THE Department for Education has threatened to disrupt Warrington’s plans for special educational needs provision at the soon to close Woolston High School if it doesn’t get its own way for a Free School, a senior councillor has claimed.
DfE chiefs say if their proposals for a Free School do not quickly come to fruition, they will reserve the right to use special powers to secure the Woolston High School site if that is necessary to open the Free School this September.
Cllr Colin Froggatt (pictured), the borough council’s executive member for children and young people, said: “This could put at risk the ability to respond appropriately to the needs of some of the most vulnerable children in Warrington.”
Woolston High is due to close at the start of the summer holidays and the council has announced plans to move the Green Lane and Fox Wood special schools into the building, with conversion work starting this summer.
But a group of Woolston parents wants to open a Free School – to be known as The Kings School – with a first-year intake of 120 pupils, in the high school buildings.
They have the backing of the DfE and are already advertising for staff.
The council has offered temporary accommodation in empty classrooms at Bruche Primary School, and also identified a site in Hillock Lane – part of the high school’s playing fields – where new buildings for the Free School could be erected in the longer term.
Cllr Froggatt said: “The DfE is threatening the council’s long term plans for much needed extended provision for special educational needs (SEN) children in order to pursue their own ideology.
“They have replaced constructive analysis by bullying the council and leading the local population up the garden path.
“The expectation that there are 120 children ready to enrol into the Free School is grossly exaggerated.
“All the eligible children in the area – approximately 80 – have already been accepted into the local authority school of their choice.
“The reality will be that any parent signing their child up for the Free School will be the equivalent of investing in a lottery ticket . It will be interesting to see how many children turn up should the school eventually open.
“Any council considerations given to this issue will be based upon protecting and promoting special educational needs provision for children who by any stretch of the imagination are most in need.”
The plans for converting the high school for special educational needs had been approved under the Building Schools for the Future programme until the Government cancelled it two years ago.
Subsequent plans have been approved by all political parties on the council and prior to any Free School proposal being presented, says Cllr Froggatt.
He added: “As well as threatening SEN provision the DfE also appear to be overtly trying to influence the planning process – a quasi-judicial function – by indicating that if planning permission is not secured on Hillock Lane sports pitches to be the permanent site they will pursue the use of their powers to secure the Woolston High site.
“Any planning consent is outside the remit of Children’s Services and not a matter for consideration by this council department.”
Kath O’Dwyer, executive director of children and young people’s services at the council said: “Both elected members and officers of the council have made the DfE aware that there is no requirement for additional secondary school places in the Woolston area at this time. In fact demand has been falling for some years. However, at their request, we have identified possible sites for development.
“The Free School have expressed an interest in using the Woolston High School site, but we have been developing plans for the building for some time and we hope that having suggested a suitable alternative site for the Free School, that this will now ensure that our plans for children with special educational needs are not disrupted.”
A Free School is a new school established by the DfE where it believes that there is a need for additional education provision to meet parental preference. It would be outside the control of the local authority. King’s Free School is aiming to open in September.
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
4 Comments
The residents of Woolston always wanted to keep a High School in Woolston. They confirmed their commitment through numerous demonstrations at the Town Hall during the original consultation conducted by WBC. They have continued to validate this support at the subsequent meetings we have held regarding the opening of Kings School Woolston.
Don’t forget that we will be holding another meeting at the Church of the Ascension in Woolston at 7.30pm on Friday 25th May. Please come along and show your continued support and get a full update on the progress of the school.
Cheers Paul
In Wandsworth a ‘free’ school group tried to bully a charity out of its premises – it failed. Wandsworth already had surplus secondary places so the school was completely unnecessary but the DfE backed it.
The DfE has now refused to say how much money was wasted on this group on ‘grounds of commercial sensitivity’. How can that be, given that there is supposed to be no profit made?
The naming of these schools as ‘free’ is a misnomer. They are extremely expensive. They are draining money out of local authority schools and, like academies, will almost certainly be no better and some will be worse. I hope that those parents who support them do not find, to their children’s cost, that it has all been a waste of money and effort and that, when they want to complain about something, there is nowhere to go.
If the residents/ parents of Woolston were happy with their High School why was closure forced upon them? Green Lane Special school has the happiest environment of any special needs school I have ever known. I have not heard a bad word about Fox Covert . If there’s nothing wrong in the first place why do the powers that be want to make changes? Lessons should have been learned from Stockton Heath Primary new build which to the children’s cost has proved to be a waste of money and effort.
I do wish Councillor Frogatt and all his colleagues on the council regardless of political affiliation could just leave we parents of Woolston to make the arrangements we feel are best for our children.
As an ex Governor of a local authority school it was my misfortune to see the appalling inefficiency with which they attempt to run the schools in Warrington. Of course there are some good schools in Warrington:generally the one which have head teachers who are clever enough to pay lip service to their political masters and then do things their own way anyway, At King’s school they won’t have this distraction. At my first meeting with a senior member of staff at King’s I was given her personal number to use if we ever have a concern over my son who is our joint priority. This school will be amazing and will produce amazing kids despite the best efforts of our local authority