We were asked at the outset of our recent meeting with Northumberland County Council to keep the content of the meeting confidential – this left us unable to report back to group members in a meaningful way. We had hoped to confirm a date for the promised public meeting with NCC and although they were in agreement to hold a public event (hopefully before 20th March), a date couldn’t be provided. We were therefore left wondering what the meeting had actually achieved.
Imagine our disappointment when we learned that a senior member of NCC staff present at our ‘confidential’ meeting had informed another party about part of our discussion.
We are comfortable to say there were significant areas of disagreement; including our concern about current middle school pupils, whose education is already being impacted by the loss of teachers and narrowing of subjects, some 18 months before they even move schools.
We also still await NCC’s justification for prematurely placing our children (and hundreds of their peers) into a school which has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ for well over a decade and over which NCC openly admit they have no authority.
NCC are now asking us, as parents, what we think they can do to address our concerns about the transition. We have our own ideas about this but want to be able to pass on other parents’ ideas too.
We remain very happy to receive any ideas, comments and questions to raise with NCC at the promised public event.
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