Questions for the Ministry of Education

Dear Community

Below are the minutes of the meeting we held on the 14th September following the announcements by the Minister  of Education about school closures and mergers in Christchurch. 

I understand that there is a lot of strong feeling about this and we really appreciate that this is because you care so much about Freeville School. So do we. We will wait for answers to these and other questions before we have a better idea about the way ahead.

Freeville School Meeting 14^th  September 2012, 9am

School Merger Proposal

Welcome from Paul.

Karakia

Sharon BOT Chairperson.

We are devastated and feel for the community. We will engage with the MOE in vigorous consultation. We must stick together and if we have to leave we must take our philosophy with us.

Paul

Schools have been grouped into education clusters. The schools in our cluster are Freeville, North New Brighton, Central New Brighton, South New Brighton as well as New Brighton Catholic and Nova Montessori.

Ministry of Education have identified three categories of renewal.

Freeville school is in the consolidate category. The proposal is that we merge with North New Brighton School at their site.

Factors that influence this decision are land damage, building damage and demographic shift.

Surrounding Freeville school is TC3 land and red zone. Our site is 2.2 hectares. NNB is surrounded by TC2 land and they have 4.7 hectares. We have not yet seen any geotechnical report on the condition of our land but the information pack we received on Thursday states that our land and the land around us is subject to liquefaction and lateral spreading.

Our building damage is the most expensive of all the schools in our cluster. We have 10 buildings identified in the report and all 10 require earthquake repair. One classroom block (4 classrooms) has already been demolished. The library and two classrooms await demolition and the fate of the admin building is not determined. The new studio is 100mm out of level and the hall has also suffered significant damage.

One of the factors that the MOE considers when they look at how many schools are needed in an area is the distance children have to travel. Children under 10 years are expected to be able to attend a local school within 3.2 km of their home. Children over 10 within 4.8 km of their home.

We could have been closed as 13 other schools have been. The fact that we have been identified for merger should be taken as a compliment. We have just had an excellent ERO report. The normal ERO review cycle is 3 years. Schools that ERO are confident are delivering a quality education and are well managed and governed can be considered for a longer review period. Our next review is set for 4 – 5 years.

The indication I received yesterday from Peter Vause  from the Ministry of Education was that it is unlikely that they would shift us into North New Brighton into relocateable classrooms. They are more likely to shift us into new buildings. Therefore it might be a few years yet before that could be organized. This is speculation though we have nothing confirming this view.

We have a meeting scheduled with our cluster and the MOE on Wednesday 26^th September.

Bilingual unit is a real positive for us. We are the only school in our cluster offering bilingual education.

Questions

This is a summary of the questions raised. Some questions were repeated so I have amalgamated them into one.

Finances shouldn’t matter. Are the schools not insured?

I can’t comment on the level of insurance that the MOE had on school buildings.

What is the consultation timeline?

By December we have to have a cluster plan to the MOE. This will flow into middle of next year as concrete decisions made.

Will there be Public meetings?

Yes

Will the children get a whole year here next year?

Probably. But honestly we do not have enough information yet.

TC3 land is not good enough to build a school on but we can build houses and live here. How come?

I imagine cost is the main reason. But we have not had geotech report so cannot comment further.

What if we all say no to moving?

Ummmm. Not quite sure how to answer this one.

As a Board what direction do you want to take?

The BOT need to hear your feedback so that they can present an accurate picture of community feeling to the Ministry of Education. Please appreciate that the Board have only just found out this information at the same time as we all have. They have not had a chance to meet and discuss anything to do with the proposal.

How is the BOT being represented at the 26 September meeting?

By Paul and Sharon.

90% of this is bull shit they can build a school on this land just like the Latimer Lodge. It is Bullshit.

When you have lots of manure the best thing to do is plant a garden.

What will the class numbers be?

Student teacher ratios will be based on the same ratios that all schools currently work under.

How are jobs affected for staff?

We have not had any detail of whether there are any special provisions for Christchurch school given the scale of the changes announced.

In a normal merger process both principals lose their jobs and would have to reapply. The jobs would be advertised nationally and open to anyone to apply?  The teachers jobs are ring fenced which means if the number of jobs in the new school is less than the number of permanent teachers in the two schools all the teachers would have to apply for the available positions. But with that, no one from outside those two schools could apply. NNB staff would not have preference over Freeville Staff.

Support for staff and families is it available?

Yes Methodist mission, Salvation Army. Staff also have help available through the NZEI and both Canterbury Primary Principal’s Association and the New Zealand Principals Federation also have help systems in place.

If the merger has to happen why not have two schools run separately

on new site?

That would not be a merger it would be just shifting Freeville. I don’t think that it would honestly be a workable or even desirable situation. Merges that have happened in other places e.g. Timaru and the West Coast have included new school names, new uniform, rebranding. 

  

Could Freeville be run as a charter school?

The Board would have to consider that. I don’t know what the implications of that would be.

When would we move e.g. term break end of term etc? 

If the merger happens we will manage it so that it is the best possible experience for our families that we can make it.

How can the MOE do this when we are living like this the community has had its guts ripped out?

Is there going to be reduced funding?

Funding formulas will still carry on with the number of pupils in the new school. In other merger processes there has been additional funding available for schools to end up with a better outcome than just shifting together. No detail has been announced about this level of support.

Is it a done deal?

The Minister used the words “firm proposal” and “meaningful consultation”. I can’t interpret that any better than anyone else.

High School on East side?

No idea. Nothing about this in the proposals announced.

Can the BOT create a survey to support the community?

Yes we will. If you have ideas for questions please mail them to jan@freeville.school.nz

What decile is North New Brighton?

4

Figures for school roles?

The figures that the Ministry of Education have included in our information pack are the March 2012 roll return figures. These are …

Freeville: 284

NNB: 207

What about Year 7/8?

All schools in our cluster currently go to Year 8. The new school will still go to Year 8. The other choice made by a few of our Year 6 families is to send their children to Chisnallwood for Yeat 7/8. Chisnallwood is proposed to close and be part of the new Year 1-13 school in Aranui.

Is there any example of the Year 1-13 school model proposed for the new school in Aranui?

There are quite a number of Area Schools around the country. Oxford Area, Akaroa Area School are two close examples. In Auckland there are examples of schools that have early childhood right through to Year 13 operating on one site although my understanding is that they operate as separate entities.

What will happen to all the people outside the school zone?

Pupils currently enrolled at Freeville school will retain the right to be enrolled at the new school at the point of merger.

Will there be an enrolment zone around the newly merged  School?

I don’t know.

When is the technology closing down at Philipstown school?

No idea of time frame for that. The proposal is that Phillipstown merge with Woolston School on the Linwood College site. We do not know where that will leave us in terms of technology education.

How many lead schools in Christchurch?

We believe that we lead in many ways. We are leaders in terms of restorative practices. We lead in team teaching. We have the learning studio pilot project that leads in innovative building design. Our staff present at conferences and run workshops for other schools sharing our ideas and the way we do things at Freeville. A number of our staff have completed or are working towards their master degrees in education. Our bilingual programme is the only one in the North East of Christchurch. There are no designated “Lead Schools” however.

Can we take Learning studio?

Not the building but certainly the philosophy. We hope that we will be involved in design decisions.

Does North New Brighton school have any of our unique qualities?

We will need to identify the things that are not negotiable for us if we merge and take those characteristics with us.

Does the need of Special Needs children still get the support that they get here at Freeville?

Yes indeed. The new school will support the learning of all students as we do now.

Is there going to be Support for the children who are not coping?

Yes. Contact the office if you need to be put in touch with counseling help or would just like someone to talk to.

John Leonard

Compliment that we are moving not closing.

The children will be great no matter what happens.

Be positive and encourage the children.

Be good at change.