Archived decisions
Appendix 3a
Meeting on the proposed closure of Chineham Park Primary School
Parents and Public Meeting
At Chineham Park Primary School on 9 November 2009 at 6:00pm
Present: Gwen Clifford, Headteacher Chineham Park Primary School
Councillor David Kirk
Councillor Peter Edgar
David Hardcastle HCC
Chris Holt HCC
Martin Shefferd HCC
Parents and members of the public - 44
Councillor Kirk started the meeting with a small introduction following which the HCC officers delivered a brief presentation on the purpose of the meeting, the processes and the timescales.
The following questions were asked:
1. During your presentation you mentioned Ofsted. Is it Ofsted that is saying the school should close or HCC?
2. People who have moved into Hathaway Gardens have been told that the school site is next for redevelopment, is that true?
3. If this were your child's school would you be happy with the support given by the Local Authority?
4. According to your figures the Merton Schools are only half full, does this mean that they are next for amalgamation or the "chop"?
5. There is a large number of surplus places in the area so why did you extend the Marnel Schools?
6. The surplus places problem in the are is your problem not ours, not this schools and not our children's so why should they suffer?
7. 18 months after the building works are completed at the Marnel Schools to extend the schools you have started this consultation, are you trying to cover up your mistakes for building the additional places?
8. If the school is failing why was this not picked up through Ofsted earlier? The school has been in special measures before and has pulled itself back out so why were the parents to think anything different this time?
9. Why does the process have to be so quick?
10. If the school is failing why did the County Council not put people into the school to help? Has any retraining been put into place to help the management of the school?
11. Why has the school leadership not been replaced if it is not good enough? Is there a possibility of an Executive Headteacher to help?
12. If there were no surplus places in the area you would have to make the school better, why don't you do that now?
13. Why has the IEB not been given the time to move the school forward?
14. Do the figures quoted in your report include the additional 500 houses planned in the area, as reported by the local press?
15. When Merton went into serious weaknesses closure was not considered. Why are you treating our school differently?
16. What help did the Local Authority give to the school when it was trying to appoint new staff, especially in 2003 when there was a need to appoint four new teachers?
17. Are you only considering closure to get another school out of a category?
18. Why not give additional funding to schools that need it?
19. Why are you picking on Chineham Park Primary School when there are a number of schools in the area that have surplus places?
20. The school is struggling to appoint staff. What is the Local Authority doing to help the school appoint good staff?
21. How can the Local Authority have a figure for the English SATs results for 2008 when the papers had been lost?
22. Following a return visit by HMI on 1/2 July the school is said to be improving, why not wait to see what happens?
23. Can you give assurance that the site will not be sold for residential redevelopment?
24. Is it possible to allow the community to fund raise for any building work at the school for a community area?
25. If somebody moves into a house in the area will they be told that the school is closing?
26. By consulting on the closure of this school the Local Authority has started a drift away by parents, how does the authority propose to stop the drift?
27. We would like time to try and raise the number of children attending the school, are you able to give us that time?
28. When you meet with the School Council how will you explain to them what you are there for?
29. The Ofsted report is a snap shot in time, we have got better, why not give us the time?
30. What needs to be done to save the school?
The following comments were also made:
1. Parents have chosen the school, including some out of catchment parents. We are happy with the school, as are our children, including the progress being made by our children.
2. The are concerns surrounding the Y5 children who will move schools twice in a year, once to a new Y6 class and then on to secondary school.
3. Popley 2 regeneration work is underway with the flats already empty. Once this regeneration takes place additional families will move into the accommodation and be looking for school places, this could raise the number of children at Chineham Park Primary.
4. There is a breakfast club and after school club at the school, both of which are reasonably priced, and allow parents to work. No other school in the area offers this facility which could result in some parents having to reduce hours.
5. If the school closes and the children move to other schools there will be an additional cost for the parents to buy new school uniforms.
6. The largest class size in the school has 19 pupils in it. If the children move to another school they will face a number of new challenges including: larger class sizes, strange surroundings, new teachers, longer walks to school, new children and being separated from friends. A number of children are already worried about the possibility of the school closing. One child has already said that if they were to go to another school other children will point to them and say, "there are the naughty children from Chineham".
7. The school has nearly 50% SEN children. They will not get the same attention in a larger class and some may not even stay in mainstream schools.
8. Other schools in the area are a considerable distance away and most are forecast to remain full.
9. Merton Infant is only half full and is not in special measures but given a little longer neither will Chineham Park.
10. Marnel Infant School has one large classroom for 60 children. That is not want I want for my children and I think other parents would agree.
11. As parents we do not feel that the Local Authority has kept us well enough informed this year and in the past about the issues at the school hence why the drastic action to close the school is now planned.
12. Hearing about the closure of the school through the media was a shock to all the parents and we feel that this should have been handled better by the County Council.
13. Although the facts and figures, as presented, show the potential for closure of the school it is our children's lives you are disrupting. As parents we know what is best for our children. If we thought that this school was failing our children then the children would not be here now.
14. The data from the County Council shows the need for additional places in the future. This, together with the building in the area, will generate the additional children to fill the school.
15. In January 2009 Ofsted gave the school 18 months to two years to get out of special measures, you are not giving us that time.
16. You have mentioned the additional 500 houses to be built but you have not taken into account the other 14,000 new houses in the local plan.
17. Merton went into serious weaknesses but you did not deal with them in the same way. That is not fair.
18. It is difficult to move out of Popley, just check the geography. It will be difficult for parents to get to other schools.
19. You are suggesting that the KS1 results for 2008 are poor. However, this is on the back of a cohort of seven children, five of which had SEN, so the sample is too small to put any credence in the figures.