Gateshead Council wants to:
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Maintain and improve the high standards achieved by Gateshead primary schools so that local children receive the highest standard of education they deserve;
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Make sure that we provide and maintain good quality school buildings, and make the most efficient use of the funding provided to run our schools.
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See how we can make better use of school buildings for the benefit of the whole community.
An extensive consultation with schools and parents in the borough took place to give everyone affected the opportunity to contribute their ideas and have their say on this important issue.
The consultation ended on Friday 23rd December 2005 although further consultations are planned for February and March.
Update - June 2006
The Committee met on 16 June to scrutinise the decision made by Cabinet last month to close three primary schools in Gateshead. The Committee decided to take no further action after full consideration of the reasons for the original decision and I welcome the contributions made by all members present to ensure that decision making on this extremely important issue has been properly conducted.
Results of Consultation
Below is the Cabinet Report from Tuesday January 24th 2006. The proposal is based on:
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views expressed during consultation;
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the need to limit disruption to children and staff as far as possible;
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trends in parental preference;
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current and projected pupil numbers;
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the need to remove 2000 empty school places;
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the age and condition of school buildings;
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local geography and travel to school distances;
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the need to continue replacing out-dated school buildings.
The report outlines proposals to:
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close three schools, which will help secure the future of Gateshead's primaries and create the least possible disruption whilst still offering parental choice and no closure will happen before September 2007;
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downsize 12 schools with plans to look for alternative uses for excess and temporary accommodation on school sites.
In the longer term, the proposal also suggests two mergers of four schools and a continuing policy of combining infant and junior schools. However, no amalgamation will happen before September 2007 and further consultations will take place before these plans progress.
The proposal retains around ten percent spare capacity in primary schools to reflect any possible changes in the population.