PARENTS have been told their children’s education won’t be harmed if a school merger is delayed.
Kirklees councillors were deciding today whether to postpone the amalgamation of Stile Common Infant and Nursery School at Newsome with Stile Common Junior School.
The new school was due to open this September.
But problems with planning permission mean that Kirklees’s Cabinet has been asked to put the opening date back a year.
A planning application for the new school has now been submitted to council planners and will be discussed by the Huddersfield planning committee.
Clr Jim Dodds, Cabinet member for children’s services, assured parents that their children’s education would not be affected by the delay.
He said: “The two schools will continue to function as they are. There will be no disruption for kids, parents or staff.”
In 2006 the Cabinet decided to amalgamate the two schools by September this year.
But the start date looks set to be put back until next year because of a delay in getting planning permission for the new building.
Clr Dodds added: “The administration of joining the two schools is not quite right, so we’ve got to delay the merger until we’ve got that right.”
Last year Kirklees officials recommended building a two-storey school at the rear of the existing junior school, costing £6.64m.
But the Cabinet decided to spend £7.42m on a single-level building instead.
It will be built on the junior school’s playing fields off Headfield Road and the existing building will be demolished to create play areas.
The council will then dispose of the Victorian building that houses the infants school in Plane Street.
