Click on the link below to take you to the Cumbria County Council Website, where, if the County Council have not moved the link you will find the Primary Schools Strategy.

If however it does not work then please go to www.cumbriacc.gov.uk   
then to Childrens Services
then to Schools Organisation
then on the right hand side there is a link to the Primary Strategy


 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
BREAKING NEWS..

CUMBRIA PRIMARY SCHOOLS REORGANISATION:
First our Secondary Schools... Now our Primary Schools...
We would like to bring to your attention a document entitled A Strategy for Cumbria's Primary Schools.  It can be accessed online at
http://www.cumbriacc.gov.uk/childrensservices/school-organisation/Primary_Strategy.asp

Alternatively click here to download
As there is no version control on this its hard to tell how and when the County Council update it.!?
 

There are three really important things to note from the outset, although we urge you to read the whole document to obtain a full overview.
 
Firstly the council have included a questionnaire at the very beginning of the document for our PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN to complete.  Our opinion is that it is outrageous to ask 5-11 year old children questions about educational reorganisation. See this here
 
Second, part 3.3 specifies the Councils preferences for a large urban area (which is how Barrow would be classified).  This clearly states the council are aiming to dispose of separate infant and junior schools.  It also states it will prefer schools to have 2 classes in every school year.  Optimum primary class sizes are on average 30 pupils per class.  This plan would see primary schools with around 540 pupils.  For this to happen it could mean a substantial number of existing primary schools closing, possibly via mergers with neighbouring schools.  To put this into context it means primary schools would be fewer in number, removed from communities and  bigger in size than Alfred Barrow secondary school and they will be at least twice the size of most if not all of our current primary schools.
 
Third, the council also refers to its preference for primary and secondary education to be delivered on the same site. So now the concept of a "Learning Village" on the Parkview site is clearly taking shape.  All through education of an 1700 pupil Academy and how many 540 pupil Primary Schools?
 
Please take the time to access and read this document and to encourage your friends that will be equally concerned by the vision of the council for our children to do the same. Thank you for supporting our campaign against school closures.
 

Following the discovery of the Primary Schools Strategy on the Cumbria County Website, a parent wrote to Moira Swan, who is the Corporate Director of Children's Services, formally expressing their concern and disgust at the possibility of primary school children being asked to complete the questionnaire detailed below...

Click here to open and read the letter and her reply

We will lead you to draw your own conclusions ...but one thing is sure that without the academy plans going ahead the County Council would find it very difficult to implement its Primary School Strategy, so its all the more important that everyone still fights against the Academy.