Letter from STONEY MIDDLETON PARISH COUNCIL - Re: Proposed Closure of Stoney Middleton CE (C) Primary School

(by Webmaster <info@stoneymiddletonparishcouncil.org.uk> on 27th November 2006)

Clerk: Miss S. Lloyd, Broom Croft, Mill Lane, Stoney Middleton, S32 4TS

Tel. 01433 639665, email susan_lloyd@btopenworld.com

22/11/2006

Mr. D. Shaw,

Deputy Director for Children and Younger Adults,

(Ref. DEV/DAH)

Development Section,

C Block, Chatsworth Hall,

Chesterfield Road,

Matlock,

Derbyshire

DE4 3FW

Dear Mr. Shaw,

Re: Proposed Closure of Stoney Middleton CE (C) Primary School

I am writing on behalf of Stoney Middleton Parish Council to express its dismay at the recent proposal to close Stoney Middleton CE (C) Primary School which is of enormous importance to the village in a number of ways.

The school provides a secure and close knit environment for children under eleven to learn both academic subjects and citizenship, and provides an excellent standard of education for them. It has been suggested that it is not in the children's interests to be taught in a very small school. Is there any evidence to sustain this view? The pupils leaving the school are well prepared for their secondary school and go on to achieve well academically. Being educated within the village also means they interact constantly with the adults of their community and they are, commensurately, well behaved and well integrated.

The school also helps to bond the village into a cohesive unit and a sustainable and vibrant community. As a building, it is used for social and educational purposes, for meetings and village events. It is the designated centre in times of emergency. It brings young families to the village which in turn helps sustain the village shops. It is an integral part of the fabric of the village without which Stoney Middleton would be in danger of becoming another faceless dormitory village.

It also is vital for the delivering of local democracy for without it there would be nowhere for the Parish Council to meet. It has also been used in the past for public meeting about issues of great concern to the local community, for example, flooding control and quarrying. As local democracy and accountability are being given high priority in current central government policy it would seem very short-sighted of D.C.C. to undermine them in this way.

Without their own school, the small children of the village would have to travel by bus or car or on foot to Calver or Eyam, some one and a half to two miles away. The A623, rated the fifth worst in the country, is too busy a road for children to walk along unescorted, and either parents would have to walk with them, or use their cars to get the children to school. This is not possible for single parents who work even if they have use of a car. The road from the A623 to Eyam does not even have a pavement and is highly dangerous to walk down at the best of times. Parents would have to travel to one of these villages to attend

school activities. In the evening, with no bus service, this will be impossible for some.

The cultural tradition and history of Calver, Eyam and Stoney Middleton are also very different. The children going to one of the other village schools would be outsiders, not part of the fabric of the village, just 'bussed-in' children making up the numbers. This cannot be desirable for them.

The Parish Council would also challenge the figure of a saving of £50,000.00 a year made by closing the school. There have been no figures produced to show how this figure has been arrived at. No calculation has been made for the extra expenses such as paying for a bus service, crossing points or the capital costs that would be incurred with the arrival of large numbers of extra pupils at another school. Opponents of this proposal have had to take figures produced at meetings at face value with no opportunity to challenge them or have them verified.

All the Parish Councillors attended the meeting with Councillor Charles at the school on 2nd November to express their individual and collective concern at this proposal. They are particularly angry about the lack of a transparent consultation process. The Council had no advance warning of this proposal, and it seems that the decision to close the school had already been made before it was informed. This must be contrary to the principles of local democracy.

The Council cannot reiterate too strongly how much it deplores this proposal, and hopes that the strength of feeling against it within the village will make the County Council think again about the wisdom of a policy which has short term financial gains but little else to recommend it.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Susan Lloyd,

Clerk to the Council/Responsible Financial Officer

cc Miss D. Hill, all Derbyshire County Councillors and District Councillor C. Hunt

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