Wokingham

Proposals to bring two schools in Wokingham under one roof are a step closer after Wokingham District Council’s executive committee met on Wednesday (February 8) and gave its support to the recommendations to amalgamate Whitelocke Infant and Nursery and The Palmer Church of England (Aided) Junior schools.

A six-week consultation period was undertaken at the end of last year on the proposals to amalgamate the Wokingham schools to create an all-through Church of England Aided Status Primary School to serve children from three to 11-years-old.

During this consultation period, a public meeting was held and over 60 Wokingham parents attended, while meetings were also held with members of staff from both schools. The proposal to amalgamate comes from the schools themselves, together with the full support and backing of The Oxford Diocese.

During their meeting on February 8, Wokingham council executive committee considered feedback from the public consultation. In total, 62 responses were received and the results show support for the amalgamation. The majority of responses (84%) supported the proposal for an all-through Church of England Primary School, and 40% commented on the importance of leadership at the amalgamated school and of those, 84% expressed a wish for the retention of existing leadership skills and qualities. A potential name for the amalgamated school was put forward and 66% favoured the name ‘All Saints Church of England Primary School’.

Both Wokingham schools’ governing bodies have also considered the outcomes of the consultation at meetings held last month. Next steps will see a further six-week statutory consultation period taking place to allow parents and local people to comment further on the proposals. Statutory proposals on the move were formally published in the local press last week (February 8).

An all-through primary school would have a significant number of benefits for pupils, parents and staff. There can sometimes be a ‘dip’ in a pupil’s progress following the move from infant to junior schools. Therefore a comprehensive curriculum could be developed for all children aged between three and 11 years to ease the transition for pupils through the three key stages of primary education, aiming to improve overall standards of achievement.

Staff would have further opportunities to develop their professional experience and share their expertise across the full spectrum of primary education. This would enable them to build on current professional development, which is a strength of both schools. Amalgamation also offers increased flexibility for organising teaching and learning.

At the core of both Wokingham schools’ approach is the care and development of individual pupils. This will be further enhanced by the move to aided status, which will embrace the Christian ethos across the amalgamated school.

There would also be significant benefits for children with special educational needs whose future support could be planned more easily.

Jenny Partridge, chair of governors of Wokingham Whitelocke Infant and Nursery School, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to build on the strengths of both schools. The new school will provide our children with high quality education in a caring environment from three to 11 years old."

Karen Wellman, chair of governors of Wokingham Palmer C of E (Aided) Junior School, said: “There is still a lot of work to do but the new all-through aided primary school offers many opportunities to build on the hard work that both schools have put into developing the potential of every child.”

Leslie Stephen, director of education at the Oxford Diocese, said: "The Diocese is very pleased with the proposed amalgamation which will bring together two schools with a common purpose and will benefit all the children, staff and parents."

Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “I was delighted to see such a good response to the consultation with the majority of responses supporting the proposals to amalgamate the two schools. The amalgamation of the schools would bring great benefits to pupils by providing them with the best possible education opportunities available and the executive committee is pleased to support these proposals.”

Wokingham District Council