A group, on behalf of the majority Isle of Wight Headteachers, has written to the Isle of Wight council leader and the council’s Chief Executive to express their “utter dismay and disappointment” that the paper recommending a consultation on closing four primary schools has been withdrawn before it’s even been discussed at the Cabinet (read letter below).
Paper presented then withdrawn
At the end of May, the council issued a press release stating that due to capacity issues – something that is also being seen nationally – four primary schools were earmarked for possible closure.
The news was met with backlash from parents and staff, and a week later Councillor Debbie Andre announced she was pulling the paper from the Cabinet meeting (which is being held tonight, Thursday).
Ellis: Disappointed and frustrated
The decision came under fire at Tuesday night’s Scrutiny committee and today Councillor Suzie Ellis, whose ward includes one of the schools earmarked for closure, told News OnTheWight,
“I am disappointed and frustrated by this council’s continual failure to resolve the issue of pupil place planning.
“Headteachers shouldn’t be in a position where they are having to spend valuable time constantly battling ineffective decision making when they should be focusing on the immediate and ongoing needs of our children.”
Warning from Head Teachers
Last summer the Isle of Wight Executive Headteacher Group warned the council that pupils could be condemned to mediocre education if too many schools remained open.
They have been working with the council since and say a number of promises were made during those discussions.
The letter
Readers can see the letter in the embedded document below, or for those who use a reader, the content of the letter to the council reads:
The Isle of Wight Headteachers’ Executive Group are compelled to express in writing the utter dismay and disappointment in the Cabinet’s decision to withdraw the report based on school place planning that was to be discussed this week.
The Headteachers’ Executive group has been working with council officers and elected members exploring ways in which the significant number of surplus primary places within schools can be reduced. The voices of many headteachers and governors have been raised as one on this issue, asking for a clear strategic vision for the whole Island. We recognise that a range of schools in both size, location and type (e.g. church or community) is necessary to provide parental choice and to meet children’s varying needs. However, without a strategic direction to effect, change children on the Island are prevented from having the best opportunity for the highest quality teaching and learning within well-equipped schools.
The focus of this work with the council officers has been about how collectively, we as schools and the Council as the responsible body for education on the Island, manage this very challenging situation.
In these discussions:
- It was promised that there would be a positive change for Isle of Wight Education.
- It was promised that even though it would be very challenging and that difficult decisions had to be made the paper was ready to be presented in the understanding that it was for the collective good of every primary age child on the Isle of Wight.
- It was agreed the report that was commissioned, demonstrated the need for school closures.
Instead, the report was withdrawn from the meeting at which the decision about consultation would have been made before the report even made it to the Cabinet.
Nationally there are school place planning issues as identified in the recent Guardian article: ‘More than 90 English primary schools to close or face closure for lack of pupils.’ May 29th 2023. It states
“Across England, there were more unfilled primary school places than in any year since 2009/10, the equivalent to 570,000 pupils, or 11.5% of total capacity. The Department for Education (DfE) is expecting the number of pupils at state-funded schools to decline by 944,000 over the next decade.”
As IOW schools, we have the additional challenge that most of our schools are categorised as small schools (210 children or fewer). Some schools have less than one form entry on roll.
Small and smaller schools can function positively and effectively; however, this can mean additional challenges, including
- Effective staff recruitment across the school system
- • Managing finances for the best outcomes and experiences for all children. From buildings to transport; physical resources to human resources.
- Many of our schools are projected to have deficit budgets within two years. Finances for all schools must be addressed as the number of children are reducing. This means that the Council will be required to pick up and pay for these deficit budgets. So, tax payers will be responsible for paying for the failure to address the financial impact of not closing the schools.
- Staff workload is impacted as staff are expected to manage the same responsibilities in the same time frame with less people to fulfil core functions. For example, every school needs a leader for each curriculum subject, with release time to oversee the curriculum development. In larger schools, two people can lead one subject. In small or tiny schools one teacher may need to lead up to four subject areas.
- The ability to attract sufficiently strong and effective governors that can support and challenge, as well as lead strategically, so that school improvement is sustained at a high level.
- Enabling staff to attend CPD provision can sometimes prove challenging, meaning staff may not be able to access the range of professional development offered.
Such significant factors as these can influence the ability of the Island schools to provide a high-quality education with good outcomes. In not making strategic changes to support schools through pupil place planning, the Council is saying that they are satisfied with the primary school accountability outcomes which at present are below the national threshold. We, as Headteachers, are not and addressing the number of surplus primary places on the Island is one aspect of our response to effecting change so that our children are supported in being able to achieve as highly as other children in England.
Some of our schools are currently in a situation where there are classes without teachers for September 2023 due to significant challenges in recruitment. There are multiple Reception classes with intakes of fewer than 10 children, some of whom are still trying to recruit an EYFS teacher. National statistics share a similarly bleak message about recruitment of Early Career teachers. In primary education last year, the sector recruited to only 93% of the ITT (Initial Teacher Training) places meaning nationally 7% of Early Career teachers for training in September 2023 are still needed and next year’s ITT recruitment for primary is forecast to be around 79% – increasing an already significant issue in terms of Island recruitment in September 2024.
In the build up to this paper’s release, over many months, the Headteachers and Governing bodies have felt our voice was listened to. As we entered the difficult process of potential school closures, the Headteachers have wholeheartedly supported the decision that schools need to close on the Island. No headteacher willingly would choose for the school that they lead to close but each of us understand that the closure of some schools is necessary for the benefit of all the children on the Isle of Wight.
However, the outcome of the curtailed process is a significant lack of professionalism and respect towards the schools named in the paper and indeed all of the schools on the Island.
The distress to school leaders, staff, governing bodies, parents/carers, communities and of course the children has been unnecessary and very poorly managed. As school leaders we work tirelessly to ensure that the well-being of children and staff is considered at every stage. In the curtailment of this process, we feel totally let down by the chaos that has ensued in the last ten days. The named schools now face a half term of very hard work to begin to repair the damage of the threat of closure. In some cases, this will be irreparable as parent confidence will be affected and some may choose not to send their children to a school that might have been closed. This is very poor modelling of well-being practice.
So, in response to the decision to withdraw the paper from the Cabinet meeting with no consultation with or explanation to the Headteachers, our questions are straightforward:
- Without this change, where do you see Isle of Wight Education in 5 years’ time? And beyond this, in 10 years’ time?
- How do the actions of the current Cabinet show that the needs of children are recognised and prioritised now so that they all have the opportunities to the highest level of education and enable them to reach their full potential?
We ask that you meet with us, in person, before the next Cabinet meeting, to explain the actions and decisions. We ask that you meet with us to provide answers to these questions so that we can assure ourselves that you have indeed placed the children in the centre of your decisions.
This is what every child deserves.
Yours sincerely, The Isle of Wight Executive Headteacher Group on behalf of the majority Isle of Wight Headteachers
Or you can read the letter below, embedded for your convenience
Image: douglastofoli under CC BY 2.0
