THE FUTURE OF SWAINSWICK CE VC PRIMARY SCHOOL
A Consultation Document
BACKGROUND
All primary schools in Bath & North East Somerset are being
reviewed on an area basis between September 2003 and July 2007.
The Council Executive has agreed that the aims of these reviews
are:
- To maintain and improve educational standards
- To maximise the use of existing resources (land, buildings and
funding)
- To increase access to high quality facilities for children,
staff and the community
- To make the choice of a local school the natural and easy
choice for parents
WHY ARE WE PUBLISHING THIS PAPER?
On 5 July 2004 the Executive received a report on the future of
the school and decided “That formal statutory consultation for
closure (should) be undertaken in the first term of the 2004/05
academic year”.
This decision was reached after a review of Swainswick and ten
other schools in north and central Bath. The Area Review involved
the Headteachers and Chairs of Governors at all these schools,
Councillors who form the Overview & Scrutiny Panel and various
Officers from the Education Service.
The Council have already asked people and organisations in the
Swainswick area, or who have some other link with the school, for
their views on the possible impact of closing the school and this
must be borne in mind as we move forward to the formal
consultation.
WHAT ARE WE ASKING?
We are simply asking whether or not you consider that the school
should close and for the reasons behind your point of view. Later
in this document we will put forward some of the reasons why the
school is being considered for closure. We ask that you read the
document, attend (if you can) the public meeting that is being held
(see page 5 for details of date, time and place), listen to the
arguments for and against closure and contribute, if you wish, to
the debate.
We ask that you then send us comments. You can use the form at
the back of this paper, write to us at the address shown or e-mail
us (see front cover for details)
WHO ARE WE ASKING?
The consultation involves parents / carers, staff and Governors.
Sufficient copies of this paper have been passed to the school for
each parent to receive a copy. We shall also be asking for the
views of local councils for reasons made clear below.
WHY IS THE SCHOOL BEING CONSIDERED FOR CLOSURE?
There are several reasons why the Council Executive decided to
consult people about the closure of Swainswick.
The principal reason is that the running costs of the school are
significantly higher than other primary schools in Bath & North
East Somerset and we believe that, unless absolutely necessary, no
group of children should benefit from additional resources at the
expense of another group for anything other than educational
reasons.
In addition, whilst the school is now almost full, having had a
significant level of unfilled places in the recent past, the pupils
tend to be drawn from other areas of Bath & North East
Somerset. This leads to unfilled places at schools closer to where
children live resulting in higher costs in those schools and
potentially has a negative effect on the togetherness (sometimes
called community cohesion) of those areas. It is also the case,
although this is not a determining factor, that some children come
across the border from Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire.
Additional factors that played a part in the decision include
the less than ideal quality of the facilities available to the
children. For example, the school has no hall, the majority of
teaching takes place in temporary classrooms which are between
twenty and thirty years old, and the library is in a temporary
building which also serves as a staffroom . Furthermore, the site
and buildings are inaccessible to wheelchair users and problematic
for people with impaired mobility. Improvements to the building
funded by the school and the Council will not address these
fundamental problems.
The condition of the school is not at all bad but, at some
point, the temporary buildings will need replacing. The life
expectancy of such buildings is 25-30 years. The provision of
replacement permanent buildings on the site presents obvious
practical difficulties and would be expensive.
WHERE DO THE CHILDREN LIVE?
We have looked at the home addresses of all the pupils on roll
at September 2004. This shows that of the 80 children on roll very
few children live so close to the school as to make it the only
realistic choice for parents / carers. The vast majority of
children live closer to other Bath & North East Somerset
schools. A few other children living outside B&NES have schools
closer to home in their council area.
SWAINSWICK AS A RURAL SCHOOL
The Government recommends that ‘rural’ schools’ should be
maintained wherever possible in order to sustain the vitality of
villages and rural areas generally. This does not mean that no
rural school should ever close but decision makers need to approach
these issues with caution.
The Council has defined Swainswick as a rural school
because:
- the parish has a population of fewer than 1,500
- the nearest school is more than one mile away
- there are fewer than 150 children on roll and
- pupil transport is provided on grounds of road
danger.
It should be noted that the definition of a rural school does
not mean that all children at the school come from the immediate
area or indeed from a rural area at all.
It should also be noted that the nearest school is 1.04 miles
from Swainswick.
SWAINSWICK AS A CHURCH SCHOOL
Swainswick is a Church of England Voluntary Controlled school.
Places at the school are not allocated on the grounds of the faith
background of parents or children but the Church has a significant
role in the daily life of the school both organisationally and in
terms of ethos.
In summary, the legal position is that the Council is unable to
reduce the proportion of church places across the Council area
without the agreement of the relevant Diocese, in this instance,
the Diocese of Bath & Wells.
However, since 1999 when the Government guidance first set
out the requirement to maintain the proportion of church places,
and the beginning of the school year 2007/08, when other expected
changes to schools in Bath & North East Somerset will have been
implemented, the proportion of places will be broadly the same.
IF THE SCHOOL CLOSES WHERE WILL THE CHILDREN GO?
Children on roll at Swainswick at the date of its closure will,
if possible, be offered places at the nearest school to their home
address. Normal transport arrangements will apply.
IF SWAINSWICK CLOSES, WHEN WILL IT CLOSE?
The Council believes that the school should close at the end of
the school year 2005/06. Legally this will be the day immediately
preceding the beginning of the following school year although the
children and staff would obviously not be there on that date. This
will mean that children currently in Reception, Groups One to Four
and any children joining the school in September 2005, will be
directly affected as the other children currently at the school
will have left or be leaving in July 2006.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE STAFF IF THE SCHOOL CLOSES?
As is the case when any place of work closes the staff are at
risk of losing their jobs. The Council always does all it can to
try and place people in other jobs. This is because we have no wish
to lose experienced and talented staff and any redundancy payments
are taken from the total education budget which leaves less to be
spent on children.
IF THE SCHOOL CLOSES WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE
BUILDING?
The building is not owned by the Council. It will revert to the
Diocese of Bath & Wells. It will be a matter for the Diocese to
decide what happens to the building and site.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
At the end of the consultation period, copies of every form,
letter and e-mail will be given to members of the Council
Executive. All responses will be made public. The minutes of the
public meeting and a meeting with staff and Governors will also be
passed to the Executive.
The Executive will also receive a report which summarises and
highlights the issues raised during consultation. Officers will
make recommendations. It is entirely up to the members of the
Executive whether they accept these recommendations. The Executive
has to show that, when taking its decision, it has taken account of
the views expressed in the consultation. It does not have to agree
with those views.
The Executive can decide to publish the legal notice necessary
to close a school. It can also decide to do nothing and leave the
school open or potentially, it could ask Officers to carry out
further consultation or investigation.
If a decision is taken to publish the legal notice to close the
school this would be published in January 2005. There would be six
weeks for people to send representations, including objections, to
the Council.
If there are objections to the proposals, then the issue goes to
the School Organisation Committee (SOC) which is independent of the
Council. This Committee makes the final decision. However, if the
SOC cannot reach a unanimous decision the matter is removed from
local control and a government appointed adjudicator makes the
final decision.
If there are no objections the Council can take the final
decision itself.
IMPORTANT DATES
Consultation begins October 6 2004
Public Meeting Thursday October 14 2004.
7.30 p.m. Swainswick CE VC Primary School, Innox
Lane, Bath
Consultation closes - November 5 2004
Council Executive - Wednesday December 1st 2004
To be held at The Guildhall, Bath at 10
a.m.
This is a public meeting so anyone can attend. Residents of
B&NES may speak at the meeting.
If you want to speak you need to contact Jo Morrison on 01225
394358 by Friday 26 November at the latest. She will explain the
arrangements.
RESPONSE FORM
Name:-
_________________________________________________________________________
Address: -
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Please delete as applicable:-
I am a parent / carer of a child at Swainswick
Primary School
I am a parent / carer of a pre-school child
I am a member of staff at Swainswick
Primary School
I am a Governor at Swainswick Primary
School
I am a local resident
I am (please specify)
_________________________________________________________________________
DO YOU AGREE THAT SWAINSWICK CE VE PRIMARY SCHOOL SHOULD
CLOSE?
YES/NO
I / We have the following comments
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Please continue over the page if necessary or send us a separate
letter.
Please return to the postal address printed on the front of
this document. ALL RESPONSES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 12
noon ON 5 NOVEMBER 2004
