This is the now redundant Campaign Web Site. 

Go to www.yourschoolneedsyou.com to find out what we have to do next! Read on to find out what have done so far!!

The core members of the group are:

Chris & Wendy Welsford - we have 4 children in the education system at the moment. Two of our children will be directly affected by the change.

Maureen Franklin - I have 2 childen in the system but they should not be directly affected by the proposed changes.

Debbie Hart - I have 2 children in the system one of whom will be directly affected by the changes.

Cheryl Blake - I have 2 children in the system and they will both be affected by the changes.  

We have all been involved in the past either as governors, parent helpers or simply by being active (with fund raising, assisting with events and activities) in the schools that our children attend. But above all, we are ordinary parents that care passionately about our children's education, welfare and happiness.

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(03/04/05) School Organisation Committee - the details

(03/04/05) Press Release - Claims that Rural Schools Dying on Vine Dismissed as Pre-election Scare-mongering

(02/04/05) County Press Front Page - Vote For Future of Island Schools

(27/03/05) What Happens Next

(27/03/05) What You Can Do To Stop Them

(27/03/05) Why We Were Not Consulted

(25/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/news.htm#48228069

(22/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/news.htm#47935645

(21/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/news.htm#47899294

(21/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/besley.htm

(21/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/what4sdidnttellus.htm

(20/03/05) http://www.freewebs.com/standards-not-tiers/news.htm

• Understand that the decision the Council made on the 24^th March is not final. It is dependent on the "Island First Group" being re-elected

• Find out which Prospective Councillors are happy to keep the 3-Tiers System and improve it and vote for them. We will publish a list together with their views as soon as we can. Keep checking the web-site.

• Join our campaign to put pressure on the LEA to abandon the proposals whilst there is still time.

• Most important of all - tell everyone you know what the facts are - the more people that know what is taking place the more likely it is that we will be able to prevent this folly from happening.

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There are 2 stages to this reorganisation process.

1. The decision to reorganise
2. The decision on which schools will close and which communities will be affected.

Consulting properly with ordinary people on the Isle of Wight on both these stages before the final decision to reorganise was made, would not have produced the result that the Council wanted. It would have brought out aspects of the proposal that people would have found difficult to accept. In particular they would have been forced to discuss school closures and the fact that a move to a 2-Tier system will mean larger primary schools and the real possibility of split site schools, some many miles apart.

By concentrating on decision 1 the council are able to make decision 2 much much easier to force through.

As Kim Johnson has told us, publicly and repeatedly (amazing what answers you get when you ask the right questions), school closures are virtually impossible to do individually. Just one objection to the Secretary of State for Education and in the vast majority of cases, the closure is vetoed.

Under the terms of a schools reorganisation plan the opposite is true. With the 1^st decision out of the way, the Council is able to set up an SOC. The Schools Organisation Committee is a statutory body made up of groups representing:

1. The LEA (Local Education Authority aka "The Council")
2. LEA Appointed School Governors
3. The Church of England Diocese
4. The Roman Catholic Church
5. The Learning and Skills Council.
6. An optional 6^th Group that represents the interests of the local community (e.g. minority faith groups)

Ordinary non-governor parents do not feature on this list.

It is up to each SOC to decide whether they wish to have their meetings open to the public and if they wish to allow objectors/supporters to speak at the meetings.

Note it is LEA appointed governors that sit on the SOC. The decision will be looked at as part of the overall reorganisation and the interests of the local community will be secondary to these. If SOC members have a personal interest in the outcome of the proposal then they must declare this and "can" nominate an alternative person to sit in their place.

The decision of the SOC must be unanimous. Otherwise the decision is passed to the independent Schools Adjudicator who is appointed by the Secretary of State.

Once the decision is made it is final and binding.

The only appeal then is through a Judicial Review or to the Local Government Ombudsman on a point of mal-administration.

Click Here to go to the Government SOC Site and see for yourself

The time for ordinary people to be consulted and give their views is before the 1^st decision is made. Otherwise it is all in the hands of the SOC and as you can see there will be little opportunity for the circumstances of the individual communities to be taken into account at that stage, particularly if those views threaten the overall scheme.

The first decision is important to the LEA as it controls outrage at the second decision.

The second decision is important to the ordinary people of the Island but their right to appeal on individual grounds will be virtually non-existent.

But with the 1^st decision out of the way the 2^nd decision is almost a foregone conclusion.

And that is why the council did not want to consult properly with the ordinary people and communities until after the 1^st decision had been pushed through.

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Who are we?

"Standards Not Tiers" has been formed by concerned parents  (not teachers or headteachers or schools) to oppose the LEA (Local Education Authority)  proposal that the Island Education structure must change from the existing 3-Tier, to a 2-Tier system. We believe that democracy demands a full and frank public debate of the issues that surround this decision. It is our assertion that such public debate, consultation and the provision of meaningful information has been sadly lacking. Other LEAs that have gone through this process have given details of the true impact on the schools, children, teachers, parents and the local community, before the decision has been taken to either retain or abandon the 3-Tier system. This has allowed the public the opportunity to assess the impact of change and make an informed choice through their local councillors regarding the decision.

The Background

In 2004, after more than 5 years of being told by successive Ofsted inspections, exactly what the problems are, the Isle of Wight Council employed a group of mainland educational consultants "4S" to report on the failings of the Island education service and schools. Their report highlights many failings in our schools and at the LEA and concludes that the 3-tier system of primary, middle and high schools must go if standards are to be improved.

• We believe that the report's conclusion is at odds with the evidence.
• There is no evidence to show that 2-Tiers are better than 3-Tiers.
• There is no evidence that standards rise more than they would otherwise have done after the change from 3 to 2 tiers.
• Parents were not properly consulted
• Workshops did not include parents or children - the very people who will be expected to live with the changes

• A 2-Tier system will mean the closure of all small schools - small schools will not be able to deliver adequate 4-11 education.
• The change will rip the heart out of our rural communities.
• There will be less Parental choice - with only a few big Primary Schools left
• Despite what 4S say, many parents are not apathetic and do "vote with their feet"
• Many schools have large numbers of children from out of area - it's a fact!
• Parents without transport will be forced to allow their very young children to travel by bus
• Pre-schools may also close - at best, their often very close ties to Primary Schools, may be broken.
• Excellent primary schools such as Chale (an example of recently identified excellence), with higher than average costs will almost certainly close - despite being told by Ofsted that they are offering good value for money.
• Recruitment will not be significantly improved - everyone finds it hard to recruit to the Island - travelling costs are a major disincentive for newcomers.
• The report's proponents highlight the fact that posts in schools are often filled by staff from other Island schools. But that is the case with the LEA too, and the local authority, Fire Service, NHS, Prisons and most Island organisations.
• Many children will have to travel far from home from the age of 11
• Parents without cars will find it hard to support their children when they are ill
• We should be very worried about the huge culture change that will result from mixing 11 to 13 year olds with 14 - 18 year olds particularly on public transport.
• Bullying and anti-social behaviour is likely to increase.
• The changes are likely to mean the introduction of large primary schools not designed for 4 - 9 year olds.
• Ventnor for example could be left with the Ventnor Middle School site (possibly a split site with the existing St Margarets).
• Finally, the Island is different - all small Islands are...by definition...this is not Surrey or Torbay.
• The report does not take into account the significantly different aspects of Island life.
• In fact, the report and the consultants are proud to tell us that we cannot be different and that the Island needs to be more "realistic" and join the South East of England in being more prosperous and developed.
• Many of us find this difficult to accept. We don't live on the Island for the money but because it is different. Preserving the Island's uniqueness is important to us.
• Lower crime rates, top quality beaches and a sense of identity and community are amongst the many good things the Island offers it's citizens.
• We feel that in rural areas such as ours the Middle Schools and the 3-tier system serve our needs extremely well.

Press Release

Saturday 30^th April 4pm til Late

Our costs have been associated with the placing of the County Press Advertisement, organising and advertising the Rock Concert and mailing county councillors and candidates. So far we have spent £2100. We have raised nearly £1500 and so we are about £600 short (as at 3-5-05). Any donations will be gratefully accepted.