Wirral News letters– July 7

Jul 7 2010 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

The parents should know

I AM A secondary school teacher, with 14 years’ experience.

I see that 10 schools in the Wirral have expressed an interest in becoming Academy schools under the Government’s new academies bill.

An academy school is more autonomous, since its links with the local authority are severed. However, many people, myself included, are very concerned by the implications of this.

The schools involved are Pensby High School for Girls, Prenton High School for Girls, Ridgeway High School, Saint Mary’s Catholic College, St Anselm’s College, St John’s Catholic Infant School, Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Wirral Grammar School for Girls, St Mary’s CE High School and Weatherhead High School.

If the academies bill is passed in its current state then the school’s governing body can make the change to an Academy without consulting parents and the school’s local communities.

The government has promised schools that become academies that they will receive extra money, this is because local authorities keep a share of the money allocated for each school to provide centralised services such as special needs provision, educational welfare officers, etc.

If a number of Wirral schools become academies it will have a negative effect on all the other schools in the authority. As a parent I find this utterly unacceptable.

As the bill stands a school can become an academy and remove itself from the local authority, but there is no route back if things do not work out as they had hoped. If we are talking about freedom, then why not have a route back for schools which feel it would be appropriate? If the government were confident that schools would enjoy the benefits of being an academy then this would not be a problem, the fact that a route back is not available suggests to me that they lack this confidence. If the government is not confident that schools will find the change beneficial, then I don’t think parents should be confident either.

Dr. Darryl Ellson

Hillside Road, West Kirby

Litter disgrace

SUCH lovely weather this weekend encouraged us to go to West Kirby for an evening walk on the beach on Saturday.

What a mistake! Overflowing bins all along the prom and pools of litter on the beach. What sort of people spend a day on the beach and then just throw all their litter on the sand?

What a spectacle to greet anyone on holiday visiting on of the Wirral's top tourist spots!

Some of the litter had obviously been there for some time.

Wirral Council should get their act together. It is not rocket science to employ people in the busy tourist areas to empty the bins during peak times and to have people tidying the local beaches. There is enough money being given to councils and they should spend it wisely.

Tourism brings money to the economy. They should be ashamed to have such scenes of disgusting filth. I am sure that the local residents don’t like it.

Pam and Ben Morris

By email

Help footballers

I live in Bromborough village and help run a football team which is struggling at the minute as we need a sponsor.

The new team is no longer the Archers but is called Bromborough Rake FC.

These teenage boys need this chance as Bromborough is becoming known for its crime involing kids in late teeens,who are good kids who are just bored as there is nothing round hear for them to do not even a youth club any more all they have is their football but we need a bit of help to fund this as they need to get new kit.

I feel like these kids have been let down enough as people think Bromborough is not as rundown as other areas.

But it has fast become the same and police are doing what they can.

Pamela Smith.

via email