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IT`S TWO TIERS FOR ISLAND SCHOOLS

By Martin Neville - Wednesday, March 19, 2008
IT`S TWO TIERS FOR ISLAND SCHOOLS
Protesters demanding schools are kept open outside Wednesday night’s meeting at County Hall.
A TWO-TIER structure with fewer primary school closures and a presumption in favour of the retention of rural schools was voted in by Island councillors by 27 votes to 17 on Wednesday.
A motion following the broad principles of option three but steering away from three-form entry (FE) was accepted by the full council, a move that will bring the Island into line with the rest of the country.
While it will still mean the closure of some primary schools, particularly micro schools, some smaller one-FE schools might be able to stay open in areas where three-FE schools had been proposed — Haylands, Sandham, Lake, Solent and Osborne.
Council leader David Pugh told fellow councillors he was convinced a primary/secondary structure offered young people the best possible start in life, would secure high-quality leadership in schools and channel vital government funding to invest in rebuilding and refurbishing schools.
“I firmly believe this system will allow us to attract the best primary and secondary teachers to complement the many good staff we already have,” he said.
“Full responsibility will also mean full accountability for the outcomes of examinations at these key stages.”
He said: “This restriction to one and two-form entries will allow a larger number of primary schools to continue than has been proposed.
“However, we are likely to still use many of our middle school sites for primary provision, so this will have an impact on the continuance of some existing primary school buildings.”
Cllr Pugh said they recognised the new secondaries would create a wide age range of pupils, with a large number of students.
“That is why I am proposing these schools be established in 11-14 (lower) and 14-19 (upper) sections,” he said.
Cllr Pugh said officers would review the representations of governing bodies and consider the distribution of schools, giving particular consideration to the presumption in favour of retaining rural schools.
“We appreciate that many parents will want to know about the future of individual schools as soon as possible, and may have wanted to receive such information as part of the decision this evening,” he said. “However, we cannot combine this decision on overall structure with the detailed work required on the distribution of schools. That work is to follow, and there will be much more consultation with the public to make sure we get those decisions right.”
Cllr Pugh added he was not ashamed of moving away from his previous support for the three-tier system.
“We must be prepared to put political dogma and sentimentality aside in the interests of doing what is best for Island children,” he said.

Click here for the full text of Cllr Pugh's proposal and speech.

Earlier, a fourth option calling for a referendum on school structure was defeated.
Cllr Melanie Swan, the former IW Council cabinet member for children, put forward the alternative proposal, seconded by Labour member Cllr Geoff Lumley, but it was defeated by 28 votes to 17.
Cllr Swan said: “Less than one per cent of the emails I’ve received were in favour of the options which went out for consultation.
“What struck me so forcefully is the outpouring of what I can only describe as negative emotions: distress, pain, anxiety, fear, disillusionment and a sense of betrayal.”
She said: “Public criticism of the questionnaire and the small percentage of the population the results represent cannot allow them to justify inflicting profound change on the rest of the population.”
Cllr Wendy Arnold said: “We might wish to believe that the results from the questionnaire represent the views of the electorate. We know it does not. It may well be that the electorate would want the three-tier system to be abandoned. In all honesty we do not yet know that. Before taking that radical step, I urge members to search their consciences and seriously contemplate actually asking the electorate that question, plain and simple.”
Cllr Brian Mosdell said option four gave the council an opportunity to go back to the people and let them decide once and for all what system they wanted.
“Give democracy back to the people,” he appealed.
Cllr Lumley highlighted the word "standards" did not appear anywhere in Cllr Pugh's 'fifth option'.
But Cllr Alan Wells, cabinet member for children and young people, said it was time to move forward after many years of talking.
“What we are seeing here is history repeating itself. Members are faced with a tough decision and trying to come back from the brink; let’s go forward and end the uncertainty,” he said.
Cllr Charlie Hancock said to support the motion would ignore the results of the schools consultation questionnaire while former leader Cllr Andy Sutton said it was the wish of many teachers, headteachers and governors to get on and make a decision.