PARENTS and teachers can have their say on controversial proposals to transform education in villages around Huddersfield.

Kirklees Council will launch a consultation next month about the plan to allow 11 and 12-year-olds to attend Shelley College.

The school – which currently educates 1,400 pupils aged between 13 and 18 – is part of the Shelley Pyramid, a group of 20 schools around Kirkburton and Denby Dale.

Shelley College became an academy in September 2011, meaning it is no longer under the council’s influence – unlike all the other schools in the pyramid.

If the expansion goes ahead in 2014, the college could gain 360 new pupils at the expense of the area’s two middle schools in Kirkburton and Scissett.

The school will launch its own consultation on the expansion plan next month.

And now Kirklees will hold its own wider survey about the plan.

The council’s assistant director for learning John Edwards has written to 6,000 parents, teachers and governors about the consultation.

He wrote: “Kirklees Council would like to reassure you that no decisions or firm plans have been made about changes to any schools in the area. Shelley College governors will decide in due course whether to proceed with their proposal.

“Kirklees Council is working closely with all the other schools involved – the two middle schools, the 16 first schools and the nursery school – to look at the range of different options for change that may be necessary in this new situation.

“The council’s first priority is to make sure that all local children and young people have the opportunity to attend excellent schools, helping them to achieve their potential.

“Naturally, any debate about possible changes can be unsettling for families and communities.

“If changes are to take place, they must be well planned and carried out over a reasonable period of time to ensure that we can all have confidence in a stable, high-quality system.

“We are therefore proposing to carry out a full non-statutory consultation of all interested parties in the area, starting after the half-term holiday.

“Parents, along with school governors, staff and all other interested people, will be able to view detailed information and attend consultation meetings in their local area so that they can ask questions and tell us what they think.

“Any specific proposals for change would then need to go through further consultation in the new year. Only after that stage could any decisions be made.

“Working together, we can make sure that any changes within the Shelley pyramid are planned thoroughly and carried out effectively.”

The council’s Labour Cabinet will officially back the consultation at its weekly meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall from 4pm next Tuesday.

SHELLEY College has outlined the main reasons driving its controversial plans to expand.

The points have been revealed in a letter sent on House of Commons paper by MP Simon Reevell to 200 constituents who have contacted him with their concerns.

The letter follows proposals to allow 11 and 12-year-olds to attend Shelley College. Many parents fear it will undermine the Shelley Pyramid – a group of 20 local schools – and threaten the future of Kirkburton and Scissett middle schools.

Over the last couple of weeks, the MP has held meetings with the chairmen of governors from the two middle schools and written to all 17 first schools canvassing their opinions.

According to Mr Reevell, he has also spoken at some length with Mr John McNally, headteacher at Shelley College, and asked him to make clear the reasons behind the proposals.

Mr McNally responded that he expected the consultation to focus on six points: Academic standards, focusing particularly on performance in Year 6 exams and the transition from middle school to high school

Parental choice

Teaching provision

Curriculum

Pastoral care

Community facilities

In his letter Mr Reevell said: “My starting point when examining this issue is to say that the quality of education for local children comes above any other consideration.” He continued: “I am aware that there are a number of rumours circulating about the future of first schools should this proposal take effect. I’m pleased to say that my office has spoken with Mr John Edwards, assistant director of learning at Kirklees Council, who has assured me that the council has no intention of changing the current arrangements for first schools.

“Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. I will update you further once I have received the thoughts of the first and middle schools on the points raised.

“In the meantime may I reiterate my belief that everyone’s priority must be the education of local children.”

A HEADTEACHER has issued an impassioned plea for parents to get actively involved in the Shelley College proposal.

Gary Johnson, head of Kirkburton Middle School, is urging people to play a full role in the consultation on the academy's expansion plans by making their views known at every level.

His message to parents is: "This is not a 'done deal'. You CAN make a difference".

Mr Johnson made his appeal in an article for the upcoming issue of the Burton Bulletin, a free newsletter distributed to households in Kirkburton and Highburton.

It follows Shelley College's unilateral announcement at the end of last month that it is considering admitting Year 7 and 8 pupils (11 and 12-year-olds).

The school, which only became an academy last year, is at the top of the highly-rated Shelley Pyramid of 20 schools and currently has 1,400 pupils who arrive at the age of 13 from either Scissett or Kirkburton middle schools.

If its plans go ahead, it could spell the end of the current three-tier education system in the area. The official consultation period is due to begin on November 5, the Monday after autumn half term.

Mr Johnson's article follows meetings involving the headteacher and the chairman of governors from both middle schools.

They will not announce their official position until after Shelley has published details of its consultation document in early November.

However, key points in Mr Johnson's article include:

The excellent reputation of the Shelley Pyramid for academic achievement, behaviour and producing well-rounded, articulate young people

Shelley College is already the largest secondary school in Kirklees and in the top 10% by size nationally. Under the new plans, its pupil numbers would increase by several hundred

The Shelley Pyramid, especially its small village schools, is the 'heartbeat of the community' and the future of every school would be under threat.

In his article Mr Johnson writes: "This whole issue is not about whether one point of transition is better than two. Neither is it a middle school versus the college issue.

"This is about what we fundamentally believe in for our children and the type of education we want them to receive.

"In our pyramid we want the highest standards for each and every one, but we do not want an 'exam factory' at the expense of all else.

"We want what we already have: a pyramid which celebrates each and every child as an individual, which nurtures and supports them through each stage and which achieves the highest of standards for each child.

"Please, please, please respond to the Shelley Academy consultation in November and December.

"The local authority will be hosting a number of public forums to discuss what they might do afterwards if this goes ahead - please make your views known there too. Simon Reevell is also keen to hear your views.

"This is not a 'done deal' you CAN make a difference".

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