Council cabinet urged to reverse flawed decision on school
On the face of it, parents and the Council were never going to agree over the issue of closing Wisewood Secondary School because they do not have the same priorities.
The Council wants to save money, while parents are motivated by their children's education and happiness. However, one might have hoped that the Council would have listened to the views of parents and others in the Wisewood community, and would then have recognised that there are alternative plans, where cost savings may be less, but where the well-being of the community and its children are safeguarded.
For example, the rebuild on the Myers Grove site could provide a smaller school, alongside a 14-19 learning centre, to the benefit of the Myers Grove area and beyond. The publication of the Council's report just days after the end of the consultation period confirms that the consultation process was a sham. Points raised by respondents have been brushed aside in the hasty rush to reach the foregone conclusion.
The Council hides behind the argument that fewer school places will be needed in the NW of the city. It timidly acknowledges that the reduction in numbers is not in the Wisewood catchment, but tries to claim that children will be drawn away from Wisewood to "popular" schools with falling numbers, whilst at the same time claiming that it "cannot be conclusively evidenced" that more children from schools "in difficulties" will take up places made available at Wisewood.
Wisewood is a fully subscribed, popular, and successful school. It is the most walked-to school in Sheffield, and what this means in practice is that children have local friendships, and are known to and are supported by the community in which they live. The positive impact on the children's welfare and on the community as a whole is immeasurable. Let's hope that the deeply flawed decision to close Wisewood will be rejected by Cabinet.
Jenny Hands Marlcliffe Road
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
