 |  IF YOUR Nursery SCHOOL IS THREATENED WITH CLOSURE REMEMBER:
The best developed and most effective form of early education practice has grown up in nursery schools where a distinctive approach to learning and teaching is combined with routines and relationships that sustain young children’s development and promote an exchange of ideas and feelings.
Maintained nursery schools are centres of specialist knowledge and experience of child development, curriculum, pedagogy, systems of assessment and of the evaluation of learning and teaching. Awareness of issues of identity and diversity have influenced work with young bilingual learners that has developed over decades, as has work in partnership with parents: and nursery schools have well established systems to support the learning and development of children with special educational needs. All of this had to be built up slowly by teams of staff working together with the space, time and resources that allowed them to critically reflect upon and develop practice. Only the government can provide the funding which would eventually achieve this level of quality across all early childhood provision.
BE VERY CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION AT ALL FOR CLOSING MAINTAINED NURSERY SCHOOLS AND FIGHT TO DEFEND THEM:
Indeed the logic of the EPPE and other research should lead to the opening of new ones. Sadly some schools have already closed. In most cases their excellent practice, glowingly endorsed by OFSTED section 10 inspections, has not been enough to save them. The network of skill, knowledge and relationships woven together over years is easy to destroy but cannot be instantly restored.
Nursery schools are centres of specialist knowledge and experience in early learning. Where it is not possible for them to become the core of a children’s centre as presently conceived, other models are possible. The specialist Foundation Stage teachers within a nursery school can assist the development of specialist teachers in neighbouring reception and year 1 as well as in neighbouring nursery settings.
There is more than one kind of community. The parents of Sunnybrow Nursery School in Rochdale mounted a successful campaign against closure even though the school offered a traditional pattern of attendance over three terms.
REMEMBER:
That a nursery school has the same legal status as any other school and there is a procedure that all LEA’s have to follow if they propose closure.
This procedure is set down in the School Standards and Framework Act, 1998 and can be viewed in full on the DfES web-site under the heading.
‘Guidance for Decision-Makers on Statutory Proposals for Changes in School Organisation
Briefly the procedure involves:
The LEA first consulting on the proposals – with staff, parents, neighbouring schools
Then considering responses to the consultation and deciding whether or not to publish a statutory notice of closure.
If a notice is published there is then a six-week period to provide the opportunity for public objection and comments
These representations and LEA comments on them have to be sent to the School Organisational Committee (SOC) within one month.
The SOC is an independent statutory body set up to decide statutory proposals for changes to schools. It’s membership includes representations of the LEA; the Church of England and Roman Catholic dioceses for the area; schools and the Learning and Skills Council. It is useful to find out specific membership from the local authority and lobby hard at this point.
If the committee cannot agree unanimously, proposals are decided by an independent Schools Adjudicator
In the case of proposals to close nursery schools there is also, ‘a presumption against approval of such proposal’, since, ‘nursery schools generally offer high quality provision and have considerable potential as the basis for developing integrated services for young children and families’.
To quickly publicise the news that your school is threatened with closure in order to organise support.
That NCRNE will help you campaign against closure. The Forum for Maintained Nursery Schools and Children’s Centres can offer advice and support.
That parents (present and past) and the local community have the greatest power to overturn the decision. Get governors to organise parents’ meetings at the end of the school day. Encourage parents to take up the issue with local MP’s and councillors and hold public meetings and to fund raise to finance more meetings and more publicity.
That it is important to inform, influence and rally support from as wide a group as possible.
Inform:
Other Head-teachers
Other governing bodies
Other providers
Local Sure Start programmes
The DfES
The Minister for Children
Staff trade unions
Local and national press and specialist journals including TES and Nursery World
Your MP’s and local councillors
Find out (from libraries and one stop shops) when the local Council meets and lobby councillors – take placards and children and you may get wider publicity on television and radio
Display your excellent practice; arrange visits for local councillors and anyone else who can influence events. Boast about your OFSTED reports for example by informing local press and radio.
NUT GUIDANCE:Maintained Nursery School Closures: Legal Procedure Timeline
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Procedures to be followed by a Governing Body wishing to change a school’s session times READ MORE
Be part of the
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR REAL Nursery EDUCATION
Nursery Education cannot be left to chance |
