urged to respond to the consultations using the response sheet at the back of the consultation booklet and/or the Hantsweb link.