Schools hypocrisy defies logic

The threatened closure of so many Shropshire schools is yet another body-blow to the British family, and an example of politicians saying one thing, and then doing quite another, writes Shropshire Star blogger Emma Suddaby.

It's no wonder citizens feel let down.

We have heard much in recent years about how highly the Government values families, communities and proper education for our children.

We've heard how it values those working in caring professions, like nursing, and of its hopes and plans for finding more environmentally sound ways of travelling, or to travel less in the first place.

So why would our elected representatives have even been considering closing some of the county's best-loved, highest performing schools? It just doesn't make any sense, does it?

I have a good friend, Alison Wren. She is a hard-working, dedicated nurse at a local hospital. She's also mum to two happy, healthy boys, Joshua and Finnean, and has been married for the last 10 years to Canyon.

She and her family lived until recently in Shrewsbury. They went through years of hardship while she trained as a nurse, with Canyon finding work around Ali's study and the commitments of the family. She had to bring up Josh with very little money, and time seriously compromised by the demands of her training.

At last she qualified, and has worked hard at her job, juggling the work-life balance like a seasoned circus performer. When her second son, Finn, came along, and with Josh nearing school age, she and her husband felt it was time to really put some effort into finding the right one - a school both could attend, right through their primary school years.

They thought they'd found the answer to their prayers when they discovered places available at St Andrew's CE Primary School, in Nesscliffe.

What's more, using the Government's own system, they found it had come second in the league table for Key Stage 2 SATS results in 2006, and received good Ofsted reports.

Even more amazing, considering the pitiful financial rewards for it's oh-so-highly-valued nurses, they found a house in the village being sold by a housing association on a half-buy/half-rent basis, which they could just about afford.

So the family upped sticks, and moved to Nesscliffe, their sole purpose being to obtain the best and most consistent education for their boys . . . exactly the type of family values the Government spends so much time bleating on about.

They thought they'd done everything needed to promise their boys the best possible start. A small, successful village school they could both attend.

They loved the fact that the boys could be walked to and from school with no need for dirty, polluting cars and building strong community ties along the way. A chance for neighbours to make plans for events and get-togethers, and all those community activities that, again, the politicians spend time promoting.

And then they heard that St Andrew's was threatened with closure. Although the plans to consult on closing Shropshire schools have been put on hold, those involved in campaigning against the proposed axe of St Andrew's are still fearful of what the future will hold.

There has been a school in Nesscliffe since 1754, and currently it has 62 pupils. Next year, there will be 68 and in 2010, it expects to have 72 - numbers have increased 10 per cent in the last 18 months.

It has a dynamic headmistress who has been busily making plans for future development.

Builders were about to start work on a state-of-the-art library within the existing school building, funding for which is already in place. Simultaneously, building work was set to start on a privately funded nursery and after-school club.

Ironically, this could have provided exactly the type of service the Government tells us is needed to enable parents to work, ensuring a safe environment for their children. And with services like that available, I imagine school numbers would have kept on climbing.

It is also part of The Forest Schools Initiative that allows the school to freely use its unique geographical gem, Nesscliffe Hill, to support education, along with the nature garden created with the help of The Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Not many schools are lucky enough to have the kind of outdoor scope these privileges offer.

I say lucky, but here's the sting in the tale: shockingly, there are already a handful of students at St Andrew's who have previously attended a school that closed down. These kids, having just dealt with the trauma of that upheaval, now find themselves worried it could happen all over again.

It seems to me that the initial decisions made about rural schools were based largely on current numbers attending, and the Government's own questionable calculations of numbers expected in the coming years.

Of course pupil numbers are smaller in rural areas - that is why the schools are so good. Don't beat the goose to death with its own golden egg!

Alison was on the mass protest at Shirehall last week to oppose the closure plans, and said of the possible reprieve: "If all is as it appears, then fantastic. Shutting rural schools is madness and I'm glad that, for once, people power seems to have won the day. But we'll be keeping our eyes wide open, to make sure that nothing is slipped in through the back door."

What are parents like Ali supposed to think? She's done everything by the book to ensure her children have the chance to reach their potential and become the sort of citizens we want and need . . . jumping through financial hoops, relocating the whole family, all based on a glowing valuation the Government itself made, of this tiny treasure of a school.

And then a cloud is cast over its future.

I don't know what the answer is, but like the Wren family I'm pretty sure it's not to close such much-loved, much-wanted and much-needed local schools.

• Inspirational Emma Suddaby shares her ” highs, lows - and various murky places inbetween” - with her weekly blog. Emma, a finalist in the 2007 Shropshire Star Woman of the Year competition, was diagnosed with aggressive, destructive rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 22. She has since won a dream flying scholarship with the charity Flying Scholarships for the Disabled and is now training for a National Private Pilot’s Licence.