The Green Party has called on the Lib Dems on Sheffield City council to keep its election promise to “listen to the community” and keep Abbeydale Grange School open.

A recent OFSTED report showed that there was a significant improvement in the 2009 summer GCSE exam results, with a further improvement predicted for 2010. In an amendment to a motion in Full Council this week, the Greens say that it should be given resources from the £14m Building Schools for the Future and support from Council officers to continue to do so.

Coun Jillian Creasy said, “No representative of the community has come
out in favour of closure. Instead, the Council has had petitions containing over 1,000 signatures, many other contacts to Councillors and Cabinet members and a rally of hundreds of people on the Town Hall steps all protesting against any proposal to close Abbeydale Grange School.

The Green Party says that the Council’s preferred option of a “hard
federation” has failed and have given its support to the School
Governors proposal to affiliate to the Co-operative Trust. The Greens
say that this, along with measures already taken since the last OFSTED
inspection, could transform the school.

The Greens also point out that the number of secondary aged pupils
living in the south west catchment area is set to rise year on year from
2014. If AGS closes, there will be significant pressure on places at other schools

Cllr Creasy said “There is no legal reason why Abbeydale Grange has to
close. All that is lacking is the political will from the Administration to work with the Governors and the teachers to continue the improvements already being made and allow it to realise its full potential. The Lib Dems fought hard to save Wisewood but are ignoring
the wishes of local people over Abbeydale Grange.”

Join the debate on Friday 27th November! Open public debate about the future of the School between three of the parliamentary candidates for Central Ward. Friday 27th November, 6pm in Abbeydale Grange School. Please bring as many friends and supporters of the school as you can to both events as the more people we have there, the more impact we will have.

Please write to the Cabinet Members at Sheffield Town Hall or e mail them at the addresses below to express your support for the school staying open.

ian.auckland@sheffield.gov.uk

sylvia.dunkley@sheffield.gov.uk

colin.ross@sheffield.gov.uk

paul.scriven@sheffield.gov.uk

david.baker@sheffield.gov.uk

andrew.sangar@sheffield.gov.uk

simon.clement-jones@sheffield.gov.uk

gail.smith@sheffield.gov.uk

bob.mccann@sheffield.gov.uk

shaffaq.mohammed@sheffield.gov.uk

Green Party Councillors and members have been attending the meetings held between officers, pupils, parents and the wider community following the July council cabinet decision to consult on the option of closure of Abbeydale Grange School.

Cllr Jillian Creasy commented : “The plan seems to be to disperse groups of vulnerable children, such as those with learning, emotional or behavioural problems and those who speak little English to surrounding schools. But, at the consulation meetings, there have been no firm guarantees that the popular South West schools would accept extra pupils from Abbeydale Grange. Even if they did, this could push class sizes into the mid-thirties.”

Cllr Bernard Little commented : “Questions were asked as to why so little time was given to find a partner to help the school and why everything is happening so quickly. It was clear that the whole process is being rushed and the school pushed into closure. At least Wisewood School has been allowed to stay open until the new merged school is built. ”

Cllr Little continues : “Parents were frustrated that other viable solutions such as Cooperative Trust status do not seem to have been fully explored. Given time and support from Sheffield City Council, on top of the progress the school is already making, such measures could help to build parents’ confidence so that they will choose to send their children to Abbeydale Grange”.

Cllr Jillian Creasy

We believe that Abbeydale Grange School should be given more time to improve and that options other than a “hard federation” should be explored. We are concerned that Cabinet instructed officers to find a partner to form a “hard federation” (in effect a merger) and, if this couldn’t be done before the end of term, to proceed with closure.

The pastoral care at Abbeydale Grange is exceptionally good and the number of children going on to higher education, including top universities, is high. But last year it fell below central government targets for GCSE results and was entered into the “national challenge” programme. In February of this year, it was put into “special measures” following an Ofsted report. Neither national challenge status nor special measures automatically require a hard federation or closure. On the contrary, they provide processes and extra resources to turn things round. We have met the new interim head and the chair of governors who are confident that the school is improving fast and expect this to be reflected in GCSE results this year and next. Their assessment was confirmed by council officers who visited a couple of weeks ago to monitor progress.

Last December, the Cabinet instigated a Review of the school to which governors, teachers, parents and local people contributed in good faith. The recommendations, which included seeking external help via a “soft federation”, appear to have been ignored by Cabinet. The school has had many offers of practical support from schools and colleges but cannot pursue them as they fall short of “hard federation”.

We suspect that the Lib Dem administration and council officers are being pushed by central government into looking for a hard federation in a very short time frame, or closing the school. The Lib Dem administration prides itself on standing up to central government and on listening to local people. Why not over this issue? We would back them to the hilt.
Yours
Cllr Jillian Creasy

Sheffield Green Party has rejected the recommendation by Council officers to close Abbeydale Grange School. The Greens support the Advisory Group’s recommendation to refurbish the school, develop post-16 provision and explore federation with another school or partner.

Cllr Jillian Creasy, who represents Central ward which includes the catchment area for Abbeydale Grange, said,”Our top priority is the welfare and education of the children attending the school which will not necessarily be best served by dispersal to other undersubscribed schools. Despite its many concerns, OFSTED recognised Abbeydale’s strengths in areas of personal development and
well being. The Council’s own review said the school was good at providing specialised teaching for new arrivals to the city and it is also known for its support for vulnerable children.”

She added: “We accept the officers’ recommendation that all secondary schools should cater inclusively for their local children, including new arrivals, but recognise that it will take time to build capacity in many schools for this to happen. This should be taking place in parallel with improvements at Abbeydale
Grange so that it begins to attract a higher proportion of children from its local area.”

Cllr Bernard Little, who took part in the consultation said, “Green Party policy is to protect small schools where possible, encouraging them to cluster or federate to share resources and specialist staff. Although secondary pupil numbers are currently decreasing, we know that they are predicted to rise again from 2015. It makes no sense to close a school now, especially when there are
funds earmarked to refurbish or rebuild it, and then to have to put up temporary classrooms in other schools later.”