Committee Report: Statement by the Governing Body of Shakerley CE School – 9th October 2006

The Governing Body objects to Wigan Council’s proposal to close Shakerley CE School.

This school serves the second most disadvantaged area in the Borough: over 60% of our children are entitled to Free School Meals and 50% have Special Educational Needs, including a significant number with emotional and behavioural problems. Given these circumstances, we believe that it would not be in the children’s best educational interests to close a school that has developed such expertise in working with this vulnerable community. This view is shared unanimously by all those who attended the public consultation and by the three hundred people who have written in to object to the closure proposal.

The Headteacher and Governors of Shakerley CE School are fully aware that children from this area need the best possible education that we can provide. As well as being passionate about our children’s welfare, we have done all that is in our power to raise standards and improve opportunities

In 1999, Ofsted for the second time, highlighted the effect of the lack of early-years education. When the LEA was unable to respond to our subsequent request for such provision, we worked tirelessly to secure funding for a pre-school and then a Neighbourhood Nursery. We piloted Wigan’s first Nurture Group that has had outstanding results in turning around the educational prospects for many of our pupils, who would not otherwise have settled successfully in primary school. We have used our budget carefully and consistently to support initiatives, strategies and extensive staff training aimed at improving educational standards. A number of governors also work regularly in school to provide additional expertise in delivering specific curriculum subjects.

We disagree, that despite support, Shakerley CE School has failed to improve since 2002. Senior Management and Governors have acted to address the weaknesses in teaching in some year groups. To a large extent, this was a consequence of the ongoing threat of closure since 2002 that made it almost impossible to recruit sufficient teachers with appropriate experience and expertise. LEA Advisers and Consultants had repeatedly confirmed that these measure were appropriate; improvements had been made and are ongoing.

The Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 defines an LEA’s responsibility, through its normal monitoring procedures, for identifying serious weaknesses likely to lead to special measures if not addressed. It gives LEA’s specific powers to intervene in schools causing concern. We find it significant that at no time did Wigan LEA use its powers to issue a formal warning notice, nor even an informal warning, to the Governing Body in respect of such concerns.

In fact LEA Advisers and Consultants have regularly and consistently praised the improvements in educational provision and the quality of leadership at our school. Prior to the Ofsted Inspection this July, the LEA endorsed the outcomes recorded on the Self-Evaluation Form that must be included in the evidence made available to the Inspector. If the Authority’s longstanding assessment of the school does not support a judgement of special measures, we cannot understand why this was then used as the determining factor in the future of the school.

There is much additional evidence of the progress our school has made over this period of time. For the last five years External Advisers have monitored and guided Governors in conducting the Headteacher’s annual performance review. They are also Ofsted Inspectors and each time they have specifically commented on the exceptional quality of education at this school. Shakerley is also the first primary school in the country to win a national award for its Nurture Group. This group has had great success in overcoming the difficulties of disaffected children who may be at risk of exclusion and those, who are failing for many different reasons, to access the curriculum. Ours is the first primary school in Wigan to win the North West Inclusion Award in recognition of the excellence of its work with children of all abilities. The Education Department and Wigan Sure Start have regularly asked senior members of staff to advise and assist early education providers and schools, including High Schools, across the Borough. They have also shared their expertise with schools nationally and within the EU.

Most significantly, in respect of the Cabinet’s closure proposal, the Senior Management team has now successfully demonstrated that it is fully capable of raising standards. Just two weeks after the Ofsted Inspection, Shakerley CE School recorded its best ever results in the Year 6 SAT’s. These were up 24% in Maths and 22% in English on last year, and this was achieved in a year when the government is concerned that results nationally have failed to rise. Children who attend the on-site Nursery, have not been in school long enough to be assessed against national standards. However, internal monitoring already shows substantial educational gains over those who have not had the benefit of this early-years provision. As this was not even a factor in the improved grades achieved by our older pupils, there is every reason to be confident that with it the school will be able to continue further raising educational standards over the long term.

The Director cited a number of disadvantages and the higher proportional overhead costs of small schools. It is widely known, however, that small schools have many advantages in respect of children’s educational and social development and are preferred by many who have the means to opt for that choice. Costs vary widely for schools across the borough and nationally, with special schools, high schools, sixth form colleges and academies being funded at a much higher level than primary schools. The cost of running our school must, surely, be set against the service it provides in advising other schools and the saving it represents by including many pupils who would otherwise need special provision at a far higher cost. The school’s value in helping to deliver the Children and Young Peoples Department’s joint education and social services provision, and its role in the regeneration and stability of the local community, cannot be underestimated.

At the recent public consultation meeting, parents and local people testified that the problem of falling rolls was largely the result of the LEA review that started in 2000. The continuing threat of closure has hung over the school making it impossible to increase numbers on roll despite the school’s good reputation and the opening of an on-site nursery in May 2000. The Assistant Director of Children and Young People’s Services has, recently, now acknowledged that the department does not underestimate the damaging effect of the ongoing review and threat of closure since 2002. The problem of falling rolls was then greatly exacerbated by the Assistant Director’s letter to parents on the first day of the summer holidays. Local people at the public consultation meeting unanimously denounced it as “scare mongering”. If the threat of closure were removed, they are confident Shakerley CE School would be the first preference for the majority of people living in the area. Overhead costs would then no longer be an issue.

Parents, local people and the Governing Body are united in recognising that a small school is essential for the children of this community. They are alarmed that transferring them to much larger schools, that lack of Shakerley’s expertise in inclusion and Nurture Group provision, would undo much of the progress that has been made. The relationships and systems that our school has built to support vulnerable pupils whose families are under stress were acknowledged with the North West Inclusion Award; they cannot easily, or quickly, be replicated. This would be not only to the detriment of our children’s education, but also to that of pupils at the receiving school. Punctuality and attendance would be badly affected. Pupils from the Shakerley area could face difficulty in accessing extended school facilities due to the need for parents to make complex arrangements, especially the many who do not have their own transport.

At a recent meeting with the Assistant Director, Governors expressed the feeling that school had been “betrayed” by the lack of official will to try to secure its future. In an area that has not benefited from any major regeneration initiatives, closure of the school would devastate the work of local residents and voluntary groups to promote neighbourhood renewal; with all the social and economic benefits this would bring for the young people – the future citizens whose lives are determined by the community in which they live.

The on-site Neighbourhood Nursery was paid for with £600,000 of public money. If school were to close, the Nursery’s viability would be seriously threatened, both in terms of filling places and because all its utilities are connected through the school. This would lead to the loss of jobs there, and seriously impact on local working families using its services. Without a school, or nursery, young families and fresh community involvement would inevitably drift away from the area. Closure of the school would rip out the moral and spiritual centre of Shakerley, which supports all the families who work so hard to provide a secure future for their children. It would sever a “lifeline” for those many families under stress who need the school even more.

Shakerley CE School was built specifically to serve a very disadvantaged area and elected members have always recognised that need when reviewing provision in the area. Nothing has changed. The need is still there. The people of Shakerley are still fighting a growing wave of crime and disaffection. Instead of closure we call upon Wigan Council, as a Beacon Council for neighbourhood renewal, to demonstrate its commitment to “building the future together” with our school and the people of this neighbourhood. Use the expertise of our school to develop an exceptional asset and provide an even better service for local children and the wider education community. We ask elected members to give active support to this new proposal for securing the future of our school:

Help us to fulfil the vision of EVERY CHILD MATTERS. Surely, the young people and community of Shakerley deserve no less!

A P Jones
Acting Chair: On behalf of the Governing Body of Shakerley C E School

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