Quality, quality, quality...

Combs Infant School is acknowledged as one of the best in the country and a credit to Derbyshire.


The 2006 OfSTED report (National Inspectors) said that: “Combs is an outstanding School ... the school provides outstanding value for money and enjoys great levels of support and confidence from parents and the community.....”

Yet Derbyshire County Council want to close it, despite the high demand from parents and the fact that the numbers attending this year are above the maximum allowed for the school. WHY?

They say it costs too much to run even though the costs are normal for a rural school and the saving achieved by closing it down is a paltry £53,175 a year.

They say that 15 children are from out of their defined local area even though all but one of the pupils live within 2 miles of the school - many walk to school on a daily basis.

They say that pupils go on to Chapel Primary when they finish at Combs so it doesn’t matter if they start there 2 years earlier. Only four from the same family have gone on to Chapel from Combs in the last 10 years (and that was for a specific set of family circumstances). In fact, most of the pupils go on to study in Cheshire and closure will only increase the number of pupils Derbyshire will have to pay for in a neighbouring authority.

The school uses the Methodist Chapel and the Village Hall in partnership with the Village Hall Trust. If the school closes then both the Trust and the Church would have a massive problem sustaining themselves given this major loss of income.

The school, which has been there for 126 years will cease to exist and we believe the problems for the Church and the Village hall will become desperate.

‘Outstanding’ School Under Closure Threat

A press release was issued by the campaign team today with the following text (you can download the MS Word document here)

A village school which is among the top 10 per cent in the country is threatened with closure in a row over funding.

The infants school in the picture postcard Peak District village of Combs in Derbyshire – rated ‘outstanding’ in all categories in the 2006 Ofsted report – has been told it must close next year. Education officials at the county council claim numbers are falling and closure will save around £70,000 a year.

But parents, staff and school governors say that if the 26-pupil school closes then the village hall and church will have to shut too, destroying the local community. Governors say officials are manipulating the figures to the point of dishonesty. When the correct like-for-like calculations are applied the saving is around £50,000 and can be further reduced by value add-ons like existing provision for special needs cases.

Parent governor Steve Lyons is outraged: ’The county claims that numbers are falling – but this is rubbish. Next year there’s a tiny drop but after that the school will be over-subscribed – as it always has been.’

Officials claim that most pupils are from outside the catchment area. But parents insist that all but one live within two miles and many walk to school on a daily basis. Closure would mean more car journeys at a time when the Government is trying to encourage more children to walk to school.

Chairman of governors Nye Rowlands, who spent his entire working life in education, says the closure is a national scandal: ‘They’ve taken leave of their senses. Ofsted got it right when it said the school provided outstanding value for money and enjoyed great levels of support and confidence from parents and the community.’

High Peak’s MP Tom Levitt has also been drawn into the dispute. He’s promised to take up the parents’ case with Derbyshire County Council and the Department of Education.

Governors say the real irony is that closure is likely to prove more costly for the county. The trend has been for parents to move their children across the county boundary into Cheshire – at Derbyshire’s expense - rather than to the primary school in nearby Chapel-en-le-Frith where no pupils have moved on to in the last seven years, contrary to the assertions of Derbyshire County Council.

Governor Steve Lyons adds: ‘We’ll fight this to the bitter end. This is exactly the kind of school the Government wants. It’s a jewel in the education crown and it should be expanded rather than closed.’

Derbyshire County Council's tag line

Improving life for local people? Which people?

Initial Response to DCC

The governors wrote to DCC today, giving an initial response to the Council's proposal for closure. It was hectic work, pulling this together in the very short time* that we have been given. The response need to reach DCC before their cabinet meeting on 15 May.

The full text of the response can be downloaded here.

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* Just one week from the announcement being made by DCC. The council has been looking at surplus school places for almost three years.

Political Contacts

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

Tom Levitt MP (Labour), the MP for High Peak.
20 Hardwick Street, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6DH
Tel: 01298 71111

Ed Balls MP (Labour), Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.
House of Commons, LONDON, SW1A 0AA
Tel: Constituency office - 01924 898158

Michael Gove MP (Conservative), Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.
House of Commons, LONDON, SW1A 0AA
Tel: House of Commons - 020 7219 6804; Constituency office - 01276 472468

COUNTY COUNCIL

Barrie Taylor (Liberal Democrat), the County Councillor for Whaley Bridge and Blackbrook ward.

HIGH PEAK BOROUGH COUNCIL

Tony Bingham (Conservative) Councillor for the Blackbrook ward of High Peak Borough Council.
36 Crossings Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, SK23 9RY
Tel: 01298 813800

Chris Pearson (Conservative) Councillor for the Blackbrook ward of High Peak Borough Council.
2 Portland Grove, Chinley, High Peak, SK23 6AD
Tel: 01663 751880

Andrew Bingham (Conservative), High Peak Borough Councillor and Parliamentary Candidate for High Peak.
Dunloe, 11 Eccles Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, SK23 9RP
Tel: 01298 816187

Steve Sharp (Liberal Democrat), High Peak Borough Councillor and Parliamentary Candidate for High Peak.
Stone Lea, Alsfield Way, New Mills, High Peak, SK22 3DD
Tel: 01663 740997

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH PARISH COUNCIL
(BARREN CLOUGH, COMBS AND WHITEHOUGH WARD)

Mike Harrison.
126 Manchester Road, Chapel-en-le-Frith, SK23 9TP
Tel: 01298 813450

Peter Harrison.
21 Longmeade Drive, Chapel-en-le-Frith, SK23 0XP
Tel: 01298 812081

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The Members of the European Parliament for the East Midlands can be contacted via this web site.

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We would be grateful if you would send a copy of any letter to:

Save Combs School Campaign,
Combs Infant School,
Lesser Lane,
COMBS,
High Peak, Derbyshire,
SK23 9UZ

E-mail messages can be copied to the Campaign Team

Opposing the Closure - Who to Write To

If you want to oppose the closure of Combs School, you should write to Derbyshire County Council.

The 6th July was the deadline for written comments on the consultation to be received by DCC, but the decision on whether to close the school will not be taken until September. So, if you feel strongly about the threat to the school, you should still write to:

Bruce Buckley,
Strategic Director of Children and Young Adults (ref: DEV/DAH),
Development Section,
Derbyshire County Council,
Chatsworth Hall,
Chesterfield Road,
MATLOCK,
DE4 3FW

You can also e-mail Dee Hill at DCC, by the same closing date.

You could copy your letter to one or more of the political contacts listed here.

If you need help with writing your letter, go here.

We would be grateful if you would send a copy of your letter to:

Save Combs School Campaign,
Combs Infant School,
Lesser Lane,
COMBS,
High Peak, Derbyshire,
SK23 9UZ

E-mail copies should be sent to the Campaign Team.

Ofsted Report: 'A Special Place'

Here's the opening of the last Ofsted report, in September 2006:

Combs is an outstanding school and inspection evidence fully endorses the school's judgement of its own effectiveness. The school provides outstanding value for money and enjoys great levels of support and confidence from parents and the community. A comment made by one parent and echoed by others was, 'This is a special place.'

Full Report