Hayward academy (Bolton) plan put on hold...

CONTROVERSIAL plans to open Bolton’s first privately backed school hang in the balance after a teaching went to the High Court in a bid to block the move.

Hayward School in Great Lever was due to close for the final time tomorrow after 53 years.
It was to be replaced by the Essa Academy in September in a move backed by businesses including the Cohen chemist chain, which was set up by the Africa-born Patel brothers, who came to Bolton as youngsters.
But yesterday, Bolton Council put the proposals on hold after the National Union of Teachers lodged papers with the High Court to seek a judicial review over the way the council had carried out the consultation process.
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Lord Adonis
Schools Minister

 His visit was classed as a private visit and we understand that as well as meeting with us, he also met with Labour County Councillors, County Council officers and paid a visit to the schools themselves.

Nina Hill and Mike Stephenson met with him and explained the reasons and extent of  the opposition to the current academy proposal.  He was presented with the petition of 6000 signatures and the outcome at the ballot box in May.  The lack of robust consultation and the railroading approach of the Local Authority was also explained.  He was told about the local area, about the difficulties of getting on and off Walney Island about the popularity of the schools and that thousands of parents would not be fighting to keep them open if they were failing so badly.  Lord Adonis acknowledged that both Thorncliffe and Parkview were viable schools but that improvement and investment could and should be made.

We were encouraged by the dialogue we had with him and with his interest in our reasoning.  He explained that any changes to the current proposal would require further consultation with parents and the communities of Barrow which we would welcome.  We will continue to keep up this pressure so that it is more than just a hope that the government is really listening, especially since the county failed to.

Teaching union ATL, came out to demonstrate against the proposed academy on Friday to coincide with Lord Adonis’ visit.  A number of teachers congregated at the gates of Parkview at 4pm in the hope that the schools minister would catch a glimpse.  Two of the Independent borough councillors and other members of OSANFS attended in support.  Whilst OSANFS have received national backing from the teaching unions, locally many teachers have been afraid of speaking out against their current employers.  As one teacher told us, “currently I am head of department.  If the three schools become one, there can only be one person doing that job – I have a family to support and my livelihood is on the line.”  OSANFS totally supports the teachers that day in day out work hard to provide our children with the best education they can give.  We stand behind our teachers and urge them to join our campaign and keep up the pressure. 

The Great Academy Land Grab

The Expression of Interest for the Barrow academy, signed off by the government on 22 April contains the first hard information about the intentions of the county council with regard to the vast amount of land that it describes as “freed-up” by the academy plan.

The EoI also, for the first time, states that the county council will only pass to the academy part of the Parkview site sufficient for a school of 1200 pupils (p28). The EoI states that the full Parkview site of 62 acres is “far bigger than the size normally required” for a 1200 pupil school, and that the boundary between the academy and the surplus land retained by the county council will be decided during feasibility.

We would judge that the site needed for the academy, even given its sports college specialism, would be generously estimated at no more than half the total, leaving the remaining half to be used for other purposes or sold for development.

To this must be added the extensive Thorncliffe site and lands, both north and south of Thorncliffe Road, The very large and valuable Alfred Barrow site that includes Duke Street and the land on the opposite side of Duke Street, and site of the present George Hastwell school.

How much is all this land worth in total? There is no way of coming to a firm figure because it depends on market conditions, but our estimate is around £100m. This makes the “once in a generation opportunity” of a £30m academy funded by the government, look much less like a good deal for Barrow in exchange for £100m of land protected for educational use by the existence of the present schools. Even in the unlikely event that we are way out in our estimates of the land values, it would still be a very bad deal for Barrow if the assets were worth only £50m.

Were the Parkview governors aware of all the land implications for their own school site, as well as elsewhere in Barrow when they decided last year to support the academy plan?

Read the EOI below.....