Proposed Merger of Brockham and Acorns Schools
Proposed Merger of Brockham and Acorns
Schools
Prompted by the retirement of the long-standing and highly
respected head teacher of Brockham School and the continuing
vacancy for a permanent head teacher at The Acorns School in
Betchworth and Leigh, Surrey County Council has proposed the merger
of the two schools. This would mean that Brockham would expand
(technically speaking only), to encompass The Acorns under a single
head teacher and senior management team, becoming an all through
Primary School. This would ensure children enrolling with the new
school would have a secure place throughout their primary
education.
In principle this has been agreed by the governing bodies of the
two schools. A Temporary Governing Body (TGB) has been formed from
representatives of the two bodies which is acting for the proposed
new school. It is wholly independent of Surrey County Council and
the separate governing bodies of the individual schools.
The TGB, formed in January 2010, has been in complex
negotiations with Surrey about the future school and has sought a
number of assurances and we can report the following:
i) there is no plan by
Surrey County Council to close any of the sites. The schools are an
important part of each of the communities in Betchworth, Brockham
and Leigh and the County have re-iterated their commitment to
maintaining village schools.
ii) the combined budget to operate
both schools as they currently stand will remain, to secure current
resources including the current staffing levels. At current pupil
headcount and planned expenditure, together with the appointment of
a new head teacher the difference between a new amalgamated school
and the schools remaining separate is very small, only in the
region of £200 per annum.
iii) the published admissions numbers
(PAN) for the new school will be viable to secure its future.
Currently, the number of children admitted to The Acorns is 40 and
30 at Brockham, both at Year R. Brockham also has a PAN
of a further 30 children at Year 3. Surrey County
Council, in a recent consultation document, have proposed a PAN of
60 for Year R, spread across the three sites with no PAN for Year
3. Practically this would mean 30 at Brockham and 15 in
Leigh and 15 in Betchworth. In discussions with the County the TGB
have recommended a PAN of 64 (increasing pupil headcount by 2 at
Leigh and Betchworth, which would mean that the new school would be
able to retain current staffing levels and resources.
iv) based on a PAN of 64, potentially (assuming that the new
School is full to planned capacity), the School would have class
sizes of 32 for Years 3 to 6 inclusive. This is not ideal, but not
unusual in other schools in Surrey or indeed nationally. The
removal of a PAN at Year 3 does not mean that the school will not
take extra pupils if there are vacancies.
There are a number of issues that have been raised at public
consultation meetings with parents, hosted by Surrey County Council
and the TGB are working with the County to ensure that parents
concerns are addressed as soon as possible.
It is not possible to explain in length all the concerns in this
article, but the TGB would like to draw people's attention to the
regular newsletters that are being produced by the TGB and are
available by 'pupil post' and/or directly from Brockham or The
Acorns Schools as well as being published on both Schools'
websites.
However, the TGB can report they are still in the process of
negotiating the terms of the merger with Surrey County Council and
that those terms will address concerns relating to admissions.
There will be a transition period and the TGB are aiming to ensure
that existing admissions arrangements will not disadvantage pupils
as a consequence of the merger.
The TGB are also in the process of recruiting a new headmaster
for the proposed new school. This is not an indication that the
merger is a 'done deal', it is simply because the lead time
required to recruit a good quality head is quite long, and if the
successful candidate is an existing Head Teacher, he/she will have
to give their existing School at least one term's notice. It has
been made clear to all candidates that a post at the new school is
conditional on the outcome of the proposal.
The TGB recognise there are challenges ahead, but are confident
that the proposed merger is in the best interests of
children, staff, parents and the wider community. If parents have
concerns we recommend that those concerns are raised with the TGB
directly either through the individual schools or via email at governors@brockham.surrey.sch.uk
Richard Prophet
Chair, Temporary Governing Body
Proposed Brockham and The Acorns Amalgamated School