Consultation to begin on primary school mergers

Formal consultation into the proposed amalgamation or merger of 16 Shropshire schools is due to start on Monday 10 March.

Shropshire County Council officers have been working in partnership with schools to draft consultation documents, since the Children & Young People’s Services Scrutiny Panel voted the plans through on 20 February. These documents, which outline the proposals for each school, will be made available on 10 March. A consultation period of six working weeks will then follow.

During that period, which will extend for more than six calendar weeks due to the Easter break, a series of public meetings will be held which will enable teachers, governors, parents and the wider community to contribute to the consultation. The meetings will be attended by Shropshire County Council officers and an elected councillor, who will discuss the proposals and answer questions.

Following this consultation stage, a report will be presented to Cabinet for councillors to consider any recommendations.

Councillor Ann Hartley, Cabinet member for children’s services, said: “The consultation period is very important, and we will listen to what people have to say. There are a variety of issues about the amalgamations which we would like to discuss, as well as the question of whether the plans should go ahead or not. No decisions have yet been made, and the outcome of the consultation will be considered very carefully by councillors before anything is decided.”

Full details of the consultation, along with dates of public meetings, will be available on the County Council’s website from 10 March.

3 March 2008