Please Mumsnet I need your Help. Rural school closure.

[LauraTW]

Hi Mumsnetters.

Are there any of you out there that has had their rural community affected by the closure of your rural school?

The Local Authority are trying to close my childs school, have made many disputable claims (which we are addressing) and we are obvioulsy fighting it. One of the things we are doing is coming up with a business plan. Part of this business plan we need personal statements of people who have been affected by school closure to put it together with thoughts and feelings from the members of our community. How was your family affected by the school in place?; How was life affected by its closure?; what effect did the closure have on your community?

I have asked for rural people views as i think that rural communities are very very different to suburban ones. How ever, if you live in a town or city and feel you have something to add, please do!!

If you are able to help please follow
www.facebook.com/pages/Onny-...4243493?ref=ts

Or you can find out more about us here:

onnyactiongroup.blogspot.com/2011/02/onny-in-news.html

Thanks in anticipation Mumsnet

Laura

anyone? Surely mumsnetters arnt all city dwellers?

When our rural school was put on the at risk list a couple of years ago we had to write statements and return direct to the LEA.

It depends on how involved your school is with the community, does it hold regular events for the community not just the children being taught there - ie evening classes, community dinners etc.

Thanks for your reply.

These personal statements are different to the ones being sent in by community members to the LEA. These are for our own use in a business plan we are putting forward to the council about how we are moving forward as a school including the impact of rural schools on their communities. So we are just looking a bit further away than our own community.

As for community invlovement...there is lots that goes on in the school, outside of the school around the community. It would be devestating for where i live.

Just looking for a bit (alot) of help really! :)

I don't have direct experience of this but two local schools in villages have been under threat in the past few years. Both are still open and both are thriving so community action can work.

One became so under-subscibed that a teacher was made redundant leaving just one. Then the numbers improved, largely through dissatisfaction with the next nearest school.

Have you done a survey of the parents of children under school age?

Thanks Unitarian. We are currently surveying the catchment area :) We have a small school but a big community when we all pull together! We are having a community meeting in the next week.

Publicity is a bit of a cleft stick.

One of the schools I mentioned mounted a big campaign - lots of local press coverage, roadside SOS signs etc. - and this put off some potential parents who then decided not to send their children to a school which was about to close.

The other school was very quiet about it. I thought it had closed and then discovered it had somehow trebled its numbers.

Here the villages are not very far apart so there is a fair bit of swapping of pupils/poaching. Look at the features parents are looking for in a primary school and promote these.

If any of you are in shropshire...? Please can you sign our petition and share with your friends. This is so important to us i hope you can help.

petitions.shropshire.gov.uk/petitions.ti/keeping_onny_open

Press coverage we have also found to be a sticky issue. But since mounting this campaign numbers for next year are up :) We have tried to focus on really positive things about the school while highlighting the fight to keep it open. There is so much publicity surrounding the closures anyway...you can tfail to notice we are one of them.