Dear Parent,
Possible Combination of Kings International & Tomlinscote Schools
I have been asked by a number of people to comment on the above in view of the forthcoming local elections on May 5th.
The first point to make is that Education is a Surrey County Council responsibility which has nothing to do with Surrey Heath Borough Council of which I am a member. The May 5th election is limited ONLY to Surrey Heath Borough Council with Surrey County Council elections not taking place until 2013 so the future of the two schools will NOT be a substantive issue on May 5th.
The second point to make is that my understanding from the letter from Surrey County Council to parents dated 16th March is that a long process of consultation with parents from both schools will take place before any final decisions are made. The letter makes clear that a six week pre-Statutory Notice consultation will take place and this will then be followed by a second six week Statutory Notice period.
At the first meeting of parents at Kings on 28th March it was indicated that the timescale would be for decisions to be made by September 2011 with implementation of the ‘absorption’, if it proceeds, taking place in September 2012.
Whilst parents may be understandably sceptical about the nature of these ‘consultations’ it is clear AT PRESENT that no detailed proposals for the absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote have yet been put forward and until these details are provided it is very difficult to make informed comment on the situation.
Having made these points, residents are quite entitled to know the views of ANY elected individual on any issue so I will do my best – bearing in mind that I am not involved in any way with the future of the schools - to explain my CURRENT position. I emphasise again that more details are required from the County Council before a final view can be formed.
For many years Kings International and its predecessor school, France Hill, has for whatever reason been the ‘poor relation’ of Tomlinscote and Collingwood in Surrey Heath. The image of the school amongst parents is very poor amongst most people who do not live in the immediate vicinity of the school or do not already have children attending. This is illustrated by the low number of first preferences, just 57, received for the next school year BUT is belied by the loyalty shown to the school by its current parents who, from the first parents meeting, are clearly deeply committed to the school.
The absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote would take this ‘image’ problem away provided, of course, standards at Tomlinscote are maintained. The FIRST area of questioning that the County Council should be subjected to should concern just how they are going to ensure that standards are maintained/improved at the larger school rather than ‘dragged down’ by the addition of a school which has been judged – rightly or wrongly - to be ‘failing’.
The good news on this point, perhaps, is that most qualified people agree that the Kings International pupils are not ’failing’ in any way and will play their part, if appropriate, in developing a new Tomlinscote just as much as existing Tomlinscote pupils.
For me this is the key issue to be addressed. Some people who have already expressed themselves opposed to the proposals have cited traffic and environmental issues as the keystone to their opposition. With great respect, whilst those issues are of great importance, even more important is the quality of the education that both existing and future pupils at both schools will receive. In my view, this is the critical issue about which, in coming months, both the County Council and parents will have to satisfy themselves.
In particular, too, - and this is the SECOND question to be answered - how is the County Council going to ensure that the education being received by CURRENT pupils – especially those taking examinations - is not going to be negatively impacted during the transitional phase of absorbing Kings into Tomlinscote?
On the traffic issues, incidentally, perhaps the THIRD question which the County Council should address is what mitigating measures in the way of transport, bus provision etc is it going to take to minimise the inconvenience to parents and the environmental impacts of the school merger? At the first King’s meeting, the County Council recognised the importance of this.
In the letter to parents mentioned above, the County Council states that demand for secondary school places over the next five years is lower than previously anticipated because of the lack of new housing development in this area. It indicates that this situation will continue until at least 2021. The FOURTH question, therefore, is whether or not the County Council forecasts take into account the planned development of some 1200 new homes in Deepcut – currently scheduled to commence in 2016?
Clearly the impact of such a development on Secondary School places in Surrey Heath will be very significant. When questioned at the first Kings International meeting, County Council Officers seemed less than certain on the point and agreed to take the matter up with local Forward Planners in order to obtain clarification of the Deepcut issues.
Before summing up, it also needs to be said that all the heat and fury generated on this issue by a few people on so called ‘social’ networking sites does nobody any good – least of all the pupils of the two schools and it is to be hoped that the focus will fall squarely on the educational needs of Surrey Heath children rather than calling each other puerile names on Face Book or wherever.
So in summary, my view – and it is a shame, I think, that our local MP Michael Gove has so far simply sat on the fence and encouraged parents to participate in the consultation exercise rather than providing any leadership in his position as Secretary of State for Education – is that the absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote COULD be a very positive development for secondary education in Surrey Heath.
BUT parents and other stakeholders need to obtain and understand the full proposals from the County Council. They should satisfy themselves that the County Council is basing its decision making on sound forecasts, that proper mitigating measures are taken to minimise any negative environmental impacts brought about by the change and, most important of all, that it is going to take proper steps to ensure that educational standards are maintained and improved as a result of the changes rather than worsened, including during the critical transitional phase.
More on this subject will surely follow as the situation develops.
Apologies for the length of this letter.
Yours sincerely
David Whitcroft,
Liberal Democrat Surrey Heath Borough Councillor, Mytchett & Deepcut Ward
Possible Combination of Kings International & Tomlinscote Schools
I have been asked by a number of people to comment on the above in view of the forthcoming local elections on May 5th.
The first point to make is that Education is a Surrey County Council responsibility which has nothing to do with Surrey Heath Borough Council of which I am a member. The May 5th election is limited ONLY to Surrey Heath Borough Council with Surrey County Council elections not taking place until 2013 so the future of the two schools will NOT be a substantive issue on May 5th.
The second point to make is that my understanding from the letter from Surrey County Council to parents dated 16th March is that a long process of consultation with parents from both schools will take place before any final decisions are made. The letter makes clear that a six week pre-Statutory Notice consultation will take place and this will then be followed by a second six week Statutory Notice period.
At the first meeting of parents at Kings on 28th March it was indicated that the timescale would be for decisions to be made by September 2011 with implementation of the ‘absorption’, if it proceeds, taking place in September 2012.
Whilst parents may be understandably sceptical about the nature of these ‘consultations’ it is clear AT PRESENT that no detailed proposals for the absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote have yet been put forward and until these details are provided it is very difficult to make informed comment on the situation.
Having made these points, residents are quite entitled to know the views of ANY elected individual on any issue so I will do my best – bearing in mind that I am not involved in any way with the future of the schools - to explain my CURRENT position. I emphasise again that more details are required from the County Council before a final view can be formed.
For many years Kings International and its predecessor school, France Hill, has for whatever reason been the ‘poor relation’ of Tomlinscote and Collingwood in Surrey Heath. The image of the school amongst parents is very poor amongst most people who do not live in the immediate vicinity of the school or do not already have children attending. This is illustrated by the low number of first preferences, just 57, received for the next school year BUT is belied by the loyalty shown to the school by its current parents who, from the first parents meeting, are clearly deeply committed to the school.
The absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote would take this ‘image’ problem away provided, of course, standards at Tomlinscote are maintained. The FIRST area of questioning that the County Council should be subjected to should concern just how they are going to ensure that standards are maintained/improved at the larger school rather than ‘dragged down’ by the addition of a school which has been judged – rightly or wrongly - to be ‘failing’.
The good news on this point, perhaps, is that most qualified people agree that the Kings International pupils are not ’failing’ in any way and will play their part, if appropriate, in developing a new Tomlinscote just as much as existing Tomlinscote pupils.
For me this is the key issue to be addressed. Some people who have already expressed themselves opposed to the proposals have cited traffic and environmental issues as the keystone to their opposition. With great respect, whilst those issues are of great importance, even more important is the quality of the education that both existing and future pupils at both schools will receive. In my view, this is the critical issue about which, in coming months, both the County Council and parents will have to satisfy themselves.
In particular, too, - and this is the SECOND question to be answered - how is the County Council going to ensure that the education being received by CURRENT pupils – especially those taking examinations - is not going to be negatively impacted during the transitional phase of absorbing Kings into Tomlinscote?
On the traffic issues, incidentally, perhaps the THIRD question which the County Council should address is what mitigating measures in the way of transport, bus provision etc is it going to take to minimise the inconvenience to parents and the environmental impacts of the school merger? At the first King’s meeting, the County Council recognised the importance of this.
In the letter to parents mentioned above, the County Council states that demand for secondary school places over the next five years is lower than previously anticipated because of the lack of new housing development in this area. It indicates that this situation will continue until at least 2021. The FOURTH question, therefore, is whether or not the County Council forecasts take into account the planned development of some 1200 new homes in Deepcut – currently scheduled to commence in 2016?
Clearly the impact of such a development on Secondary School places in Surrey Heath will be very significant. When questioned at the first Kings International meeting, County Council Officers seemed less than certain on the point and agreed to take the matter up with local Forward Planners in order to obtain clarification of the Deepcut issues.
Before summing up, it also needs to be said that all the heat and fury generated on this issue by a few people on so called ‘social’ networking sites does nobody any good – least of all the pupils of the two schools and it is to be hoped that the focus will fall squarely on the educational needs of Surrey Heath children rather than calling each other puerile names on Face Book or wherever.
So in summary, my view – and it is a shame, I think, that our local MP Michael Gove has so far simply sat on the fence and encouraged parents to participate in the consultation exercise rather than providing any leadership in his position as Secretary of State for Education – is that the absorption of Kings into Tomlinscote COULD be a very positive development for secondary education in Surrey Heath.
BUT parents and other stakeholders need to obtain and understand the full proposals from the County Council. They should satisfy themselves that the County Council is basing its decision making on sound forecasts, that proper mitigating measures are taken to minimise any negative environmental impacts brought about by the change and, most important of all, that it is going to take proper steps to ensure that educational standards are maintained and improved as a result of the changes rather than worsened, including during the critical transitional phase.
More on this subject will surely follow as the situation develops.
Apologies for the length of this letter.
Yours sincerely
David Whitcroft,
Liberal Democrat Surrey Heath Borough Councillor, Mytchett & Deepcut Ward
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