Education chiefs didn't know what was happening claims MP

EDUCATION authority officers had no idea what was happening over the sixth form at Culcheth High School until the governors announced their plans for its closure, according to MP Helen Jones.
She says information obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Culcheth councillor Chris Vobe, shows that officers at Warrington Borough Council were entirely unaware of what actions the school’s governing body had taken to promote the sixth form.
The information was obtained from a series of emails between council officers made available as a result of Cllr Vobe’s request.
The Warrington North MP (pictured) said: “Earlier this year, the chief executive of Warrington Borough Council wrote to me and said: ‘Based on the information available, officers are satisfied that the approaches taken by the school and overseen by the governors since 2005 have been an appropriate response to a trend which has seen a decline in students selecting Culcheth High School as their preferred Sixth Form provision.
“However, it is clear from information obtained under FOI that the officers knew nothing about what the governors had done.”
The content of a number of emails were made available as a result of the FOI request.
In one, education department chiefs said: “Can you have a think about how we should approach this as we need to consider the governors’ scrutiny of this issue over recent years and report on the actions taken by the school… need to think about a quick process to consider the governors’ actions. Maybe ask for their minutes????”
In response, another email forwarded to two junior officers and marked “urgent”, said: “We need to evidence proactive behaviour on behalf of the governing body to promote the sixth form before it became unsustainable… is it possible to get hold of the minutes through the clerk of governors if they buy into that service? We basically need to show what actions
governors took to sustain the sixth form.”
Cllr Vobe (left) said: “The emails disclosed to me by Warrington Council are staggering in their blunt revelation of the fact that officers were totally unaware of what actions had been taken to promote and sustain Culcheth Sixth Form in recent years.
“A request for this information left the Families and Wellbeing Department scrabbling to cobble something together.
“We have to return to the question of whose job it was to monitor Culcheth High School. Why did no one from the education department intervene to stop the decline sooner, and why did it take a request from the MP and local borough councillors for officers to even start considering what had been done?
“It boils down to the fact that officers have woefully taken their eye off the ball, and have let down students across my ward.”
Culcheth parish councillor Paul Campbell said: “The future of the sixth form is a very important issue and we should all be trying to pull together to keep it or, at least, ensure that Culcheth High School remains one of the best schools in the borough.
“It doesn’t help to be looking for scapegoats. The MP lives in Culcheth and Cllr Vobe is a Culcheth councillor. Why didn’t they know what was going on in their own backyard?”
A borough council spokesperson said: “The decision to propose closure of the sixth form at Culcheth High was taken by the school’s governors after a proper consultation according to statutory requirements. The decision was approved unanimously by the council’s executive board after consideration of a thorough report on the proposal, taking into account the results of the consultation.
“The proposal to cease sixth form provision at Culcheth High School was made by the governors. Their view was that maintaining a sixth form for the low numbers of sixth form pupils involved was not a cost-effective use of resources for the school, and it would be better to focus the available resources on continuous improvement in the quality of 11-16 education, to support the school in its ambition to improve from good to outstanding.
“Prior to the decision to cease sixth form provision at Culcheth High School the council agreed that the proposal should be subject to a consultation with all stakeholders in accordance with statutory guidance. The consultation received a low response rate, with very small numbers of people supporting the continuation of the sixth form. But during the consultation the students were asked what they would do if the sixth form stayed open. Some 58 per cent said they would go to another college, and only 13 per cent said they would definitely stay at Culcheth.
“The council’s executive board considered the evidence in public at its meeting on February 10 and voted unanimously to agree with the governors’ wish that the sixth form be closed.
“The leadership and management of schools sits with schools and the role of the council is to challenge leadership. To ensure leadership is effective, the council will ask for evidence to demonstrate this. In this instance, where a decision would impact on young people and the community, evidence was requested to support the school’s decision, due process was followed and officers were satisfied.”