Whitby has been “profoundly let down” and education on the Yorkshire coast forgotten about, the town’s local MP has said in a slamming statement.
At a public meeting – held last night (Tuesday) by parents and education campaigners – Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby said she would help parents to get a better education for children in the town.
The meeting was called after plans for Whitby School to become an academy and join the Wonder Learning Partnership fell through.
No reasons for the failure of the deal have been given to parents or the press, despite repeated requests. Whitby School’s governing body also declined to attend last night’s event, held at the Rifle Club, to communicate with parents.
Ms Hume has requested a meeting with the Department of Education (DfE) – due to be held in the next couple of weeks – where she will quiz it on the academy decision making process.
She told the meeting: “I have heard a lot of terrible stories about education in Whitby since I have been the MP. My inbox is full of issues.
“I am upset about what I have heard, there is definitely a lack of accountability and leadership. I will ask the DfE, I will hold North Yorkshire Council to account and I have had several meetings with the minister of schools.
“The coast has been forgotten by the council for many years. Whitby has been profoundly let down. The community is traumatised by the closure of the school and the failure to deliver a good quality education.”
The MP went on to suggest handling of education matters was set to change.
She said: “The government will be taking a much more forensic interest in North Yorkshire Council. If they don’t perform across the county, not just the leafy bits, but here on the coast they will have the responsibility removed for delivering education. It is going to be different moving forward.”
It was agreed at the meeting, chaired by former Eskdale School headteacher, David Bradley that a raft of questions and points for further information would be sent to the board of governors and education chiefs at North Yorkshire Council (NYC).
They include questions over why the academy take over was not progressed or the decision not appealed, what happens to work done by WLP so far, why there are gaps in publication of governor meeting minutes, what are the processes and criteria for selecting the next headteacher, what are local authority strategies for education in Whitby over the next months and when will they be made public.
Meeting organiser and parent Terri-Anne Jones, said: “We have 800 children, 1,000 with year six, going into the six week holidays in a black hole.
“We had this last year, my daughter went into year eight and for the whole of the summer didn’t know who her form tutor was or which classroom to walk into on the first day.
“Our children and their education is a ball being passed around with everybody saying ‘it’s not mine’.”
Ms Jones also expressed concern that if numbers on the school register continue to fall, there could be another school closure imminent.
She added: “We are in a merry-go-round. Two years ago we were told in a meeting, Eskdale was closed because there were 40 per cent surplus places which was bad for education and wasting money.
“Two years on, we are going through head teachers at a rate of knots and there is a 36 per cent capacity deficit, which is only four per cent off being where we were two years ago.
“Are we, in another couple of years down the line, going to be in a meeting where they try and shut another site because that’s where we are heading?”
There are around 80 pupils in the sixth form. The meeting heard many are opting to attend colleges in Scarborough and Middlesbrough instead as subjects they want to study, such as languages, sociology and media are being withdrawn.
Issues raised at the meeting about secondary provision also covered special needs requirement not being met, concerns whether suspensions and exclusions were legal, a year seven pupil wetting themselves after asking three times to go to the toilet and being told no, sarcastic comments to students with autism, and cases of pupils having three different form tutors in the space of a week.
A letter from the governing body, declining the invite to attend last night’s meeting, said it couldn’t get enough members there to make a quorate due to work commitments.
It went on to say: “We fully appreciate the call for communication following the recent decisions which have affected the school substantially. It must be reiterated that these events were not within the control of the school or governors.
“We do think that it is important to engage with the community at an appropriate venue and time that is facilitated by the school and governing body; this will need to accurately represent the wider Whitby School community voice. We are also engaging with the Local Authority about the future direction for the school and are at the very early stage of this process as the DfE decision has been very recent.
“We will navigate a path through this situation and develop a plan which will ensure a future for secondary education in Whitby. We will build on the work that has been carried out during these last two years whilst also ensuring that we protect our staff, students (especially those about to take exams) and our volunteer governors who give up significant personal time to support the school.”
Governors also asked if representatives from the meeting would offer constructive feedback after the event to inform a wider listening exercise.
Parent governor, Ian Parkin, did attend and said he wouldn’t be doing his job if he hadn’t turned up.
Mr Parkin said: “I did not join the governing body to sit in a corner and not stand up for the kids. They need and deserve an education that is fit for purpose. Is that happening right now, I don’t think so.
“Whatever happens from September, it is important the school has a long term vision because at the moment it is day by day and that is not working.”
