My view after Surrey CC meeting at Kings. - Claire Funnell (T)

I have held off writing any letters or making any comments on the proposed mergers of Tomlinscote School and Kings International as I wanted to hear full details at the parent’s consultation meeting rather than listening to rumours and hearsay.

Although I am a Tomlinscote parent, I attended the meeting at Kings on Monday night and this was an eye opening experience which has given me a more balanced view of the situation.

Prior to the meeting my concerns were – split site locations, travel to and from and between sites, lack of continuity for children, lack of choice for parents/carers, potential slip in educational standards/achievements, staff retention.  

I was always of the mind that every child in Camberley or Surrey Heath is entitled to a good level of education and agreed that if this was not currently being achieved then something had to be done to address the problem.  Obviously I did not want this to impact my children’s education, but was open to looking at suggestions.

I was expecting that the majority of Kings Parents would be in support of the merger as my perception was that they would see it as an opportunity for their children to get the high level of education that our Tomlinscote children have been experiencing for many years.  When I listened to the Kings Parents they were not for the merger at all.  In fact they had as many valid points against the merger, but from a different angle from Tomlinscote parents.  Many Kings Parents had specifically chosen Kings over Collingwood or Tomlinscote because of its size.  Some children thrive in a smaller nuturing environment.  Some parents are not looking for amazing academic achievements from their kids and they are happy and content that, at a school like Kings, more than just academic goals are achieved.  With a merger on the horizon, the choice for future secondary education in Surrey Heath is BIG or BIGGER, if people want a smaller more personal environment then their only choice is to look at private sector or to look outside of our immediate vicinity.  I was also interested to hear that while Kings are not up to the academic standard in Maths, English and Science, they are higher achieving in some other areas, such as history and as such we are being fed Statistics which back up a decision that “the powers that be” want us to support.  At the meeting the school was continually referred to as failing, and yet it was clear to see from the parents in the room, that they considered the school to be far from failing, in fact it exceeded their expectations at every level.

It was made clear that Kings closing was inevitable, and the only variable in the equation is how the children are dealt with.  It was suggested that absorption into Tomlinscote was the preferred option and if this was not acceptable for some reason then they would look into absorbing into Collingwood.  He said that it was not ideal for a school to be just closed as that meant that the children just randomly had to find places in other local schools.  When you consider the intake of Kings, it would be justifiable to say that the children come from both Surrey and Hampshire, and any absorption could effectively incorporate Tomlinscote, Collingwood, Wavell and Ash Manor (and possibly some other schools too).  Absorption into their most local school, would reduce transportation costs and issues.  It would also increase the revenue of increased headcount for all schools at a time when we are told it is predicted that the intakes are going to decrease due to low birth rates.  Surely this would be a fairer solution for everyone.  I would not have a problem with additional local children being found places within our school, but I am not keen on my taxes paying to transport kids in from Hampshire and other side of Surrey, while I am struggling to get my child to the other side of the town.

I feel upset for the staff and children at Kings who have worked so hard during their period of Special Measures.  Mr Ryles said tonight that he had originally predicted that the school would be removed from special measures by December, but he was pleased to say that it looks like the targets will be met by middle of the Summer Term. This is an amazing achievement, which will be totally wasted as the school will not be able to build on those achievements and move forward, it is being rewarded with closure.

I know that it would be difficult for the Local Authority to bring a half baked proposal to the table, but the meeting confirmed to me tonight that it is assumed that everything with be approved and the outcome is inevitable.  “A ‘superhead’ will be in place by mid Summer Term”,” all the information we need with regards to split site … and so on … would be set in stone by end of Summer Term” … the assumptions just went on and on.  The Staff and Staff Retention were not considered.  The effect that this is having on the current staff was plain to see.  A staff member was happy to raise her head above the parapet and air views and concerns that we all shared.  It highlighted to me that teaching is more than a job for so many, yet however dedicated and loyal at the end of the day they will have to make decisions on their future career and career prospects and this is going to expose our children’s education in at least the short term.  The delay of implementation to Sept 2012 actually just accentuates that exposure.  My child at Tomlinscote is already on his 6th Maths Teacher since he started the school in September.  A statistic I was not happy to hear, which will become the norm for many other subjects at both schools over the next 18 months and beyond.

Parents voiced their concern over getting children to more than one location each morning – ie potentially having one child at Kings Site, One at Tomlinscote and maybe even others at Junior/Infants School.  Currently they cope with a school run which was considered at the time that the choices were made.  I personally chose Tomlinscote over Collingwood because the walk was much safer for my child.  Every day he walks almost 3 miles, but it will be unacceptable to expect him to walk a further 2 miles to the Kings Site.  The man brushed off such points with mumblings about buses and so on, only to be reminded that current services are being cut or prices increased, which puts additional pressure on parents.  

It was not denied that this is a financial measure – to provide the best education available for the lowest possible cost.  Statistics were quoted which backed up the claims that were being made.  There were people within the audience would were able to contradict certain claim and stats, yet they were fobbed off with comments such as “maybe we could discuss that later” or “can we move onto the next point”.  

At Tomlinscote, I would like to think that we can rely on the support of our Governors to ensure that the right decision is made for the right reason, but unfortunately Kings do not have anyone standing up for their beliefs and pushing their views forward.  As a school under special measures, their Governing Body was disbanded and as such they have no voice in this discussion – which has to be wrong.  This is all about finding the best solution for their kids and they have no real say in how the whole thing will pan out.

I am aware that secondary places have been offered and accepted for Sept 2011 prior to this announcement.  While I am sure that there are many Tomlinscote Parents who consider that they may have made a different decision had they had the information in advance, I am also sure that there are plenty of Kings Parents who would say likewise.  I would be interested to see the ratio of Sept 2011 intake parents who would have chosen differently if they had been made aware that the school was closing.  Many made their decision based on the fact that the school was coming on in leaps and bounds.  Is it really ethical to offer places to a school which is closing?  Should these parents not be given the opportunity to review their choices based on the information that has come to light over the past 2 weeks?  If the school is definitely closing (as was confirmed last night) then the parents of the 57 children offered places at Kings for Sept 2011 should have the opportunity of sending their children to alternative school and they should be helped and encouraged to make that choice.  Surely no new children should start a school in Sept 2011 that is knowingly going to close.

When I attended the meetings at Tomlinscote and Collingwood in preparation for my child’s secondary education, I got a feel for the ethos of both the schools.  Behind the education and results Tomlinscote have a firm stand on discipline and respect.  Their rules are clear from the moment you walk into the school and Mr Ryles made no bones about actually saying – if you do not agree with our ethos then Tomlinscote is not the school or you.  While I may have found it a little on the excessive side, I can see why the rules are in place and when we decided on Tomlinscote we embraced those rules and chose to work with them.  It has to be highlighted that the children + families merging into our school have not made the conscious “choice” to abide by our rules and as such it will be harder to enforce and act upon.  In fact some will have made the conscious choice not to choose Tomlinscote for those very reasons.  If the school does not have the support of the parents, it will fight a long and hard battle to successfully merge Kings Children into the Tomlinscote Ethos.

There were several comments and condemnations of the blogs and social networking sites which had caught up on the merger issue.  Like most other parents,  I was offended by some of the comments.  However, I believe the need for such sites was fuelled by the lack of information made available to parents at the point of the announcement and since the announcement.  All parents were desperate to know what impact this announcement was going to have on their family and yet the information was not available anywhere.  Rumours and Hearsay circulated and what began as a rumour became “fact”, fuelling the feelings of uncertainty within the area (presumably not only amongst children’s families, but also for teachers and staff).  I am supportive of the Blog as I feel that it is a central location for people to post and share factual information.  My perception is that the mediator is aware of the fact that we all need as much information as possible to make an informed decision and I believe that this is what he was trying to achieve.  Unfortunately that information is not as easily obtainable as we would expect.  The statistics that were shown at the meeting on Monday were hand picked to show what they wanted us to see.  The figures were manipulated to back up their case.  Unfortunately for them, they were surrounded by some very intelligent people who spotted this a mile off.

I believe that Surrey CC and Local Authority have let Kings down for the past decade and rather than accepting, acknowledging and doing something about it, they have chosen this option.  When it was suggested last night that Kings should be invested in and improved and marketed, the response was that no-one is going to be happy to see more money invested in a failing school.  It was hugely disrespectful comment to make in front of teachers and parents of children who had worked tirelessly to turn around a “failing” school, and by all accounts it seems that in 1 academic year they had pretty much achieved that turnaround.  Who can predict what they could achieve if they were given a longer timescale to make a difference and retain a choice.

As a resident of Surrey Heath and a parent of a Tomlinscote student, I would like Surrey CC and the Local Authority to give Kings more time to grow on their achievements and reach their goals.  I consider the closure to be a cop-out, based on financial savings, with no consideration for the effect it will have on thousands of local children today and in the future.

I urge all parents to attend the meeting on Wednesday at Tomlinscote, but to go with an open mind rather than an aggressive attitude.  The parents at the meeting at Kings presented their points in a calm, informed manner.  There was no aggression, even though there was the same level of passion and belief behind their arguments.  They were supportive to one another and respected what they had to say and I truly hope that on Wednesday Tomlinscote parents show the same level of respect to one another and to Kings Parents and Pupils.