Revamp will ‘tear the throat out of schools’ (From Bournemouth Echo)

Revamp will ‘tear the throat out of schools’

7:00pm Wednesday 19th November 2008 in Search By Steven Smith

SCHOOLS in Purbeck could be facing closure in a major revamp, which one headteacher said would “tear the throat” out of the system.

As reported earlier this year, Dorset County Council is reviewing schools in the district in a bid to reduce the current 1,000 surplus places, about 20 per cent of provision.

Now, a report which councillors will consider for the first time next week is recommending that the council consults the public on the idea of changing the system from three-tier to two-tier.

That would leave first and middle schools in Purbeck with an uncertain future, as the new system would use primary schools instead.

Since the review was announced, education chiefs have talked to the schools, governors, councils and the Roman Catholic and Church of England diocese.

Bosses say the switch from three- to two-tier would remove 900 of the surplus places.

If the consultation gets the green light, the public would get their say from January.

Iain Clark, headteacher at Wareham Middle School, said that if the two-tier system got the go-ahead, middle schools would be the ones that got the axe.

He said: “We’re fundamentally opposed to any reorganisation. We believe that the three-tier system is a highly effective system and it’s very popular.

“There’s going to be a huge financial implication for the restructure for a start, but there’s inevitably going to be a period of uncertainty and staff need to be trained and retrained and re-deployed.

“That’s not really going to help the children here in the short term. They would be tearing the throat out of the system here.”

But Paul Mason, headteacher at Swanage First School, said he would back the idea.

“It’s no criticism of the three-tier system, because in other areas it works well. For this area at this point in time it does seem that changes are needed,” he said.

The county council’s head of raising achievement, John England, said pupils would benefit, as they would only have to make one transfer from primary to secondary school.

“Also, the Purbeck School, which serves the majority of the young people in the area, would be significantly enhanced and be in a much stronger position to deliver the government’s new 14-19 curriculum,” he added.