Schools face merger (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Schools face merger

12:44pm Tuesday 13th June 2006 in Wiltshire By Jill Crooks

SIX village schools in Kennet and North Wiltshire could be federated with other schools.

After a six month consultation with 33 small schools Wiltshire County Council has revealed its proposals.

It urged schools with less than 70 pupils to consider federating with other schools.

Federated schools mean the school sites remain but are run by one headteacher and a single governing body.

Only four schools are proposed for federation or executive headship at this stage to be in place or under consultation by September 2007.

The schools proposed include Avebury Primary School which has 41 pupils, to be federated with Kennet Valley and Preshute. Kennet Valley was itself the result of a federation between the former Lockeridge and East Kennet schools.

Executive headship means a single head is in charge but the schools remain separate with individual governing bodies.

A proposal to federate Potterne Primary School with Worton and Marston Primary School is well under way. A final decision by the county council is due next month with it coming into effect in September.

The county council proposes that the future of another ten small schools be decided on by September 2008. These include Shalbourne (23 pupils), Grafton (27 pupils) and Easton Royal (28 pupils) schools to be considered together; Chirton (27 pupils) near Devizes and Broad Town (61 pupils) near Wootton Bassett.

Chirton's governors told the county council that it has made overtures about federation with other schools with no response and is looking to market itself to increase pupil numbers saying they could increase to 36 by 2009.

The remaining schools have escaped the threat of federation for the foreseeable future, even though some have less than 70 pupils.

These schools include Corsham Lypiatt (which serves military families), Heddington near Calne, Tilshead, Walter Powell at Great Somerford, Lacock, Luckington, St Katherines at Savernake, Oare and Ogbourne St George.

The county council proposed federation as a way of saving small village schools with falling pupil numbers and difficulties in recruiting headteachers.

The costs to run a school with 35 pupils or less is almost double that of a school with 200 or more pupils.

Bob Wolfson, director of the county's children and education department, says in a report to the council's Cabinet: "At its simplest Wiltshire has a relatively small pot' to distribute to all schools but is choosing to distribute it unevenly with disproportionately large dollops' to some very small schools."

The Cabinet meets on Tuesday (June 20) at County Hall, Trowbridge, at 10.30am and is open to the public.