FURNESS Academy's principal says building a one-site school will have less impact on students during the building stage and better facilities in the long run.
Barrow's academy is currently run on two sites but the preferred option among school chiefs is to develop a new building solely at South Site, in West Avenue.
The site issue is being consulted on as restrictions have emerged at North Site, in Thorncliffe Road.
Academy principal Douglas Blackledge said that in order for the two-campus model to be developed North Site students would have to move into temporary accommodation - something the senior leaders do not want to happen.
Mr Blackledge said there is a lack of space for temporary accommodation and a way to progress two sites could be to relocate North Site students into the current South Site buildings in 2012 when the South Site students would be moving into their new building.
This could mean that North Site's new school is not ready until 2014.
Mr Blackledge said: "The main restriction on the North Site is the size of the footprint that is available to build on. It is severely limited.
"I can't say why the second consultation went the way it did, but I do believe there was a feeling that land on the north of Thorncliffe Road [near Hoops] would be built on and that this might be a suitable location for an academy development. However it can't be built on because it is green wedge land and it is protected.
"The area in and around the back of the north side is a complex mixture of land owned partly by Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council but sections of it are green wedge space. We cannot have a development to the north side of Thorncliffe Road, without buildings being demolished first and built upon where the current buildings are.
"Building on the south side of the road would be on top of what is currently the tennis courts and the area around it, plus a demolition and rebuild programme.
"Whichever side of the road we build on there has to be this movement of students into temporary accommodation."
Mr Blackledge said the closeness of the builders' compound and health and safety matters mean the academy has been unable to get approval from the county council's planning department to develop the North Site without relocating the students.
The academy cannot get a "letter of comfort," or support, from the department without moving the students.
Mr Blackledge said: "One possible solution suggested is that we could wait until the new build on South Site is ready in 2012 and move all the North Site students into the current South Site buildings and then demolish and rebuild North Site, which would mean North Site probably would not be ready until 2014.
"We do not think that is what the community is expecting and we don't think it would be fair to progress on that basis without that issue being understood and accepted by the wider community.
"If a letter of comfort was secured, and all the health and safety considerations were overcome, it is our belief that the demolition and rebuild process being so close to the student's current learning would be far from ideal for them. Whereas on South Site the construction firm, whether for one site or two, can go on without any real impact."
North Site also has a phone mast on its tower block building which the county council will have to overcome.
Mr Blackledge said the community need to know North Site and South Site students would "not have equal experiences" during the development of two sites.
The principal said the academy team don't know of any restriction on South Site.
Mr Blackledge has said the favoured location for the new building at South Site, whether it is the sole site or not, is in the bottom right hand side of the playing field, opposite Barrow Park, with a new entrance in Park Drive. It has not yet submitted a plan.
Mr Blackledge said it is the preferred location because of access and is seen as the "easiest and safest for pedestrian and traffic management outcomes".
He said: "We believe congestion around the South Site will be improved by the new academy, regardless of it being one site or two. It will remove the traffic flow from West Avenue."
Mr Blackledge said it is down to the county council what happens to the current South Site buildings. He said all the ownership of the land is retained by the county council.
The academy's consultation document says there will be more opportunity to develop specialist facilities for areas like technology, performing arts and sport.
Mr Blackledge said: "Although the funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families would be entirely in line with agreed funding levels there are some issues around economies of scale, which we believe would allow us to have even better recourses in a one-site solution."
He said a 1,200 pupil school can also have a broader and more flexible curriculum, and keep a community feel.
Mr Blackledge said: "With regard to the issues of children being known, you can create small communities within a school so one community is the year group, the house they are in and learning group they are in. They have a whole series of families within the larger setting."
Mr Blackledge said "The community has a critical influence because this is a school at the heart of its community.
"We want to ensure that the community understands all of the issues both positive and negative around the one and two sites.
"We would obviously want to carry forward the solution which met with and had the support in the community.
"Our belief is that the right solution is the one-site solution."
Mr Blackledge said the academy's senior leadership team, governors and the teaching and support staff unions support this view.
The principal said one site would provide:
l better and more spacious locations;
l equalities of opportunity for all academy students;
l even better resources;
l operational effectiveness and efficiency; and
l a sense of single identity and ethos.
Mr Blackledge said by 2012 there would be 1,350 students and 1,200 students by 2014.
The principal said there is an ongoing downsizing staff programme.
He said: "There will be less staff and the staff know that because the pupil numbers will be 1,200 rather than 1,800. In a single-site solution for 2012 there will be slightly fewer posts and this will affect both teaching and non-teaching staff. But the difference is a small number and we hope to get to the correct number through a natural process by 2014.
"There is a workforce reduction programme already in place.
"The final staff figure is only minimally effected with the one site/two site issue because it is most fundamentally affected by the reduction in student numbers."
The academy has to send outline plans to the government by the end of April.
The deadline for public feedback is March 5. Feedback forms can be sent to the academy's North or South Site receptions or to primary schools.
A report of the consultation will be sent to the government.
Mr Blackledge said: "If, at that point, it is felt appropriate to seek a change to a single-site option, and ministers approve, then requests will be made to Cumbria County Council. If eventually the outcome is an academy on two sites we will deliver high quality educational experiences for students on both sites, but we believe we can do it even more effectively on one."
l There will be two public meetings for parents of Year Nine and Year 10 students, local residents and the wider community.
The first is tomorrow Wednesday at North Site and the second is on Thursday at South Site. Both meetings start at 6.30pm.
Who is Mr Blackledge trying to kid with his apparent 'discovery' that the Thorncliffe site hasn't a 'big enough footprint?
Nothing, not one thing, has changed since Mr Blackledge and the 'senior leaders', presumably these are the people leaving the sinking ship as fast as they possibly can, decided on a two site option.
Sorry, one thing has changed, a vociferous opposition has been silenced so the two site charade worked!
You have to accept that nothing will stop the creation of a one site 1200 place school on Parkviews fields. The pupils tried, a few teachers, a few governors and at least one ex-head tried, the parents tried and OSANFS have been trying for years to stop it from happening and all have been ignored.
Ms Swann is leaving, Mr Kelly is leaving, Dr Simco has left, Mr John Hutton is leaving, Mr Minitt is still here as is Mrs Attwood and of course Mr Blackledge. These latter three are the people who will now drive the plan, which does include a learning village built on the rest of the site, forward.
People get confused with the term consultation. What it means is that Furness Academy Limited, the company, is consulting with the people affected, the parents and residents, about it's plan for a single site school on Parkviews fields. It is in effect laying out the very few reasons why a single site is better and the many, many reasons why a two site school is bad. If you read the documentation you can clearly see this is the game in play and having heard Mr Blackledge speak it is even more clear this is the game he is playing. There was only ever a single site option on the table. Think back. Did anyone see Ed Ball present Mrs Attwood, Mr Kelly, Mr Simco with an oversized cardboard cheque with £45,000,000 written on it?
Never happened did it?
It's all just one big hoax that was put out to pour oil on troubled waters at the bequest of John Hutton who decided he needed to intervene and be see to be doing something.
But that is all history. History cannot be changed no matter how hard we try so what of the future?
Well there is going to be a 1200 place school, unless the County Council's estimates are way off scale (they are but they don't want anyone to know just yet, the timing isn't right!), this school will be built to modern standards, think airport lounge or shopping mall that sort of modern standards. The school will be built on Park Drive between the road and the existing table tennis centre on what are currently rugby and football fields. The builders will be Kier Construction who will be building all the other Cumbrian Academies. Cumbria County Council is the prime contractor. Cumbria County Council will own the finished building and any green areas associated with the new school and will lease them to Furness Academy Limited for not less than 125 years.
Barrow will lose yet another perfectly usable set of school buildings along with all the associated infrastructure, playing fields, employment opportunities, supplier opportunities, not to mention highly capable staff.
Road traffic on Park drive will increase to the point whereby the Netto/Park Leisure centre junction will have to be traffic lighted to cope.
Most of Park drive will become double yellow lined and have further 'traffic calming measures' applied.
There will be no access from Lesh Lane so all pupils will have to enter and exit from the new Park Drive entrance thus increasing the pedestrian traffic.
Despite the County Council making huge cost savings from closing these three schools and having no financial input into the running of their replacement we council taxpayers will not see a single penny come off our council tax bill.
The only way I can see for people to succeed in influencing this in any way is to withdraw their children from the school until such time as the company and the council are forced to work with the community, parents and children. However that is a step few in Barrow have the stomach for so one site school is inevitable.
James
Comments are now on which is good but as usual the Mail are just recycling comments from all the other Academy articles. They are so lazy.
Yesterday I stated something on the evening mail site about the Academy, funny how it hasn't been published. All I said was "the Academy was a joke!" That my child had told me how students are swearing at staff, being disruptive. Staff are not happy and so many are looking for other jobs. In my comment I also said it was time for Mr Blackledge to have the b***s to tell the truth, I can't actually see that happening. Some days my child comes home telling me how they have done very little work due to the disruptive children, constant bad behaviour and the different supply staff. Maybe the staff are not being supported enough by senior leaders and brushing everything negative under the so called carpet. Our children are dropping grades due to the amount of supply staff. How can mr Blackledge sleep at night! This is OUR children's education he is messing with and the people of Barrow should be doing more to stop him and the council. Come on Barrow! do your children proud and stop this catastrophe.
My advice is try again, leave out any go at one particular individual or any profanities. Just state exactly what is going on in class. At least this important message may get through.
Check that you have ticked the box and filled in your hometown.
Please please try again.
I learnt today that an ex-Parkview front desk worker managed just three weeks under the new regime before they jacked it all in.
They said the management were making it all up as they went along and everything we are seeing on here would suggest that whatever Mr Blackledge is saying it isn't the whole truth.
I have put a few comments on the eveing mails website and they also has not been printed.
I have come across a few incidents at the academy over the past week with disruptive children and not being able to control them, I have seen them just walk out of school with teachers following them not being able to do anything. I have major concerns about the amount of children walking around the streets I overheard a parent saying that the amount of children roaming around Beach Street, Ceder Road area. The kids are jumping over walls from the cemetry. THESE CHILDREN SHOULD BE IN SCHOOL -- WHY ARE THEY NOT.
Do parents know where there children are, as they ARE NOT IN SCHOOL. I do not like to do this, but I have contacted Ofsted as one of our CHILDREN are going to get hurt, when they should be in the care of Furness Academy??? What a joke.
Rather more worrying is the Academy websites focus on the success of Btec studies which as my son kindly pointed out are for the naughty kids!
The comments above from worried parents are absolutely spot on. Behaviour-wise North Site is a joke.I've heard that South Site is going that way too. The so called Senior Leadership Team - also a total joke - but they are getting a lot of money for not doing their jobs.The sooner ofsted pay a visit to the Academy, the better. Preferably just turn up out of the blue. But of course you can't have that. There must be a notice period,so that the worst kids are not on site and the rest pleaded with to behave for a few days.
Bottom line is the childrens education at F.A. is going to suffer and continue to suffer, until there is a reality check - before its to late.
Doug made some very poor appointments without taking references. Consequently some senior staff do not have the skills or experience to do the job. This, compounded by the best teachers leaving to get jobs and doug himself never in school is ruining the education of hundreds of kids. Get ofsted in.
I warned parents months ago that the academy was taking kids on with the most serious behavioral problems that would get worse in a bigger school.
If the funding agreement was signed containing details of a two site academy, would it not now be illegal to use it to fund just one site?
But I forget, no one gets to see the actual funding agreement do they.
F. A rides roughshod over legalities. No references for interviews or feedback, tupe guarantees not honoured, timescales not adhered to, lack of governance etc. There is no accountability or transparency and it is scary.
To worried parent, allegedly the academy has had nearly 750 fixed term exclusions since sept. I emphasise allegedly. When the academy excludes, parents often dont come to pick them up so the kids are free to roam.
WHERE IS EDUCATION WELFARE
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OUR CHILDREN
YOU ARE AS BAD AS THE FA -- DOING NOTHING
to pauline, gmtrev and parent - it is true the exclusion rate if unbelievable at both sites. it takes up the whole day of the senior team - they can't be getting much planning, teaching or anything else done. there won't be any pupils left if ofsted come in.
The ship is sinking fast and it isn't a nice place to be...
If it's really that bad parents can request an OFSTED inspection - didn't they do that in Carlisle last year ?
Good to see Capello sack John Terry from the England captaincy so promptly after his affair became public. As a result of Trinity Academy's feeble response to a similar situation Barrow got Doug on a convenient 'free transfer'. Perhaps similar to Capello sending John Terry to manage Brazil ?
Tony don't you mean to captain Brazil? Captain of England goes to captain Brazil ? That Trinity Academy it must be an aweful place. I agree with the guy who said they should send in the undercover reporter. Those kids must be having a terrible time - where is OfSTED when you need them!
Ofsted has a critera to follow. It is not in the position just to visit schools on a few parents complaints, procedures have to be followed.
Also the safeguarding of childen only applies if a teacher HITs a pupil, it has nothng to do with children roaming the streets in school time.
If you feel strongly that the academy is failing, contact ofsted and put your views overs, They will have to listen eventualy, Rose academy is in Special Measures - Furness Academy is in special measure WE JUST HAVE NOT BEEN TOLD `OFFICALY`
THE DAILY MAIL WOULD LOVE THIS STORY ESPECIALY WITH AN ELECTION SOON
To Wes
It was mentioned that you know a little about Ofsted and their procedured policy, Would you be able to let us know how much power parents have to demand an Ofstead inspection please.
Parent - You are wrong regarding safeguarding, safeguarding runs much further and deeper than that, it includes the whole welfare, wellbeing and safety of the child and covers many areas.
It looks like Ofsted have already been in to that Trinity Academy !
Shocking !!
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_reports/download/(id)/91102/(as)/135007_317906.pdf
I went to the consulation last night a south site. For how many people respond on this website, the turnout was a little disappointing.
The footprint of both sites, well discussed, but it was obvious that the One site plan is being well pushed. When you do not want something, it is so easy to scare people into not accepting it.
With the knocking down of the whole site at thorncliff and the poor education all the children will receive, as they will all have to be housed at the south site, the disruption to the surrounding resident as a building site and all its vehicle will not be pleasent.
It was dicussed that many years ago many barrow school went from two site to one,, the old grammer school and it risedale site, walney at sandy gap and ocean road.
But these where ONE SCHOOL going onto ONE SITE, NOT THREE SCHOOL into ONE SITE there is a big difference.
Doug refered to Trinity and how change went on there. There is a big different between Doncaster and Barrow.
I would suggest that a Smaller School be built as Thorncliff to house the `say` years 7 and 8, and south site for the rest. This would allow teachers to concentrate on all the different children needs and educational plans. keep teachers and non teaching staff in jobs.
When merging THREE schools, children are unable to get away from purhaps other children they do not like, bullying is more of an issue. Childrens needs can not be meet on the basis as they were when we had the three schools.
Every Child Matters, this is not about the money being spent on building two or one site, whether we get TWO DANCE STUDIO OR TWO MUSIC RECORDING ROOMS. It is about makeing sure children are happy within their school environment from 8.30 in the morning until after 3 in the afternoon.
As an adult we try and get another job, if we do not like it, or feel intiminated by someone. The choice that has been taken away from parents means that if our child does like like school, a teacher or being bullied by a pupil or a parent near to where they live, WE CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT IT.
Also Doug mentioned that roughly 240 pupil had applied to the academy for this Sep, a substancial drop on previous intakes because of low birth rates and 66% of parents want the south site giving a clear indication that one site is more preferrabe; How many children have applied to the surrounding schools and will these be oversubscribed
I do feel that CCC statistics are only accurate to get us to accept the ONE SITE, then 5 to 7 years down the line there are problems ahead.
If ever there was a 'done deal' the single site Academy is it.
Mr Blackledge argued passionately for a single site and could only come up with problems, issues and objections to the already funded, allegedly, twin site plan that allegedly Edward Balls approved last July.
There were very few parents there, a sprinkling of councillors, a couple of OSANFS people, the reporter and photographer, obviously and so once again the great apathetic majority in Barrow roll over and accept whatever they are being told in the Evening Mail by the self styled 'community leaders' and 'committed educationlists' as fact.
None of the spurious 'reasons' Mr Blackledge spoke about were unknown last July or back in 2007 when the Academy plan went public and Mr Blackledge was unknown outside of Thorne but... the people of Barrow get what they deserve.
If they cannot drag themselves away from whatever it is they deem to be important to for an hour or two to take these people to task then they cannot moan when these same people make a mess of things as they invariably do.
A sad but realistic state of affairs in 21st Century heads in the sand Barrow-in-Furness.
James
Of course the south site has more students preffering it. The catchment area for south site is twice that of North site. I also believe that only 200 pupils have put the academy down as their first choice. This speaks volumes of the uphill task the academy faces in communicating with parents as the academy should have been massively oversubscribed. I can only hope that OFSTED come in soon and put the school on the straight and narrow before. all the 'new' money we were promised goes on consultants and supply teachers.
I'm also led to believe there were 140 applicants for parent govenor at the Academy. Surely this can't be true when all schools struggle to attract governors and only a handful of parents were interested enough to attend consultation meetings.
I too was shocked at the lack of attendance at both meetings. But where were the rest of the leadership team to support uncle fester? Where were the county council reps! Academy numbers will be below the magic number as the parents who really care about their kids education find an alternative school. Even walney with all its problems is a better bet.
Leadership team members from previous schools attended every evening event whether they had to or not as a measure of support and care for their school. Their non attendance last nite speaks volumes about what they think of the principal and their new academy.
Absolutely, they are paid enough to get their backsides to an event about the future of their school. Several parents did mention it after the event. They should have been there. So should council reps.
You miss the point Mike.
Furness Academy Limited is a private company and can do as it's director's see fit. Two of those directors and the CEO were at North site meeting along with the most senior managers Gill & Wilson.
However there were very few staff members or parents present which bodes well for the directors and the CEO railroading the single site through. The meetings were simply a box that had to be ticked before proceeding. The Mail mentioned debate but what I heard was a CEO, with his purple & white ID badge, telling me that the one site school is real and always has been.
There is no clear boundaries which would reveal who owns and who is responsible for what. This appears to be deliberate misdirection.
From what I can see the county council will still own all the land and buildings upon them but will hand the new build over to the private Academy company in the form of a 125 year lease and be free to do whatever they see fit with the entire Thorncliffe site and the bulk of the Parkview site.
It's all very strange and the only logical conclusion is there really is some grand plan or grand deception being played out here in Barrow.
Either the parent's have been brainwashed into believing that the school is always right or they simply don't care. Either way their kids will be the losers.
Unfortunately I couldn't make the public meetings due to prior committments (governor meetings at other schools, ones that are open, honest and accountable). I did however attend the Newbarns meeting on Monday, iirc there may have been around 18 people, with no more than 7/8 attending as parents. This obviously shows that most primary parents couldn't give a sh*t about their little angels education, had there been a play or some such event, you can bet your bottom dollar that clicky Newbarns parents would have been out in force trying to outdo one another in the, who's got the best clothes competition.
Makes me sick to the stomach.
Also it may be a private company but thankfully can still be held to account by ofsted.
They'll soon start caring when their children don't get into Dowdales/St Bernards.
Of course it'll then be too little too late.
WAKE UP Do people realise that a Two Site plan has been approved by the government.
It is the FA who are contesting it. They will get there One site if the voting forms are not sent in, as the decision will be made on the 30 March to overide the Two site at the Cumbria County Council Cabinet Meeting.(That says it all but..)
Jack Richardson, Ann Burns are for One Site
WE CAN DO NOTHING AFTER THEN WAKE UP
How interesting that Doug said about 240 have applied for FA this September at the Parkview meeting. At the consultation I attended he said 125 - about 66% had actually specified they wanted South site (obviously to support his one site theory which was contradicted by the fact that - and he also said this - Thorncliffe has less feeder schools) and the other 80 or so didnt express a preference. He immediately saw my face when I quickly added that up to just over 200 and realised the faux pas he had just made and moved swiftly on. So if the academy is so "world class" why are the number of first choices way below the intake? I understand that Dowdales and St Bernards 1st choices are off the scale and Ulverston have had 189 first choices. World Class? My a***. Anyone got a house for sale somewhere between Dalton and Ulverston?
wouldnt it be very very interesting if the majority of forms submitted said we wanted a two site academy - in COMPLETE CONTRAST to the Evening Mail poll and the hopes and desires of the powers that be....
In getting a one site academy, doug can blame low exam results on the continuing transition, deflecting attention from his poor leadership for a while longer. This whole debate is a smoke-screen and few can see it.
Have heard official attendance and punctuality statistics are much worse than was expected. However doug doesnt have to publish these or the fact it has excluded more 'learners' (doug likes this term) than any other school in cumbria. Moira is personally intervening on the impact this is having on newbridge house as two barrow schools have complained that since doug started, he has taken all the pru places.