Have your say on the future of Cragg Vale School
Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Calderdale Council is asking for the people's views about the future of the Cragg Vale Junior and Infant School.
Small intake
The small village school currently occupies a Victorian building on the main road through Cragg Vale and has a very small intake of pupils each year. Fifty nine pupils currently attend the school.
"Unsustainable"
Calderdale are saying that the building is in a poor condition and the ongoing maintenance and running costs are unsustainable for a small school, at a time when school maintenance funding has been reduced. Access to the school is difficult, either via steep steps from the roadside or from a narrow access track used for deliveries at the back of the building.
Good Ofsted
Despite these building problems the school provides a good education, with the most recent Ofsted inspection rating it as 'good' and the latest Key Stage 2 figures showing that the vast majority of the school achieve well in reading, writing and maths.
Options
To ensure that this high standard of education can continue, the Council is now asking for people's views on a range of possible options for the future of Cragg Vale, to best overcome the problems with the building. The options put forward are:
- Merge Cragg Vale with Scout Road Academy (this option is subject to the agreement of Scout Road Academy) or Calder High School.
- Relocate Cragg Vale to a stand-alone provision on the Calder High School site.
- Close Cragg Vale and ask parents for their preference at alternative schools.
Further details on each option, FAQs and the consultation forms can be found here.
Completed forms can be emailed or posted to Commissioning Officer - Access and School Planning, Ground floor, Northgate House, Halifax, HX1 1UN.
Pupils and parents campaigning outside the school last year
People can also have their say or drop off completed forms at one of the consultation meetings, starting on Tuesday 27 September at Cragg Vale School. For a full list of dates and times, visit this web page.
Calderdale Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People's Services, Cllr Megan Swift said, "We want all our children to have the best education possible and that means providing them with suitable facilities. While the standard of education at Cragg Vale is good, unfortunately this school is no longer fit for purpose, it was built over 100 years ago and it's not possible to adapt it for modern day use without significant costs. Currently there's no access for children with disabilities and the school doesn't have a playing field for outdoor sports and recreation. These funds could be better spent on teachers, teaching resources and materials.
"We'd like parents/carers, teachers, governors and other interested parties to tell us what they think about the options we've put forward for the future of the school.
"Nothing has been decided yet, but the findings from this consultation will be presented at Cabinet in October to help us decide which, if any, of the options we should progress."
Previously, on the HebWeb