At a meeting of Isle of Wight Council’s Full Council tonight (21 November), members agreed that three options for education reform will be sent out to consultation. They are:-
* Option 1 – All post-14 learning centres will be run under a single leadership and governance. Year 9 will be retained in middle schools.
* Option 2 – Ages 4 – 11 schools will be established with a minimum of two classes per year group (school size of 420 places). A mix of 11 – 16 and 11 – 19 secondary schools will be established.
* Option 3 – Ages 4 – 11 schools will be established with a mixture of one (school size 210 places) and two classes per year group (school size of 420 places). A mix of 11 – 16 and 11 – 19 secondary schools will be established.
At the meeting, a fourth option – which would see setting up ages 4 – 11 schools, lower secondary 11 – 14 schools and upper secondary 14 – 19 schools run under a single leadership & governance – was rejected by members and is therefore no longer part of the proposals for educational reforms. The earliest possible date for implementation for any of the options is September 2010.
Cabinet member for Children & Young, Cllr Alan Wells said “Tonight is another important step on the road to improving the standards of education on the Island. We are very clear that reorganisation alone is not going to achieve the improvements we need to see, but it is a very important part of the journey. Officers will now work on detailed plans for each of the three options due to go to consultation. This will include an area-by-area and school-by-school breakdown. The consultation will begin in early January with a final decision of which option the council will adopt made in March. All of the options are financially viable and I reiterate that no change is not an option. A final decision will be made in March, and I look forward to hearing the views of Islanders once the consultation begins in the new year.”
