Wokingham

Wokingham District Council is reminding people interested in Ryeish Green School that they have just under three weeks left to make their views known on the proposal to close the school.

Having started in October, the formal consultation period closes on Friday December 15. Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for children’s services, said: “No decision on the future of Ryeish Green School will be taken until the decision-making executive has taken into account the comments of everyone. This is why it is essential that if you have views on this proposal, you let us know.

“The council wants to hear from as many people as possible on this proposal. It is a comprehensive consultation and we are seeking views from governors, staff, pupils, parents, prospective parents and the wider community.”

During October, the Wokingham district council sent out over 17,000 consultation documents to pupils, parents, teachers and governors at Ryeish Green School as well parents of pupils at the linked primary schools. The document was also distributed to homes in the designated area of Ryeish Green School, town and parish councils, MPs, headteachers as well as other children’s services partner organisations. Information has also been posted on the council’s website www.wokingham.gov.uk

As part of the consultation process, the council held meetings with parents, teaching staff and governors at Ryeish Green School as well as the linked primary schools.

The decision-making Wokingham executive will take into account the outcomes of the consultation at its meeting in February 2007 where they will decide whether or not to proceed with the statutory process to publish a proposal to close the school. If the executive decides to proceed, statutory notices would then be published, followed by a six-week period for further representations.

Back in July, Wokingham District Council’s executive decided to consult on the closure of the school after they considered a report on the future of Ryeish Green School. The primary reason for the decision to go-ahead with the consultation is the falling numbers of pupils at the school.

For several years the school has been working to improve its reputation in the community and attract more pupils. With the support of the council, the school has worked on raising standards and improving behaviour. Despite this, pupils numbers have continued to fall, particularly in the last two years when there has been a significant decline. This has triggered concern over the future viability of the school.

The school’s official admission number is for 210 pupils every September but the school had an intake for September 2006 of only 91. The outcome of this is that the school now has in excess of 25% surplus capacity / places. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) expects and can require local education authorities to take action if schools get into a position where there is 25% or more surplus capacity.

The fall in pupil numbers at the school is also currently putting extreme pressure on the school’s finances and also has an impact on the curriculum options. And projected future pupil numbers show that by 2010 the intake will have fallen to 538 (2010/11).

Wokingham Cllr Frank Browne added: “We want to test whether the district council is making this proposal for the right educational and economic reasons and we have to make sure that we have all the pertinent facts before a final decision is made. I am keen to remind interested parties they still have almost three weeks to make their views known to us and it is important they do this before the formal consultation process ends.”

Comments on the proposals can be either submitted online or by completing the response form (contained at the back of the consultation document). Completed response forms should be sent to Nicky Harmsworth, project administrator, children’s services, Wokingham District Council, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1WN. Comments can also be emailed to: ryeishgreen@wokingham.gov.uk

Wokingham District Council