Secondary schools

Bath and North East Somerset Council met last night to discuss issues relating to the forthcoming review of secondary school provision. The Cabinet will have to make a decision on schools in May, and last night’s meeting was a chance for issues to be aired and discussed in public by parents/school governors and Councillors. However, as was made clear at the start of the meeting, no decision was taken at this Council meeting.

The motion which was voted upon was not the one published in the Council papers on 17 March, and the unanimous adoption of the motion did not represent a specific endorsement of any particular strategy or plan for secondary school provision in Bath and North East Somerset. The vote served to officially thank the O&S panel for the preparatory work which had already been done and to formally request that Cabinet take account of the points of view raised at Council when making its decision.

A number of Liberal Democrat Councillors spoke to raise issues which should be considered by the Cabinet. Several spoke of the importance of ensuring the consultation on changes was honest, open and thorough.

Councillor Marian McNeir called for the consultations to be done “in a sensitive way”. Councillor Nigel Roberts called on the Cabinet to make an effort to contact groups “we don’t traditionally get in touch with” and to consider co-location of community facilities, such as libraries, in new schools.

Councillor David Dixon has been involved in a campaign run by parents for better travel to school provision in the area. He spoke of the need to consider transport and that schools provision should be “underpinned by a sound, effective school transport system”.

Councillor Andy Furse focussed on the issue of co-educational schools in Bath, and welcomed an expression of willingness on the part of Oldfield school to go co-ed given that co-ed schools are preferred by 60% of families. He called on the Cabinet to “reconsider its view on Oldfield school in light of the commitment on co-ed given tonight [by the Chair of Governors]”.

Councillor Caroline Roberts also spoke about Oldfield school and the dozens of communications she, and Councillor Loraine Brinkhurst, had received from parents who were worried and confused about the decision making process. She said “many parents feel the decision has already been made and they have missed their chance to speak out”; she also called on the Cabinet to reach out to parents during the consultations and “don’t just expect them to come to you”.

Co-ed is also an important issue for Culverhay school and this was brought to the Cabinet’s attention by Councillor Gerry Curran, who spoke of the length of time for which this had been an aspiration for the school. He asked the Cabinet to “bring forward a package of support for the school to enable a smooth transition to co-ed status”.

Speaking after the Council meeting, Councillor Paul Crossley said: “I was very pleased that the Cabinet member for children gave a commitment to go over the recording of the meeting and ensure that all the points which had been raised will be dealt with. We will be looking closely at the forthcoming consultation and decision process to ensure this is the case”.

Islamic awareness days

I joined the Bath University Islamic Society with the Mayor of Bath to launch the 2008 Islamic awareness days this morning on the University campus.

The theme is “to know each other”, taken from a verse in the Quran. In that verse, God/Allah recounts that he created different tribes and races so that they could learn from and get to know each other. Regardless of ones deity of choice this is surely a laudible aim and I congratulate the Islamic Society for their series of events here: http://people.bath.ac.uk/su5is/index_files/iad.htm

Unfortunately after the speeches I had to leave without taking my full compliment of sweets and delicacies. It was for a good cause however as I gave blood at the UoB sports training village. I have been giving blood since sixth form; it is a vital resource which few people provide despite most of the adult population being able to. Have a look at www.blood.co.uk for more information and to book a session. They are normally at the Cricket ground but visit the university a few times per year. Unfortunately the bood service refuse to take donations from sexually active gay men which I disagree with; nonetheless, any boycott would only disadvantage recipients so I keep on going.

Campus surgery with Don

Today I was joined by Don Foster MP for a surgery on the university campus. Don holds a special student surgery every year to which, like all other Lib Dem public surgeries, people and visit without an appointment to discuss an issue with their elected representatives.

There is already a lot of support for students at Bath university from the Students’ Union for personal issues, so we tend to run the student surgeries slightly differently. This time several students, plus the comment editor of the student newspaper, arrived at the beginning of the surgery for a conversation about the work of an MP and some topical political questions. Those with personal questions were of course seen privately later.

Don gave a surgery with Armand and I in Bathwick about a year ago and we are arranging for another shortly. Full details will be in the next Focus of course!

University Diversity month launch

Bath University launched its Diversity & Equality month yesterday with guest speakers and I on a panel debate.

Following a presentation by Tim Lezzard of the National Union of Journalists on free speech, groups discussed the rights and responsibilities that it confers. Their findings were presented to a panel of lecturers, a Student Union rep and a politician – me. Fortunately we were all fairly liberal in our approach to human rights and individual freedoms, so there were no major arguements.

Diversity & Equality Month (www.bath.ac.uk/diversitymonth) celebrates the wide variety of communities who study and work at Bath university. A number of events have been organised including lectures, comedy, films and music challenging attitudes to disability, sexuality, race, religion and more.

In some part, the series was organised as a reaction to the threat of the BNP, who attempted to give a speech on campus last academic year. The protests against brought many people together, who have worked to promote that which extremists decry. The Student’s Union is due to hold a referendum on implementing a ‘No Platform’ policy to prevent extremisit groups from using Union resources.

Safer routes to St Mary’s primary

This evening I was invited to a meeting of Bathwick St Mary’s Primary Safer Routes to School committee. This is run by a few parents and teachers at the school concerned by the difficulty getting their children to and from school safely.

As the school is on Darlington Road, a small cul-de-sac, the street gets quickly jammed in the morning; it is now designated ‘no parking’ so that residents can leave their drives. This was still raised as a problem at last week’s PaCT meeting, so I asked our traffic wardens to pay a visit during the school rush. No tickets were given, but the message got across. Armand and I have done a similar thing at King Edward’s School on North Road before too.

However, surrounding the school, the A36 Warminster Road is not suitable for dropping off children safely. Even an environmentalist like me can see that cycling and walking buses isn’t going to fix the problem straight away, so I have been actioned with a list of issues to take up with the council, including that footpath from the canal – uneven and puddled. I am also investigating a 20mph zone for operation during school hours. This was in both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative election manifestos, so really the Tory cabinet can’t say no…

Both Bathwick St Mary’s Primary and King Edward’s have good travel plans and are putting in effort to support sustainable transport. I was particularly happy to support the Safer Routes to School group who do much good work voluntarily. I would be more than happy to visit other local community groups when invited.

Youth Parliament elections

Congratulations to the new member of the Youth Parliament for BathNES, elected last night; also to her deputy and the other candidates.

Ten candidates stood to represent BathNES in an election open to pupils in BathNES school aged 12-18. Thousands of votes were cast giving a higher turnout than for most local elections. The poll was organised and counted by members of DAFBY, Democratic Action for BathNES Youth. I joined them for the count in the Guildhall and helped opening ballot boxes.

I became involved with the youth parliament elections when I visited a training day for the candidates in the Guildhall last year. I was asked to chair their afternoon session in the Council Chamber, including the reading of the manifestos and a debate. With this good work going on I wonder if the Conservatives will realise the impact of their plans to cut the youth work budget and close youth centres; the Tory cabinet member for childrens’ services did not attend the count yesterday.

School buses

I’ve been contacted a few times about the terrible state of Bath’s school bus system, which leaves children waiting on the road as overcrowded buses drive past. I signed the ‘better buses’ petition several months ago and on Monday I joined their protest outside the Guildhall.

First buses, who could easily be portrayed as the villain, supplied their promotional Yellow Bus for the protest, although they continue to charge children the adult price for a season ticket. Up to 100 people, mainly parents, children and Lib Dem councillors, joined the protest on the steps of the Guildhall.

It was timed to precede the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Panel, whose meeting included an item on home to school transport. Their conclusion was to launch a review, which is probably the best that could be reasonably expected.

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I’ve just discovered that Bath fm have been playing an interview with me today. The interviewer and I were a little bored before the protest started, so I just chatted to kill time. I’m told it sounded very good though, but sadly I wasn’t listening.

Council’s secret meetings with University

Council leaders have insisted that their Partnership meetings with Bath and Bath Spa Universities be kept secret, despite repeated requests from a local councillor. Conservative Leader of the Council, Francine Haeberling, says “The Student Community Partnership meetings are held in private. The terms of reference provide for an annual public meeting”

Bathwick ward councillor, Nicholas Coombes, thinks that he has a lot to offer the talks though: “Armand Edwards and I are very visible ward councillors; we know what the problems are, both for local residents and the students, who we also represent. It doesn’t make sense not to include local people in these meetings; this is a typical example of the retreat to the Guildhall we have seen in this administration.”

Both Cllrs Coombes and Edwards are also students at the University of Bath, which is within their Bathwick ward. Cllr Haeberling represents Saltford, near Keynsham, with a minimal student population.

The new Conservative council provoked anger from the universities, colleges and students when they closed the successful Student Liaison Committee without warning on their opening night in power. Its replacement, the Student Community Partnership includes only two members of the council, the other being Chris Watt, failed parliamentary candidate for Wansdyke. To the annoyance of many mature students, university issues are covered in his ‘Childrens’ Services’ portfolio.

Cllr Coombes (Lib Dem, Bathwick) will be sending written questions to both conservative cabinet members about the secret meetings this week. “Firstly, I want to know why these meetings are held in private; what is there to hide? More importantly, I want to know if the Student Community Partnership is functioning at all. I have heard that transport was discussed at the last meeting; with the new term about to start have they made any clear plans to tackle the problems? Students and locals have complained to me about the quality of the bus service; I use it myself, so I know that it’s unreliable, overcrowded and expensive. However, with these meetings in secret, I don’t even know if the council is taking it seriously.”