Education Director Urges Councillors To Delay Isle Of Wight Councillors To Delay School Closure Decision

THE director of education for Portsmouth diocese has urged councillors to delay a decision on whether to close six Isle of Wight schools – because they have “inaccurate, incomplete information.”

Jeff Williams is urging the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet not to take a decision on school closures tomorrow (Thurs 12), but to discuss them at a full council meeting in January.

He believes Cabinet members could make decisions tomorrow (Thurs 12) on the basis of incomplete information, inaccurate data about island schools, and criteria that have not been clear.

He also said Cabinet members haven’t seen specific costs that should inform any decision about closure, such as additional costs of redundancies and school transport.

He has repeated the call originally made by the Bishop of Portsmouth for a pause in the whole process, so that all island headteachers can come round the table to find a better and longer-lasting solution.

The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Jonathan Frost, and the Diocesan Board of Education had already formally objected to the closure of the three Church of England schools involved – Oakfield C of E Primary in Ryde, Brading C of E Primary and Arreton St George’s C of E Primary.

But now Jeff Williams, director of education for Portsmouth diocese – which includes the Isle of Wight – has gone further, arguing that the proposals to close all six island schools should be put on hold because of a “flawed process”.

He has written to senior council leaders, urging that tomorrow’s (Thurs 12) Cabinet meeting follows the recommendation of yesterday’s (Tues 10) Scrutiny Committee meeting, which recommended that a full council meeting discusses the issue in January.

He said:

“School leaders and I have evidence to show that the process is flawed; that there are numerous factual errors and omissions in the reports provided to schools; and that the criteria for decisions have not been clear or public, and have been applied inconsistently.

“The consultation has potentially been compromised by conflating proposals for closure with stating the use of school buildings after closure. In our case, that is neither appropriate or permitted, as the diocese and trustees make such decisions about the future of school sites.

“It is a worry that officers were apparently not aware of the status of Church of England school buildings and sites in their own local authority, which applies across the country.

“I would ask that the entire process is paused, and an Island-wide engagement with all school leaders takes place, to find a better and longer lasting solution.

"That may still involve the closure of some of the named schools, but that solution would be reached in a more transparent, consistent, and secure way, based on clear and known criteria, data and contextual information.”

Jeff said that he had repeatedly drawn attention to the Department for Education’s guidance on school closures and the DfE’s guidance on the closure of rural schools, neither of which appeared to have been applied.

He urged councillors to be aware that if they voted for closure, the diocese is likely to appeal to the Independent Adjudicator for Schools, which has the final say.

“I remain unconvinced that the impact on communities, in particular vulnerable families, has been properly explored in the report, such that Cabinet can understand the impact of the decision to close schools in these places,” said Jeff. 

“The diocese and Board of Education are not wholesale opposed to the closure of a CofE school when there are no other options and when parental choice and wider impact is considered.

"Indeed, we have worked with the Isle of Wight Council and other local authorities in the closure of three schools in recent years.

“What we oppose here is the way in which this has happened, the flaws, inconsistencies, lack of transparency and known criteria, and all of the points above and in our submissions.”