My letter to Councillor Daley about the Tory implementation of Two Tier education and the potential

Councillor Wayne Daley

Cabinet Member for Children’s Services

Northumberland County Council

Morpeth

NE61 2EF

Dear Councillor Daley,

Proposed reorganisation of schools from three to two tiers in Northumberland

I am writing to you in your capacity as cabinet member for Children’s Services in relation to the above.

In a leaflet distributed in the West of the County it was stated that;

The new Darras Hall Primary school “is part of a plan by Northumberland County Council for a primary and secondary system of schooling across the whole on Northumberland”. This same leaflet as part of its imprint advised it was promoted on behalf of Guy Opperman.

This week Mr Opperman has publically distanced himself from your plans to force this system on communities across the West of Northumberland many of whom have schools rated as “good and outstanding”.

The position of Labour group on these changes is clear and remains unchanged since 2014. We will back the retention of three tier education in areas county wide where that is the majority view amongst local residents and would not introduce changes without consultation and the initiative being driven by the schools.

These changes being proposed by your administration could see children as young as four being bussed to school. Furthermore in rural areas the local school is often the focal point of the community and this risks fundamentally altering that relationship.

With this in mind I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions;

1. Do Northumberland Conservatives have a plan to move schooling in the county to primary and secondary as stated in your leaflet?

2. If not why was this included in the leaflet and attributed to Guy Opperman MP?

3. If it is not your plan why has the west of the county been singled out for such a change whilst the North remains as is?

4. In the rushed out consultation why is a fourth option “That three tier education is retained unless parents and schools want a different system” not included?

5. The Journal carried an article published 19thFebruary where you said “The council is committed to putting between £50m-£60m into making this a success so it’s not about penny-pinching.” Why is only £30M visible in the budget passed last week?

6. What assessment have you made of the costs of the full county being moved to two tier education?

7. How will your stated aim of moving to primary and secondary education be achieved in areas where the middle schools have academised to avoid these changes?

8. Can you confirm that the schools earmarked for closure would be sold off and if so that as brownfield sites in an area with no upto date local planning framework they would be eligible for house building?

Thousands of people across the County are concerned about the changes that you are pursuing and given your claim to want to run the most transparent council in the country I look forward to your answers.

Regards,

Councillor Scott Dickinson

Druridge Bay Ward

Labour Spokesperson for Children's Services

Copies to Guy Opperman MP, Anne Marie Trevelyan MP, Ian Lavery MP, Ronnie Campbell MP