29-May-2009
Cumberland News - Community group take-overs could help protect small Cumbrian schools - senior Tory
Shadow education secretary Michael Gove believes the future survival of small schools could lie within the model of the community co-operative running the favourite Cumbrian pub of Prince Charles
Mr Gove believes community groups could take over the running of some of the smallest schools in line with a similar scheme running in Sweden.
The initiative reflects elements of how the Old Crown at Hesket Newmarket is run and comes at a time when the future of primary education is under the spotlight in Cumbria. Reforms could be on the way as the county council continues to work with educational leaders on its Cumbria Primary Strategy.
The document states the need to tackle the problem of increasing numbers of cash-draining surplus places as well as the growing cost of maintenance at the county’s 270-plus primary schools.
The cost currently sits at around £50 million but it is hoped new measures could be adopted to help cut it to around £20 million. Over 40 of the county’s primary schools each have less than 50 pupils.
It is acknowledged that smaller schools pose a higher financial burden in terms of cost per pupil when compared to larger schools but it the importance of the role small schools play in their local communities is also recognised. One of the measures being explored in the Cumbria Primary Strategy is the forging of closer links between networks of local primary schools across the county’s vast area. Advantages of the ‘hub and spoke’ approach includes a sharing of resources among smaller, rural schools.
Mr Gove, speaking during a visit to Carlisle’s academies this week, said: “I am very much in favour of small schools and their survival where there are supported by the community.
“In Sweden small schools in rural areas have survived because instead of the local education authority running them all, some have been taken over by small community groups. We’re talking in some examples schools with less than 20 children.
“The money that would have gone to the LEA goes to the organisation and they run the school, taking on the responsibility for things like maintenance.
“It would keep the school at the heart of the village or the community. I want to give communities the chance to decide if they want to keep their schools alive.”
He added: “One of the things I’ve been inspired by is the story of the pub here in Cumbria that Prince Charles visits where members of the community have played their part is keeping it open. Not only is it a pub, it runs as a hub for community activities. It creates a 24-7 community spirit.”
The Old Crown at Hesket Newmarket was the first co-operatively owned pub in the UK and is often visited by the Prince of Wales when he visits Cumbria. The Prince’s own ‘Pub is the Hub’ initiative helped the Old Crown offer a range of community facilities including free internet training sessions.
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