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Education figures 'do not add up'
CAMPAIGNERS battling to keep the current education system claim the county council needs a lesson in maths.
Calculations for changing the three-tier system to two-tier have led the education action group K3 to infer Northumberland County Council's figures are "iffy".
A member of the action group who is also a worried parent, said that detailed examinations published by the county council to justify its Putting the Learner First plan has cast major doubts over the local authority's credibility to manage the process.
John Harrison said: "The action groups in Northumberland have suspected that the council's figures were always iffy.
"The council's totals do show that its two-tier plan would cost less than a three-tier, but closer examination has shown up some glaring discrepancies."
The parents are questioning how under the two-tier model Blyth Horton Grange First School will become a primary at a cost of 372,542 for 420 pupils (887 per pupil), but under the three-tier model it will cost 3,269.361 for 300 pupils (10,897 per pupil).
Bedlington Stead Lane First School will also require 841,000 for 210 pupils (4,004 per pupil) as a primary under the two-tier model, but 1,634,680 of capital for 150 pupils under the three-tier system.
Mr Harrison, a Ponteland parent, said no explanation has been given as to why schools under the two-tier plan consistently cost less than similar sized schools under the three-tier model.
The group want to know why under the plan some schools which increase in size would cost less to run.
He added: "The council needs to sort out its mathematics and provide some explanations.
"It has started consultation about its strategy but it is impossible to have an informed consultation process based on these misleading figures."
He is writing to the council for an explanation and also to the Audit Commission and PriceWaterhouse Coopers who were supposed to check the council's figures.
"The problem with Northumberland education lies not with the schools but with the council," added Mr Harrison.
"On this evidence Putting the Learner First needs putting in the bin and the LEA properly reformed and a new plan produced with figures which add up."
A Northumberland County council spokesman said: "Our figures are not 'iffy'.
"K3 has hugely over-simplified these calculations.
"It takes no account of the wider savings that could be achieved as part of a proposed transfer to
"These costs reflect the different options that would be available depending on the form of re-organisation that is taken.
"We have always stated that the aim of Putting the Learner First is not about saving money. It is about giving our children the best chance to raise their standards in line with the rest of the country.''
K3 is a political action group that is challenging the council over its education plans by Mayoral Petition and through participation in the council's elections next May.
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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