Fight over Woolston Free School continues

8:32am Thursday 14th June 2012 in News

Woolston High School Woolston High School

PADDINGTON House Hotel and the former police training camp in Bruche were offered by the council as potential sites for the new Woolston free school.

But Government officials instead preferred to ‘bully’ officials at Warrington Town Hall into allowing them to use Bruche Infants School before preparing a bid to build a new school on playing fields at Hillock Lane.

A meeting of the education watchdog committee on Wednesday night heard the department for education issued Warrington Borough Council with an ultimatum.

Either alllow the free school to move into Bruche or see them seize the Woolston High School building - which will be empty when the final pupils leave next month - which has been earmarked for special educational needs children.

Clr Colin Froggatt, executive member for education (LAB - Poulton South) told the meeting Government officials had been using Google maps to find a suitable site for the free school.

But he said there would not be enough pupils to make it viable and said head teachers in school outside Woolston had been approached as free school officials look to boost numbers.

He said: “I fought the closure in 2007. But the landscape has changed.

“My children went to Woolston High School and my heart says I would like a high school. But my head says it won’t happen.”

The meeting heard this was a ‘golden opportunity’ to give Warrington the best special educational school in the country.

Under the plans, confirmed earlier this year, pupils from Green Lane and Foxwood would move into Woolston High with work set to start in September.

Clr Sheila Woodyatt, former education boss at the council, (CON Lymm) said the opportunity could not be missed.

“This will give us the best provision in the north west if not the country and our special needs children deserve this,” she said.

The committee agreed to write to the executive to support the decision take last month to accept the free school onto Bruche but to press ahead with plans for the special school at Woolston.

But they asked the committee to urge Government education bosses to back the special school plan.

Comments(14)

milly269 says...
9:09am Thu 14 Jun 12

If they build a school on Hillock Lane Playing Fields will the council find new pitches for the teams that currently play there? Hundreds of children play football and rugby there each week and shouldn't be ignored in all this.
I thought Fox Wood was a purpose built facility - a centre of excellence? Is the idea to put all the SEN children in one place, without differentiation for their abilities or needs? Surely the decision should be made in the best interests of the child, not out of spite to prevent the free school having the site?

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AbsoluteZero says...
12:36pm Thu 14 Jun 12

There won't be any green spaces left at this rate.

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MikeJT says...
12:47pm Thu 14 Jun 12

He said, she said. If it came down to a choice I'd say that the governments proposal was the better....simply because, IMHO, WBC have never really seemed to care about the children when making educational decisions. No wonder Birchwood High is now looking at obtaining academy status.

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year 6 Parent says...
8:19am Fri 15 Jun 12

I often walk through Hillock fields and see young people partaking in a wide range of activities. Where will they go?? Are the parents supporting King's School really that selfish and self-centred that they think teaching Latin, to limited numbers, in that space and depriving others of the sports they enjoy, is a good thing? What about members of the general public who use the space for walks and leisure. Also there are 3 primary schools in that area so how much worse is traffic going to become???

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woolston1 says...
12:04pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Numbers of children has reduced in woolston, but closing the high school was not the answer. Woolston cp and bruche juniors have downsized and survived. Why cant these people put money and reputation aside, and think about all the children, who are travelling out of the area for school. The special needs school and the kings school could share the woolston high school site and share the running costs.Woolston is an established area with lots of family housing, where I`ve lived for over 40 years. Lets not forget whats important to keep a community alive.

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JWilson1 says...
10:53pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Have numbers reduced or have parents moved to take their children to a better secondary?

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JonnyScotland says...
12:55am Sun 17 Jun 12

At the end of the day the logical choice here is to allow Kings the original WHS site on Holes Lane. It's already a high school now so would be an easy move. It would be fantastic to have a purpose built modern school on Hillock Lane but as others have said there is only so much green land to go around - and of course where's the money coming from for this ??
We deserve the WHS site. Foxwood and Green Lane are performing at an Outstanding level says Ofsted so if it isn't broken then WHY try to fix it? - have the council not learnt from past mistakes such as Stockton Heath primary?

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toffeeman_4ever says...
8:12pm Sun 17 Jun 12

rest assured that only the rich people will benefit. the council should look at what affordable and tell the truth

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Colin Lilypad says...
9:49pm Sun 17 Jun 12

If Froggatt is Pinocchio who the hell is Gepetto? Beware of Gepetto.

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JWilson1 says...
10:07pm Sun 17 Jun 12

I’d like to know what opportunity Sheila Woodyatt is talking about here? Isolating 200 students with special educational needs is morally unacceptable, Warrington Council should be developing more inclusive schools which comply with what the parents want, not rewinding the clock back 30 years.Non-inclusion reduces a disabled students social importance, maintaining their social visibility is just as important as their academic achievement. By ‘chaperoning’ large numbers of students together with SEN as a society we are according them less human dignity then when we include them in the more visible settings of a mainstream classroom.

Everybody benefits from inclusion. Schools which fully include disabled and SEN students feel more welcoming, I should know I work in one. Research has demonstrated that SEN students who spend greater time with their mainstream peers show an increase in social skills and academic proficiency. According to professor Bob Jackson there is no research anywhere in the world which shows that special schooling and segregated education produced better outcomes for students with special needs.

I’ve lived in Padgate all my life, at the moment I am a teaching assistant in Halton and I love my job working with a whole range of students, correct me if I’m wrong but this is 2012 right? When you hear these councillors speak you would think we were back in 1912.

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silverlady54 says...
12:25pm Tue 19 Jun 12

Not all parents of disabled/statemented children want inclusion, as they don't think it is suitable for their child's needs. Surely they have a right to be heard and have their needs met as well?

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Colin Lilypad says...
11:17pm Tue 19 Jun 12

Is it possible you could be both right? Imagine a scenario where the SEN school and the Free School co shared at the old high school... Now that would be truly innovative, the best of both worlds at half the price... Surely collaboration and sharing is the way forward if the Council are serious about what they say.

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silverlady54 says...
8:36am Wed 20 Jun 12

You could well be right, Colin. I know that where there is a behavioural unit attached to a mainstream school, it is easier to integrate the pupils back into the mainstream when appropriate. As you say though, it takes the will and co-operation for it to happen though, not each side trying to score political points!

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mac says...
9:58pm Wed 20 Jun 12

I think what Clr Froggat says there are not enough pupils to make Kings viable, he means it will draw pupils away from other schools, including Lysander and the council will have to support schools with falling numbers.

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