PARENTS ANGRY THAT SCHOOL CLOSURE FEAR WILL BE IGNORED

30 September 2005

Angry parents have criticised council leaders after learning they will not listen to concerns over the closure of Dylan Thomas Community School.

Parents and staff have been warned that any comments about closure during an upcoming consultation on the future of Dylan Thomas and Bishop Gore schools will be ignored. A council spokesman said that the consultation, which is due to begin on October 14, will be about the transition period between now and the proposed closure of Dylan Thomas in 2010.

The plan is to spend £20 million creating a super-school at the Bishop Gore site before closing Dylan Thomas and transferring pupils. The spokesman said: "Cabinet member for education Mike Day stressed that the consultation was not a reopening of the whole consultation process on the proposed closure of Dylan Thomas and would be restricted to considering transition alone."

The decision has not gone down well with parents at Dylan Thomas.Rob Lowe, parent governor and chairman of the Dylan Thomas Parents Action Group, said: "It is not what we wanted to hear.

"We still have doubts about how they are going to pay for this and we want to raise those concerns."

Mr Lowe said parents were frustrated by the cabinet's handling of the proposals.

"The reaction is that we haven't had a decent consultation over the closure. The whole thing seems to be a done deal.

"The fact that they are now talking about the transition period shows that that is the case.

"Consultation is supposed to be talking to each other and listening. We do not feel they have listened to us at all.

"Parents and staff are likely to get the chance to air their views early next year.

If the cabinet chooses to push ahead with the proposal, parents will lodge their official opposition with the Assembly.

That means Education Minister Jane Davidson would have the final say.

Mr Lowe said: "We would want it to go before the full council so it can be debated openly at a local level.

"But obviously if the cabinet pushes on, then we will lodge our opposition during the statutory notice period.

"We are confident that when it goes to the Assembly, we will get the decision we want."

Parents, teachers and governors at Dylan Thomas are planning a meeting to discuss the proposals four days after the new round of consultations begins.Councillor Day said that it would be a number of years before Bishop Gore was ready to take children from Dylan Thomas School.

He added: "The council is prepared to invest £20 million in a re-modelled Bishop Gore because we think it will produce the right educational environment for generations of pupils to come. We have consulted on the proposed closure of Dylan Thomas; we will next consult on a transition phase and take on the process from there."