Headington primary school set to become biggest in city (From thisisoxfordshire)
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Headington primary school set to become biggest in city
9:40am Thursday 14th March 2013 in News
Headteacher Lynn Knapp
A decision is set to be made on whether to make Windmill Primary School Oxfordshire’s biggest primary.
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet is set to approve the proposal to move the Headington school from two form to three form entry, taking 90 children each year, at a meeting on Tuesday.
The proposal has attracted controversy, with parents raising concerns about traffic, impact on the character of the school and lack of detail about how the extra pupils would be housed.
Headteacher Lynn Knapp, and chairman of governors Mayte Siswick had objected to the proposal.
They felt the £1.9m budget allocated would not be sufficient to build extra classrooms, enlarge the hall and kitchen, extend the after school club and provide other related facilities.
But Mrs Knapp said after discussions with education cabinet member Melinda Tilley she felt “optimistic” about the proposals.
She said: “I feel like I have been listened to and people are doing their best to get what we want, providing it fits in within budget, and I think there will be some movement in the budget if there needs to be.”
Of 126 responses to the consultation, 80 per cent were against the plan. The proposal is to permanently expand the school from September 2013, meaning by September 2016 the school would eventually take up to 630 pupils.
Mrs Tilley said: “I am confident we now have a deal that works for the school.”
Comments(6)
munkayman
says...
1:17pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Maybe people in the surrounding area who will, you know, send their own children to the school and will have to live with the increased traffic permanently should have more of a say. Right from the start this has proved to be an ill thought out, under-invested and potentially dangerous (road safety) proposal which was never in the schools or pupils interests. Build or expand (where it is PROPERLY feasible) schools to accommodate local pupils in their own areas.
You have to wonder what is happening in the background between Mrs Tilley and Mrs Knapp for the headteacher to have such a sudden change of heart.
Christine Hovis
says...
3:10pm Thu 14 Mar 13
“I am confident we now have a deal that works for the school.”
In the printed version of the Oxford Times, Mrs Tilley says (in a much more characteristic way):
"I don't understand the basis of the opposition".
It's not complicated Mrs Tilley. It's mid-March. The School will take another 30 pupils in September under your proposal, and there's not a sniff to the parents or neighbours what they might mean. The paper to the cabinet meeting is still coy on what it might mean: have the headteacher and governors criteria for this going ahead been met?
Parents are at least guaranteed a say, note the County:
"Plans will be available to comment on by any interested party when they go through the Planning application process in the normal way"
Excellent. Want a say in how the school is developed? Raise an objection in the planning process.
bart-on simpson
says...
4:59pm Thu 14 Mar 13
King Joke
says...
5:11pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Christine Hovis
says...
10:54am Fri 15 Mar 13
bart-on simpson wrote:I think that children are coming from the normal place that they are coming from.
Would like to understand the catchment area of Windmill and the reason for the dramatic increase in children of 4/5 years of age?
What appears to be the case is that families who are able to be mobile are moving into Headington because it's nice and its got a couple of good schools. That means that although the catchment remains the same, there are more children in it. The NAO has done a big report on school places that's come out today.
The failure of planning by the local authority is particularly manifest at Windmill, as next door is the former school site that was sold off by the County after the reorganisation.
Andrew:Oxford says...
12:04pm Thu 14 Mar 13
Sounds like a suitable "compensation package" has been negotiated to reflect management of the largest school in Oxfordshire.