Background
It is an absolute priority for Somerset County Council to secure high quality education for every pupil in the county. The number of children coming into schools in Crewkerne and Ilminster has been reducing for many years, which is putting the quality of education being delivered at risk and causing large budget overspends.
In 2019, an independent review into education provision in Crewkerne and Ilminster took place. That review found the current structure of schools was not sustainable and identified a range of different options for reorganising education within the area. The review was carried out by Futures for Somerset and commissioned by Somerset County Council.
A consultation followed this review last year asking for views on these options. The outcome of the review was that none of the options were considered favourably overall, including not making changes to the current system. The feedback did however identify priorities for people in the area, which will help make decisions in the future.
What's happening now?
Using the feedback gathered from the results of last year’s consultation, a new set of proposals were drawn up. These set out how education could be delivered in the area on a sustainable basis and took into account the priorities of local people.
These proposals were discussed by the Council’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 21 October and a decision was made to proceed with a consultation.
You can view the proposals within the Cabinet papers here.
The consultation ran for four weeks between Thursday 12 November and Friday 11 December. It provided an opportunity for those who wished to have their say on the Council’s new proposal.
This consultation exercise was only one opportunity to respond. Depending on the outcome of this listening exercise, it would be followed by publication of notices and a further four-week period when members of the public can respond. More information will be published on this page when available.
When both four-week periods of consultation have finished, the Council’s Cabinet will make a final decision on what will happen.
Have your say
The consultation is now closed. Thank you to those who took the time to attend the virtual events, responded online and in writing.
The following eight supporting documents are still available on the consultation webpage.
1. Summary guide
2. Detailed information pack
3. HR principles
4. Financial principles
5. Transition table
6. Outcomes of consultation
7. Published Admission Numbers (PAN) modelling summary
8. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
School staff
As part of the consultation process, we ran a series of virtual staff surgery events where staff within affected schools were invited to join a Microsoft Teams Live event to ask questions about the proposals directly to representatives from the Council’s Education and HR departments.
Staff are encouraged to read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document below. This has been updated with additional questions after the staff surgery events took place.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document – updated 7 December 2020
More information
You can read a summary guide to the Crewkerne and Ilminster Strategic School Review here.
All questions asked by the public within the consultation period have been collated into a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document. This document is available on the consultation webpage.
Get in touch
Any questions or comments can be emailed to our dedicated mailbox: crewkerneilminsterschools@somerset.gov.uk