An alternative to closing Windmill Hill Primary School

by Windmill Hill Primary School parent Chris Davison

With the number of children forecasted to be in planning areas 6 & 13 combined I do not believe that the LEA has any grounds for opening one let alone two extended schools of 420 pupils. Under the LEA's proposals for planning area 6 and 13, by the year 2009 they forecast a need of 1,290 places and will have as it stands 513 surplus places.

If we follow the LEA's proposals to amalgamate Freshbrook and Windmill Hill schools into a 420 school and do nothing to any of the other schools in these planning areas then they would have a total of 1,693 spaces - a surplus of 403 places.

If the LEA amalgamate Freshbrook and Windmill Hill and Westlea and Toothill to create two 420 pupil schools and do nothing to any of the others, then there would be 1,552 spaces - a surplus of 262 places.

If the LEA were to close Freshbrook School and disperse the children amongst the other schools in the planning areas (all of which are within the two miles boundary) that have surplus spaces, then there would be 1,483 places - a surplus of 193 places.

The LEA could further reduce the number of surplus places under this last option by making Westlea the same size as Tregoze (262 places) which will cater for all of the forecasted children at Westlea (259). This would bring the surplus down to 104.

If the LEA reduced Oliver Tomkins Junior school to 210 (forecast 197 children), this would bring the surplus places down to 74.

If the driving force behind the re-organisation of primary education in West Swindon is to remove surplus places then surely the option of closing Freshbrook makes the most sense of all concerned with or without making the other adjustments.

The LEA win all round because it gets to reduce the number of surplus spaces, gains revenue by selling the Freshbrook site, which can then be used to rebuild Toothill as a 210 size extended school, and it gets to keep its 'good' schools Windmill Hill and Westlea.

The benefits to everyone else are:
- Each area keeps a school in its community, i.e. Westlea, Toothill, Grange Park and Freshbrook communities;
- Windmill and Westlea parents are happy because the schools they choose for their children remain as they are, continuing to provide good education for their children;
- Toothill parents are happy because they get their new building;
- Freshbrook School gets what it has proposed, the closure of Freshbrook School.
- Plus, as far as I am aware, Freshbrook now fulfils all three criteria for closing a school:
a) more than 25% surplus places;
b) buildings in need of refurbishment and
c) the resignation of the Head Teacher, plus their senior teacher (who is funded by the LEA over and above their school budget) and is only funded until the end of this academic year.
- Oliver Tomkins gets to fill some of its surplus places. Councillor Nick Martin has told me that Oliver Tomkins are not 'playing ball' and don't not want to change at all. However I cannot see that they would not want to fill some of their surplus places as they will be facing a significant surplus place problem especially in their infants school which will put them under tremendous financial pressure.

I reiterate that if the driving force behind the re-organisation of primary education in West Swindon is to remove surplus places then I can see no justification for the building of any 420 size school in planning area 6 or 13.

As far as I am aware it is only new schools that have to fit in with the Governments two form entry size schools (and presumably only if there is a need for that number of places. It would be ludicrous to build a 420 size school if you only had enough children for a 210 size school). So if we don't build any new schools then we don't need to comply with the Governments wish for a 420 size school.

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