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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Eady: 'Why the delay in the Shene School Academy project?
June 9, 2010 6:41 PM
• [Jun 01] Cllr Malcolm Eady* writes: THE Government seems to be delaying the signing off of the Shene School Academy project. This project is part of a very important programme, to raise the outcomes for the young people at three of our secondary schools. Any delays could mean that the young people at Shene School have to wait another year for a new school and this must be strongly resisted.
AET, the sponsor, was chosen because they could bring high quality educational expertise into the school. The plan for Shene School was consulted on widely with local parents and received 81 % support. The negotiations for the partnership agreement between the Council and AET were completed months ago. The next step should have been the signing of agreements between AET and the Government on the Funding and the Outline Business Case. This seems to have been delayed by the change in Government, so what is now required is pressure on the new minister, Michael Gove, to sign them both as soon as possible.
Until they are signed, staff cannot be appointed to posts in the new school, nor the appointment of the principal announced, and parents and pupils do not know for certain if the new school will open in September. Further delay will seriously affect the stability of the school and the chance of its successful transformation into an Academy. It is therefore essential that Cllr True and the new Conservative MP for Richmond Park quickly apply pressure on their party colleague Michael Gove to sign the agreements and get the process back on track.
Are we getting this leadership? Cllr True's only comment about this very important issue is "We will be holding constructive discussions with AET". However as time is very short his first priority should be to make contact with the minister to get the agreements signed. What is there to be gained by further talks with AET? The proposals have been consulted on and have gained overwhelming support from the parents. Conservative concerns about 6th forms were covered by AET in their brochure, where they acknowledged that post -16 education will be carried on at the school. Let us hope for the young people who attend Shene School that Cllr True does not fail his first big test.
- Lib Dem Spokesperson for Education and Schools.
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