News

Councillors will discuss proposals to consult on the future of Poole schools this week.

With the majority of schools across England organised in the same way, Councillors are starting to tackle the complex range of age that Poole children transfer between schools.

Generally children go to primary school between the age of 4-11 and then transfer to secondary school until they reach 16 or 18. In Poole the system is much more complicated, with the town's 42 schools made up of:

15 first schools covering ages 4-8

1 primary covering ages 4-11

5 combined schools covering ages 4-12

9 middle schools covering ages 8-12

1 middle school covering ages 9-13

2 secondary schools covering ages 12-16

5 secondary schools covering ages 12-18

1 secondary school covering ages 13-18

John Nash, Policy Director for Education, Boroughof Poole, said: "We have known for a long time that the age at which children in Poole change school is extremely complicated. Everyone recognises that this is an area we need to tackle. We know that our schools are doing really well in many areas, but everyone involved in our schools, from parents facing incredibly complicated systems, to teachers and school governors who have to teach within knows that this has be addressed. We know that nationally the birth rate is dropping and the result is that we have smaller numbers of children in our schools. At the same time we need to take account of the redevelopment in the Town particularly in areas like Hamworthy where more people moving to an area will mean that more places are needed in the future. The issue of school transfer was also highlighted in the Borough of Poole's OfSTED report and even though Poole received a good mark possible for education, Inspectors recommended that the issue had to be addressed.

Cllr Tony Woodcock, Cabinet Portfolio Holder in Education, said: "With the limited amount of funding Poole has for education compared to others, we have to make sure that every penny is spent wisely and will help the town's children to develop. Examining this issue is a major step forward but we need to make sure that we consult as widely as possible with parents and schools. Some work is already underway and schools have given us their support to start this major piece of work. I want to reassure parents and schools that this will be kept fully involved and informed throughout this process. We are only at the start of a very long journey and it's important to remember that the earliest that any changes would be introduced would be September 2008. "

If the consultation is approved, a full programme of consultation will be developed over the next few months.