Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: 19/06/2011

Saturday, 25 June 2011

CAM legal response

Please see the

CAM legal response document to SCC consultation document.

Hays report (referenced in the legal response)

It went to
   Michael Gove
   Lord Hill
   Peter Martin - SCC,
   Lavinia Sealy - Chair of SCC
   Andrew Povey - Leader of SCC
   Legal Department SCC
   PJ Wilkinson
   Mr Ryles
   Mrs Johnson Walker
   Colonel Steel
   Governors at Tomlinscote
   Eila Rochfort - Communication governor.

We believe this to be worth every penny of the £4000 it, and the accompanying advice, cost.

CAM have not raised enough money to pay for this, the additional printing (posters / car stickers / signage) or "freedom of information" costs incurred in prosecuting this campaign.

Please pass the word around to any of your friends that have not contributed that we still need to raise funds, even small donations will help.

Please make a donation, no matter how small, to help keep the campaign running

or by sending cheques made payable to Campaign Against Merger to:
CAM, 22, Glenmount Road, Mytchett GU16 6AY

What has CAM been doing on your behalf?

We have been updating the progress of CAM since our public meeting was held on May 10th. It seems a long time ago now and the long list below explains why. CAM has been very busy ensuring that all the key decision makers are influenced by the public pressure created by CAM. Thank you to all the people who have helped raising awareness within the community in relation to the SCC proposal. Every little bit of help and support is greatly appreciated. This is definitely NOT a done deal and CAM has ensured that the voice of students, parents and residents has been heard. Just look at what has been achieved below.

What have we achieved since the CAM Public Meeting?
May 18th attended SCC Cabinet Decision Making Meeting and gave a three minute argument against this proposal
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: CAM Arrives at County Hall May 18th

May 20th attended SCC Select Committee meeting for Education, Learning and Development and were allowed in advance to circulate the CAM document asking for the consultation to be stopped due to its flawed nature. One question was posed and a standard response received

Gained valuable information by listening to the whole meeting and speaking with key players afterwards

24 – 26th May CAM attended all the SCC Public meetings.
CAM posed questions at all the meetings.

May 26th CAM met with Michael Gove MP at a surgery meeting to highlight our concerns. Kings, Tomlinscote parents and a resident and feeder school parent attended. The meeting was very positive.
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: C.A.M. Meets Michael Gove MP ...

May 26th Michael Gove attended SCC Public Meeting and afterwards spoke with parents and residents

June 1st CAM representatives met with Lawyers to look at the consultation

June 3rd CAM met with Major Dewan from The Gurkha Welfare Association to try and explain to the Nepalese community the implications of this consultation on the Kings students 22% of whom have Nepalese as their first language .
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Keeping everyone informed

June 9th CAM attended Tomlinscote Governor meeting to highlight CAM’s concerns about the proposal
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: CAM talk to governors

June 12th Main SCC Council Meeting CAM had questions posed regarding the proposal by Denis Fuller SCC regarding the size of the expanded school and the PAN in relation to planned forecasting for schools.

June 12th CAM attended the Surrey Heath Borough Council meeting where there was a discussion on the Tomlinscote/Kings Consultation.
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: SHBC councillors say NO, No, no ...

CAM posed numerous questions through our SHB Councillors. Outcome was positive towards CAM’s campaign. The SHBC will not be backing the proposal to expand Tomlinscote School

June 12th CAM held a drop in session to help people with the consultation papers and to keep them informed.
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Krooner Park Drop In - Tuesday ...

June 14th CAM’s legal response was sent to the Governors of Tomlinscote, SCC, Michael Gove MP and Lord Hill MP

June 15th CAM sent SCC its response to the consultation

What CAM’s achieved in relation to Publicity and Public Awareness?

May 19th CAM’s Walk the Walk in line with National Walk to School Week - highlighting the travel and traffic issues involved if the proposal is approved. Nick Smith from SCC attended with several SCCouncillors and SHBCouncillors.

Walk to School Week - CAM walk from Tomlinscote to...

Video of School to School walk

May 26th On Eagle Radio in relation to CAM meeting with Michael Gove and his attendance at the public meeting

June 10th PJ Wilkinson from SCC came and did the walk with several CAM members.

June 10th CAM Balloon release in support of CAM
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Balloon Launch - Students want ...

Held two CAM curry evenings to raise awareness and funds
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: CAM Curry Evening
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Fabulous CAM Curry fundraisers ...

CAM has been in the local Camberley News and Mail
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Camberley News and Mail ...
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Academy Plan Could Save School
Camberley News and Mail - Merger needs more thought

CAM has been in Camberley Today and Get Surrey
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Get Surrey News on Teachers ...

CAM regularly features on the Surrey Heath Residents website
CAM introduced on Surrey Residents - Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: CAM Meeting - Photo Blog on ...
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: Surrey Heath Residents Site ...

We have done publicity awareness at local supermarkets to inform the community
The campaign continues in Frimley

CAM have spoken to local businesses

CAM have engaged with local SCC and SHBCouncillors

June 20th CAM was on BBC South Today and BBC London
Tomlinscote / Kings School Merger: CAM on BBC South News - Mon ...

CAM websites tomlinscote-kings.blogspot.com and KeepKings.org have received over 100,000 page reads since they were set up i.e. over 1000 new page reads a day on average.

How is CAM Influencing the Governors of Tomlinscote School?

CAM are regularly emailing the governors

CAM attended a CAM governors meeting to represent the views of our supporters and stressed how we will hold the Governing Body to account if this goes ahead

CAM have asked to present final report to the Governing Body

CAM have sent a legal response in to the Governors of Tomlinscote
CAM legal response

CAM will be sending a report of all our findings to the governors of Tomlinscote school

CAM are placing strategic posters and banners around the two school sites urging the governors to vote no.

CAM have printed and distributed car stickers to highlight the campaign

CAM are using the blog site to highlight issues which are of importance like the teachers letter from Tomlinscote stating their united stance against this proposal.
The Staff of Tomlinscote tell the governors
SHBC councillors say NO, No, no, NO and errrr NO!

How is CAM Influencing Surrey County Council?
CAM will be sending relevant information on a regular basis to:

Peter Martin - Cabinet decision maker for Children and Learning

Lavinia Sealy - Chair of County

Andrew Povey - Leader of Surrey County Council

Denis Fuller, David Ivison, Bill Chapman and Chris Pitt - local SCC

CAM will be asking Surrey County Council to look at an Academy option for Kings

What is CAM trying to achieve?

Keep choice across Surrey Heath

Maintain three successful secondary schools

To prevent Kings from being closed

To seek a viable long term solution for a strong Kings

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING CAM
Louise Nicholas Chair

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

KINGS - Surrey County Council and the "Academy" option.

   Doing the BBC interview the other day caused me to reflect on where we were and why. The primary issue drawing the BBC to the story was the fairly unique situation of parents from two different schools working toward a common goal. It set me thinking “why such cooperation?” I was then transported back to the first information meetings at Kings. As a Tomlinscote parent I had gone along to gather information for later meetings and to understand the feeling in the Kings camp. I was unprepared for what I witnessed.

   PJ Wilkinson the Acting Head of Schools and Learning for Surrey County Council set the scene with callous disregard for the audience by describing Kings as “failing”, not once but with a deliberate reinforcing monotony. The audience of parents who supported the school, and staff who had worked so very hard on improvements, watched in disbelief as he bludgeoned their school to death. It was not unlike watching a defenseless person already knocked unconscious continue to receive a savage beating. Apparently not enough, PJ continued with the news that Kings would be closed and outlined a series of doomsday scenarios if his preferred option of a split site mega school was not realized. Further quotes left nobody in any doubt as to what was happening

“this is NOT a merger of equals - Kings will be closed, staff will be made redundant and the best staff will be hired into the new structure”.

   The subsequent performance at Tomlinscote was no better, where with Kings staff and parents in attendance he stated,

“no sensible parent would choose a school with inferior academic achievement”.

   The passion of the Kings staff and parents for their school set against a backdrop of the “grim reaper” from Surrey County Council hell bent on ensuring the seemingly pre-determined outcome bonded the Kings and Tomlinscote parents to “Work Together to Remain Separate”.

   The prosecution of the campaign by Surrey County Council was such that it left everyone thinking that this was pre-arranged “a done deal”. The Tomlinscote governors have said that Surrey County Council asked them to “vote it through” without a consultation. PJ Wilkinsons behavior has been so arrogant and high handed that there was no real attempt to even make it look like people were being consulted or listened to. Information withheld, questions brushed off, promises broken, a pattern of apparently deliberate obstruction. A consultation so poorly performed that if it is not actually illegal, it has so many counts of questionable legality and examples of irrationality as to be a soft target for a judicial review, an opinion ratified by CAMs educational lawyer. The process has been so deeply depressing as to leave thousands of Surrey Heath Residents with such a deep mistrust in Surrey County Council that, if it is even possible, it will take years for the scars to heal. Given the lack of planning and care put into the consultation process, Surrey County Councils education department would certainly be incapable of managing the change required for a split site mega school. So inept has been the display I actually doubt that they should be involved in education at all.

   In a final “slash and burn” of Kings - a recent staff meeting with PJ Wilkinson seems to have informed staff (prior to the end of the consultation) that the school would be closed and they would not have jobs. Rumour has it that staff have been told they need not work their notice and they can have as much time off to look for a job as they like. A document determining admission arrangements for Kings next year appears to suggest that no attempt will be made to recruit students whatsoever.

   Kings, a school that was recently improving and is expected (despite the goings on) to come out of special measures, has been systematically, and seemingly quite cynically, taken to pieces in three months, by Surrey County Council. Tomlinscote has only fared better because it started from a position of strength.

   I see only two ways forward, either Surrey County Council makes an incredibly detailed plan as to how it will support Kings going forward or it should do the honourable thing and step away from this debacle, handing over the reins to an established Academy provider who can start to rebuild the damage.

   Whatever happens, Kings deserves to be run by someone who believes in it as a viable educational establishment. Someone who will market it and reach out to the community to build a school that inspires local pride and offers the educational choice the area craves.

   Just such an option exists, not as a loosely formed idea but as a very achievable target. A target that could see Kings in new and enthusiastic hands in 6 months time.

p.s.

This news article from 2009 is strangely similar to our experiences with Surrey County Council.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23732345-bullying-and-obsession-with-red-tape-to-blame-for-conservative-council-hell.do

"Council bosses were found to be "superior and arrogant", with relations having broken down between officials and within political groups."

"He said the council was "self-serving", with difficult issues being swept under the carpet and an "obsession" with bureaucracy."

"There was an absence of good working relations with the county's 11 district councils and its MPs, even though some such as Michael Gove, Chris Grayling and Philip Hammond could form the core of any future Conservative government."

Mr Frater said: "It has created a highly centralised model of control, and has encouraged micro-management and 'control freakery' by certain [councillors] and officers."