On 27 November, Cabinet members for Wiltshire County Council voted unanimously for the proposed closure of St Nicholas and Larkrise special schools and for ONE mega school to be built in Rowde, despite 71 per cent of those who took part in the pre-statutory consultation this summer voting AGAINST IT, despite thousands of signatures on petitions from both schools, despite the protest before the meeting, despite several heartfelt pleas from parents on behalf of both schools, and despite several town councillors raising some very important questions.
Clearly, the Cabinet had already made their decision and nothing anyone said or did would change their minds. Obviously what Baroness Scott wants, she gets (for now!).
It’s disgusting that in this day and age Wiltshire Council has chosen to take a step backwards from progress, and instead segregate, isolate and marginalise our children, not to mention putting their health at risk with long journey times and making it harder to access an A&E Department.
But this is not a done deal!! You can help us to stop this plan in its tracks!
Our campaign to Save St Nicholas Special Needs School has gained momentum as we’ve been working closely with Larkrise School in Trowbridge to keep our special schools local.
Together we believe wholeheartedly that a warehouse-style school is not what’s best for our children for a whole host of reasons and we will fight this all the way. That is why we have no option but to seek legal representation from a solicitor with SEND knowledge and experience.
In order to cover these costs, WE NEED YOUR HELP!! If everyone who signed this petition donated the cost of a Christmas card, we would reach our crowdfunding goal to pay for the solicitor to fight our corner and ensure our special schools stay in their local communities.
It will also send a clear message to Wiltshire Council that we mean business and take this matter incredibly seriously.
Will you help us bring a legal challenge to stop Wiltshire Council’s antiquated and discriminatory plan for special schools?
Please donate here:
https://www.gofundme.com/keep-our-special-schools-local?fbclid=IwAR3xqjC2OzmEB4emeLxwNy4nG5RaSEhLZrs7DmZYLowkFmIGDcafvnBR1Nw
If you would rather donate your time, we can use help garnering the support of all 98 Wiltshire County Councillors. Click on this link and choose a few Councillors to email and tell them you oppose the one-school option and wish for our existing special schools to be developed and to stay in local communities.
https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx
Both petitions for St Nicholas and Larkrise schools are scheduled for debate by the full council at a meeting on 26 February 2019, so gaining the support of as many Wiltshire county councilors as possible is crucial, as is detailing what we want instead.
We are also planning fundraising events and a joint-school march early next year to raise awareness and funds for our joint campaign, and to put pressure on Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet. We will keep you posted on other ways you can join in!
Together we are strong and WE hold the power to make decisions that affect our children. Our campaign has gained a lot of media attention and Wiltshire Council were not expecting such a backlash to their plans for SEND children. Let’s show Wiltshire Council that our communities oppose their plans and that they should use taxpayers’ money more wisely in providing their statutory duty to educate children with special needs. It IS time for change – but it has to be the RIGHT change for our children – NOT the cheapest option for Wiltshire Council.
A few of the many flaws in Wiltshire Council’s vision for SEND provision:
During the Cabinet meeting, several councillors tried to defend the one-school proposal with ‘evidence’, and yet the evidence stacks up against the single-school option: during the pre-statutory consultation this summer, 71 per cent of people voted to develop the three existing schools in strategic towns across Wiltshire; the local authority’s own Children’s Select Committee SEND School Provision Task Group recommended that ‘it would not be appropriate to combine all three schools into onesite. Should the decision be made to consolidate the number of sites, provision should be retained in each of the strategic towns in the county, i.e. Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury,’ which Cllr Mayes, Education portfolio holder, refused.
The Council’s preferred option also used Three Ways school in Bath as an ‘aspirational’ model, yet, like several of the other schools used to compare, it is located in an urban environment where children can be integrated into their community, the school size is smaller - 220 pupils at Three Ways vs 350+ at Rowde - and it does not cater to the entire range of special educational needs ie. PMLD, SLD, Complex Needs, ASD etc, so it is not a fair comparison.
What’s more, the council claims the one-school option will improve outcomes for children with special needs, as we don’t have an ‘outstanding’ special school in Wiltshire. However, outcomes are not always measured by the quality of school facilities alone; a wealth of research shows that INCLUSION is the key to improving outcomes for children with additional needs. Our children are currently included in their communities, with school excursions to the local church, supermarkets, park and events at nearby mainstream schools. Sending them to a strange and remote setting in the countryside will not provide the valuable opportunities to be included and gain essential life skills in their own familiar environment. Rowde is a very small village, which isn’t easily accessible from the school, despite being half a mile away, nor are the few amenities for that matter. Our councilors seem to forget that many pupils require wheelchairs or have no sense of traffic danger and are prone to ‘wandering’. They are also out of touch with the complex and profound needs of students at St Nick's and Larkrise and they have little understanding of our aspirations for our children.
The council promises an ‘outstanding' school, with the ‘best facilities and the best teaching staff’, but it is very easy for them to make these promises when they will wash their hands of SEND children when the £20million school is handed over to an academy trust. They also claim that a saving can be made on transport costs and that some children will have shorter journeys to the new school. However, statistics produced by the independent consultants commissioned by the local authority themselves, The Wood Report, show that this is not true. The point is that this cost will fluctuate from year to year, as the school population changes and routes have to be re-calculated.
The council has chosen the most economical option, despite continuously stating ‘this isn’t about money’. But how can it not when all other potential sites for development were vetoed because they held lucrative housing potential? Let’s face it: institutionalisation is the more economical option, but we thought Wiltshire Council would have the sense to recognise it’s not good for people and the social impact is far greater. It is hard for us to swallow being told that “We simply can’t do Nothing,” when that is precisely what Wiltshire Council have been doing for the last ten years. If our current special schools are ‘not fit for purpose’ it is because Wiltshire Council has neglected them and they are failing in their duty to provide SEND provision NOW.
Let’s make it quite clear: we are not against change! And this isn’t about families feeling ‘anxious’ and needing reassurance. The fact is the mega school is fundamentally wrong.
There ARE options which we feel have not been properly explored with the needs of the children as the first priority. Many parents are already talking about moving from the county or fighting for out-of-county or independent provision, or personal budgets to homeschool their children. But what of the other parents where these just aren’t realistic options? What of the next generation who don’t even know the trouble they face? This is our opportunity to take the knowledge we have gained during our journeys to shape the future for those who come after us, to create the kind of world we envision for our children where they are included in our community. Don’t regret not taking a stand now.