BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE REPLACEMENT SHAMBLES

Well done to the sixth formers of Stourport School for their letter to Mark Garnier. Stourport and King Charles needed rebuilding most of all in Wyre Forest and I hope Mark will ensure that he passes their letter on to the relevant Minister.

This month, Michael Gove, the Conservative Secretary of Education, will be announcing the results of his department’s review of capital spending project on schools, which will come along with the double whammy of George Osborne’s spending review – expected to be the most painful ever. So, when I went to the Liberal Democrats Conference in Liverpool two weeks ago, I wanted to collar any LibDem MP or Minister involved with schools to ask them to put in a good word for Wyre Forest. I know Mark Garnier told me there was nothing much I could do and I’m sure he’s doing what he can, but shy boys get no cake… and Wyre Forest schools haven’t had their fair share of the cake in the last 30 years.

Sadly, I was shocked to discover that Michael Gove’s department’s review seems to be a back-of-the-envelope job. As I wrote in the Shuttle last month, the agency in charge of capital spending, Partnerships for Schools, wrote to me to let me know that the DoE was taking evidence from schools, local authorities and construction firms to decide which schools needed the money most. I passed this information on to councillors, who in turn gave it to school heads and our MP. It appears no-one was aware of this opportunity. Worse, at a meeting in Liverpool with MPs and Russell Hobby, Chief Executive of the Association of Head Teachers, I found they didn’t know about it either, including Tessa Munt MP, who sits on the Select Committee for Schools and who was shocked when she read the letter.

It may well be that Michael Gove has no idea his Civil Servants are not doing their job, but it is his job to take responsibility for their actions.