General Questions

Once the council has decided on the option, a plan will be published with a school by school criteria answering those queries and what parents will need to do about admissions. If the school that your children currently attend will continue under a certain form under the chosen option, those children will be guaranteed to keep their places.

Absolutely not, the plans are all about raising the Island’s low educational standards. A document was produced in September 2007 that outlines the potential costs for improving, expanding and building schools in the middle and high sector under the original proposals announced early last year. It was developed as a result of the proposal to retain Year 9 in middle schools and was discontinued following the introduction of two further options late last year. 
 
The figures quoted are only estimates and were designed to indicate to officers what potential funds could be identified to help the rebuilding programme at individual middle and high school sites. Government guidance is that any money raised from the sale of school sites should be re-invested in educational services.
 
We are proposing to build a new school in the west of Newport as the Nodehill site is unsuitable as both a junior high school under Option 1 and a secondary under Options 2 & 3. While the possible future use of the Nodehill Middle School site will not be decided until after formal consultation later this year, we should remember that whichever option is chosen, Newport will be getting a brand new school that will benefit the whole area.

The latest research shows many parents choose to drive across the Island to send their children to schools which have spaces. By reorganising the current school set up, bigger and better quality schools will become available and only 1% of primary age students per year will be outside the government’s 2 mile walking distance guidelines. This will give parents a greater choice of schools in their area.

The council has for many years looked at ways of improving education on the Island. Currently our standards are far below what children and young people deserve, and although they have been improving in recent years, the change is not enough. The council would not be doing its job if it does not make difficult decisions that it believes will benefit the Island in the future. There is never an easy time to change education, but something has to be done. The council has publicly stated no change is not an option and this is the reason we are consulting on the three options. One of these will be implemented following a decision by councillors on March 19

The council must enter into full consultation with pre-schools and nurseries once the final option is chosen. You should not assume that just because a pre-school or nursery is on a site earmarked for closure, that the provision will go. There will be a separate round of discussions. Any consultation will take place in the summer.

The council has to develop a travel plan for education which includes transport such as buses. Under options 1 and 3, less than 1% of primary age students in each year group will be outside the government’s recommended guide of two miles to a parent’s nearest school.

Over the last three years concern has repeatedly been expressed by external inspection agencies regarding educational standards on the Island. Whilst standards at the end of key stage 1 place the Island in the top 10% compared to other Authorities, performance dips at key stage 2 and continues on a downward trend to A Level, placing the Island in the bottom 20% of the country (DCSF Data 2007).

The demands on the current education and school system have also changed a lot in recent years. We need to make sure young people and those who work with them have the resources and facilities that best meet their needs and help them achieve their full potential.

Whilst some slight improvements have been made over the last few years by individual schools, these are not enough to raise the performance levels expected and desired. Plus changes at a national agenda setting out new requirements for Post 14 learning in particular indicate that the current organisation as it stands would not meet the expectations set out by central government and would limit the opportunities for Island children and young people in comparison to those on the mainland.

The council has launched a six-week period of informal consultation (from 14 January to 22 February) to listen to your views about each of these options. At the end of the consultation period, the council will ask the independent research company QA which has been commissioned to carry out the research to analyse the results of the questionnaire, and consultation meetings /focus groups and prepare a detailed report. These findings will then be reviewed by members before a final decision is made on Wednesday 19 March. Only the analysis of the questionnaire will be made available to the council and no personal details will be passed on in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

In simple terms it will be the local authority. Once the Council decides to proceed with a chosen option, there will then be a formal consultation period reflecting the impact on a school-by-school basis. Following this, statutory notices will be served on schools where changes will happen.

Members of the public may, at that point, make representations to the Local Authority regarding its statutory proposals. Any subsequent appeal to the Schools Adjudicator can only be based on the process followed rather than any decision taken by the Council.

A decision on which option will be implemented will be made on 19 March. The changes will begin to be brought in from September 2010, although some could happen earlier where appropriate. Substantial change would be implemented over a number of years so that we could carefully plan and manage the impact on pupils and school staff.

This will depend on whether this involves the modification of an existing building or a complete rebuild and could therefore take anywhere between a matter of a few months to approximately 18 months.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has made clear its view that maintaining unfilled places (often referred to as ‘surplus places’) represents a poor use of resources. These can be used more effectively to support schools in raising standards. The Local Authority must take action in respect of schools which have significant unfilled places as these schools incur costs at the expense of others on the Island.

No decisions have been taken as to what will happen to any vacant buildings following reorganisation. The council has a duty to consider all viable options for the future of vacated buildings as determined by its Community Asset Strategy, which is currently under development.

Both the Island Plan and the Eco-Island vision are currently being drafted. Council education officers are working closely with planning officers during the construction of both. The future of schools is an important factor in both plans.