Small School Closure in Wales Report

Written by Kirsty Williams AM and published in Times Education Supplement Commentry Friday 16th November on Fri 23rd Nov 2007

Well, the IWAs 'Small school closure in Wales' report has certainly caused a stir. The much talked up report was heralded weeks before its release as shocking and conclusive evidence that small school closure was a 'good thing'. The controversy loving media chose to make it top news; LAs and WAG delighted that finally there was to be real evidence that their money saving closures could now also be justified on educational grounds. Yet the morning after the dizzy launch the hangover kicked in as the report was read and its substance questioned beyond the sound bite hype.

The 'evidence' is based on 6 schools in Pembrokeshire and Powys, three of which have remained anonymous at the request of Powys county council. This in itself is questionable - why has the LA who pushed so hard for closures in the first place had this kind of input in a report that claims to put children's best educational interests at its heart? Call me sceptical but I have stood with Howey parents and pupils pleading with the council to include the children's voices in the Review consultation process, a request that fell on deaf ears. Whilst the report finds that education performance and attitude towards the receiving school does not degenerate it does not provide strong evidence that there is a significant increase in quality of education - with performance data for Powys being unavailable all conclusions in this area are based upon figures from three small schools in Pembrokeshire. I have no concern about the teaching standards of small schools under threat in Powys as Estyn reports demonstrate that these small schools are offering a high level of education.

I take comfort in the fact that the 8 children interviewed were happier or equally happy in their schooling following closure. This is of course great news but it cannot be the basis for advocating closure of small schools for which I worry it may be used. The sample is so small as to make its validity questionable, and the many other implications of closure are ignored. In small rural areas a school is far more than just a space for learning times-tables. The school is a focal point for social activity, it allows for interaction not only between children during and after school but also parents at the school gates and even older members of the community through school productions. The school is a prerequisite for young families to move to an area and without new families' economic activity remains stagnant which adds to the likelihood of closure of local services and schools - it's certainly a very vicious circle. The report states "It is the people not a school building who surely create a community." But without the building there may not be a community! It is important to recognise the influence community has on a child's development particularly in an era of ASBOs when 'community' itself is under demise. The report ignores that the two are not mutually exclusive.

This investigation is a useful addition to this very emotive debate and raises important concerns about the lack of widespread and inclusive consultation when local authorities are considering closure. But my fear is that this report will be used to justify small rural school closures when the report itself does not look at reasons for closure and whilst discussing the benefits of efficiencies of scale it does not highlight that school closure should be considered not only upon financial basis but also upon the effect it will have upon both the children and the community of which they are a part. Nor does the report examine alternatives to closure. There is a great need for more imaginative considerations such as federation and clustering systems, which have been so successful in parts of England. These could well offer the Council as cost-effective a solution as the environmentally unfriendly bussing of young children around the countryside, indeed research by the Welsh Local Government Association confirms that Councils do not usually accrue the savings that they anticipated from closures. This report must not be used as an excuse for LAs to rule out these alternatives.

These findings will not lead to parents and communities dropping their gauntlet and admitting defeat in the battle for small schools indeed its attack may serve to add fuel to their anger and sense of injustice. Nor do I think it will have a long-term and resounding impact upon the political debate which must move on from the simplistic discourse of closures as 'good' versus 'bad' to looking at how we want our education system to look like not just at this moment in time but into the future and how best it can deliver for our children and the communities they live in.