Standards Not Tiers have just issued a press release stating that members of the Isle of Wight Council are not welcome at Monday’s meeting. We wonder whether the fancy dress shop will have a run on funny disguises on Monday afternoon. Ed
Press Release from Standards Not Tiers
Pre-School Parents And Staff Invited To Campaign Group Meeting: But Isle Of Wight Council Told To Stay Away!
Standards-Not-Tiers, members of the National Association for Small Schools and Human Scale Education have told the Isle of Wight Council that it is not welcome at a meeting they have organised in Newport on Monday.
SNT and Isle of Wight SOS groups decided that the Isle of Wight Council should be given a taste of their own medicine and senior Council officials and members of the ruling Conservative group will not be allowed entry to the meeting.
This came after it was revealed by a senior council officer that the Council had not invited pre-school parents to school consultation meetings as the Council had no statutory duty to do so. SNT believes that these exclusions may be illegal and are seeking legal advice on the matter.
The meeting, which will kick off at 7:30pm at St George’s Football Club Newport Monday 22nd September 2008 is designed to help anyone who is opposed to the Isle of Wight Council’s schools reorganisation plans.
It should also provide a useful insight into small scale education and the virtues of small schools. Entrance is free and parents, teachers and other school staff as well as pre-school parents and staff are all invited. The media are also welcome.
Mervyn Benford, Information Officer for the NASS (National Association for Small Schools) will present an analysis of the current education consultation and show how the local authority has already failed in its duty to consult adequately with stakeholders. Mervyn was instrumental in helping parents in Shropshire, Hereford & Worcester and Cumbria reverse mass closure decisions, earlier this year. Mervyn has spent his whole working life in education, as a teacher, Ofsted inspector and as an LEA officer and now although retired he campaigns ceaselessly for small schools all over the world.
As advocates of small scale education, NASS have amassed a vast array of research based evidence to show that small schools outperform their larger counterparts and add significant value to the life experiences and future success of their young people and their local communities.
Speakers from the various campaign groups also will share their ideas and there will be a chance for those attending to learn more about SNT proposals for a new style of education system that places small schools at the heart of Island communities with the aim of keeping education as local as possible for as long as possible.
There will be a bar available and so those attending the meeting will be able to enjoy a drink in the “The Last Chance Saloon” and exchange ideas and views with others in a similar predicament.
Image: ClaudeCF
