Carlton Colville primary school.
Proposed temporary site for the new Beccles free school.
Battle lines drawn on Beccles Free School bid
By RICHARD WOOD
Friday, January 27, 2012
9:52 AM
The battle lines were drawn on the future of education in Beccles this week as a public consultation meeting was held into a proposed free school.
Parents, students and residents met at Hungate Church Hall on Tuesday night as The Seckford Foundation discussed their proposal to open a free school in September.
The foundation, which runs Woodbridge School, is bidding to open a high school at Carlton Colville Primary School in September, before moving to Beccles Middle School two years later.
The suitability of the primary school building and the potential disruption of moving between the schools were among the issues raised by those opposing the bid as members of the public were given a chance to have their say as part of the proposals’ formal process.
Addressing the assembled audience, Graham Watson, director of the Seckford Foundation, said: “It was people from the community that came to us to ask if we would help with their bid. We thought about it and decided yes, we would help the community and put in the bid together.”
Stephen Cole, headmaster at Woodbridge School, added: “This is not something out of my dream, as to what I think a school should be. This is a response to the community of Beccles and its surrounding villages.”
Mr Cole said that the proposed school would be “unashamedly academic”, with Year 7s focusing on maths and English for half of their curriculum.
He said that Years 8 and 9 would be in mixed tutor groups in the lower school, and Years 10 and 11 would be the same as the upper school.
Graeme Bruce, director of studies at Woodbridge, added that the first appointment would be the head teacher, followed by two deputies and then a specialist in educational needs.
When questions were invited, parent Ian Goodyear, of Beccles, voiced concerns about the potential disruption to children when the school moves from Carlton Colville to Beccles, calling it a “shabby compromise”, while another local resident John Rutter said the students would be “guinea pigs”.
Sir John Leman High School head teacher Jeremy Rowe raised concerns that a newly appointed head teacher would not have time to start work before the pupils, while the school’s student council vice chair James Watson said he was worried about money being taken away from his school.
Residents from Carlton Colville also raised issues about traffic problems around the school, while Sonia Barker, Waveney District Councillor for Pakefield, also asked if there would be a meeting in Carlton Colville.
The meeting was led by independent adjudicator Rob Cawley, who was appointed by Cambridge Education, the team employed by the Department for Education to see if the bid is viable.
Mr Cawley said: “Once the consultation has finished the outcomes will be sent to the Department For Education for them to make a decision if the free school goes ahead.
“Whether it will be going ahead will be on the strength of its argument rather than the volume for and against.”
The project team noted every question and recorded that there were 39 people in support, 28 against and 16 undecided on the free school. Five people declined to answer.
A questionnaire was also given out giving people the chance to say what they thought of the proposal, why, if they thought the free school would impact on other local schools and how it could ensure it is part of the community.
Speaking after the meeting, members of the steering group who had approached the Seckford Foundation about putting in the bid said they were happy with how everything was progressing although the temporary move to Carlton Colville was not what they would have wished.
Melanie Tucker said: “I think there has been a groundswell of positive opinion for the establishment of free schools and positive comments from parents who want to see a choice.”
Aidan McHugh added that the consultation was an important process to get a feel for what parents wanted, so they could respond to that.
Also outside the meeting was a group of parents compiling signatures against the free school and handing out a “Stop the Beccles Free School Fiasco” leaflet.
There will be further drop in events on Friday, February 3 at Morrisons between 9am and 12.30pm, and Beccles Library between 1 and 5pm.
The consultation concludes on February 28, when the Department for Education will decide if the school will go ahead based on the strength of the argument.
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11 comments
So the 30 teachers would cover seven year groups, not five? It is also questionable whether a school of the size you suggest would be able to manage the requisite levels of non-contact time and the breadth of subject provision necessary to provide a rounded education.
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Fairplay
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I have worked out the 3 free schools would have about £2,200,000 each per year. The 30 teachers could share £1,200,000 between them (£40,000 each) and that would leave each school £1,000,000 per year to play with. I think the schools would overcome any dys-synergy challenges.
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popeye
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Popeye......and the sixth form would be provided where? Your calculation shows three schools with five year groups (the basis for your 30 teachers - 6 per year group), but takes no account of the compulsory educationtraining provision to age18. In addition, your proposal potentially creates dys-synergies in infrastructure and ancillary services. Like it or not, state education has to be cost effective.
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Fairplay
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Sir John Leman High School is too big (86 teachers). I am sure most parents would want their children to go to a school where most of the teachers can recognise them. Three 30 teacher schools would be better, with 6 teachers per year group. One of the schools could specialise in the Arts, one in Maths&Science and one Technical. Free schools would be best for freedom in curriculum development. The funding for the schools could be the John Leman Funding split 3 ways. I can't see why it wouldn't work.
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popeye
Monday, January 30, 2012
This is truly a disgraceful waste of money and resources. The money to fund this school will come straight out of the schools budget for other schools in Suffolk and all to fund a politically motivated separate school. I hope that parents boycott this appalling idea
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BigBry
Monday, January 30, 2012
That doesn't work BaldE as the Free School numbers are pathetic and the Leman numbers are still far too high to accommodate the children on one site. I can't remember the exact figures but the Free School has about 80 "expressions of interest" in total, approximately 35 in Year 7, 25 in Year 8 and 20 in Year 9. I don't think there will even be half as many applications for places as this though as, when these figures become more widely known, parents will decide against experimenting with their children's futures.
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James
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Bald E, the current middle school building should not be unsuitable for years 7 and 8 as it currently provides for KS3 students. Additionally, parents have not yet been able to apply for free school places - the supplementary question in the admissions process asked whether, IF a free school was established, parents would wish to apply for places. It is, of course, possible that the free school steering group has over-estimated demand for, or interest in, an 11-16 free school in the town which would, inevitably, create over-capacity in high school places. Perhaps they could be clear in differentiating between what they believe and what they know.
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Fairplay
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Maybe i am being dense but if this new free school is going to affect numbers at assumably John Leman as predicted in the various news stories then i would assume they could accomodate the new year 7 & 8 pupils on their existing site and the free school could use Beccles Middle as previously planned. As usual a lack of joined up thinking from those in charge. All High School place applications are now in so this is a simple number crunching excercise. Seems stupid to waste loads of our money converting an unsuitable building for 2 years.
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Bald E
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Parents of current year 6,7 and 8 were asked a supplementary question regarding the free school as part of the schools admission process for September 2012. Perhaps the county council could make public how many positive responses they received?
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Fairplay
Friday, January 27, 2012
A claim has been made that there have been several hundred enquiries about Free School places...if that is so.how will they squeeze them all in? I think the Seckford Foundation should come clean about how many confirmed requests for places they have had, and ask for an independent person to verify their claim.
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Dogberry
Friday, January 27, 2012
Mr Goodyer wasn't the only one concerned, and the Seckford Foundation spokesperson admitted they hadn't consulted the residents of Carlton Colville. This is a farcical situation that will get pushed through because it is politically motivated directly from the desk of Michael Gove!
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Dogberry
Wednesday, January 25, 2012