The voices of children at the centre of a Liverpool Council consultation over their future school places are being “brushed aside” a parent has claimed.
Youngsters at special educational needs and disability (SEND) schools across the city could be forced to relocate to new sites as part of a shake-up of provisions by the local authority. A consultation on proposals has been launched by Liverpool Council, which includes the students at Bank View School in Fazakerley being moved 14 miles away to Parklands in Speke.
Consideration will also be given to Princes School on Selborne Street moving to Redbridge School on Long Lane, while Redbridge would move into Bank View as they occupy the same site. Parents are now having their chance to meet with council officials to provide their thoughts on the proposed moves.
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One dad, who asked not to be named, met with officers this week and said the atmosphere had been “heated” with many parents frustrated by the plans. He added that in his view, the plans “still did not make sense.”
The dad told the LDRS he was shocked to hear officials had not done an assessment of the cost of additional travel for pupils making the journey from Fazakerley to Speke and the “detrimental effect” it would have on them. He added one officer told him the trip “doesn’t take that long”.
He said: “The children’s voices are being brushed off, our questions on transport issue were just not answered.” The dad said concerns about the plans had also been raised by MPs Ian Byrne and Dan Carden, and he had met with the latter to discuss the scheme.
The consultation is also assessing the viability of New Heights Key Stage 4 site relocating from Parklands to the vacant school premises on Naylorsfield Drive. Further discussions will be held with the leadership at Ernest Cookson School, Hope School, Clifford Holroyde School and Woolton High School regarding future organisation and the delivery of education at these locations for young people with social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The consultation will run until May with an expectation that findings will go before Liverpool Council’s cabinet in September or October, with a view to implementation of the results in September next year.
