By Isle of Wight Observer
I last wrote a piece for this column in September, when the IW Council’s cabinet was on the cusp of agreeing to launch the consultation process aimed at dealing with surplus school places across the Island.
On Wednesday the final proposals were published for consideration and decision by the cabinet next Thursday.
It has been an ongoing assertion that the process has been unfair from the outset, due to those schools having Academy status not being considered. I have reiterated that this is not the case.
The papers published this week show that Academies were approached but their status allows them to refuse to be part of the process. The Council did what it could but the fault lies with the legislation that forbids us going further.
There will obviously still be much upset and anger, particularly from those connected with the named schools. Many specific concerns and challenges were raised during the consultation process. However, as I said in September, I would ask that people take a moment to think of the bigger picture here that is driving this process.
There is a declining national birth rate. Schools are funded on a per pupil basis, so if a school is half empty the school is only half funded. Nevertheless you still have to pay for the essentials, which cannot simply be halved, such as the building, heating and, most importantly, staff. In recent years schools have found themselves concentrating on financial survival rather than educational standards.
However the need to improve school outcomes is paramount. We have some of the worst educational standards in the country.
Improving the resourcing of schools and creating a sustainable school estate across the Island is fundamental to improving standards and, as the national funding model is not going change, the only way we can do this is through closures.
The cabinet meeting next week will be a long and difficult meeting, as we will have to go through all the information developed and gathered since this process commenced. However, the paramount consideration that we will need to have in mind is the improvement of educational standards for the benefit of our children and the Island as a whole.
School is about preparing our young people for life, work, careers and their futures. This should be driven by concentrating on providing the best for each child, rather than being driven by inadequate budgets and failing finances. Failing children at school is unacceptable, particularly when a better course is readily achievable. That is what is happening at the moment and that is what we must change.