New school in Liskeard turned down

Frantic moves are afoot to safeguard the chance of gaining private education funding for Liskeard, after governors of Liskeard Infants' school turned have turned down the opportunity of relocation to a brand new school with a nursery facility, which could have been built in Old Road, opposite the new junior school.

Liskeard falls within a Private Funding Initiative (PFI) funding area, and meetings have taken place between Liskeard Infants' and Junior schools and St Martin's primary to discuss proposals for using the cash available. It was suggested that, with the population of the town due to rise, the Infants' school should relocate to new premises on the old lower school site in Old Road. However the proposal was refused by the school's governors, which has led to the Junior school governors considering urgent measures to prevent the PFI funding slipping away, as it needs to be taken up by next Thursday.

They are in the process of urging the Infants' school governors to have a meeting with them, to explain reasons for their refusal, and are to ask them to reconsider their decision. If this fails then the junior school governors are to apply to the government to change their status so the Junior school becomes an Infants and Junior facility. The Junior school, for which the Infants is the main feeder school, recently relocated to a new building at Old Road, and has enough land for expansion. It already has room for an infants class and a nursery unit.

The Junior school governors feel they must look to the long term, which will take in the expansion of the town, and the increasing need for more nursery education in Liskeard. Information has already been obtained from the education department about how they can begin legal moves to change the status of their school.

Chair of the Junior school governors, Anthony Earl, said he was well aware of the difficulties parents faced in the Liskeard area of getting their children into a nursery school, and a new unit would be a great asset. He also spoke of the advantages of a brand new school, which the Juniors have been appreciating since their move just over l8 months ago. These include an absence of maintenance problems, added computer facilities, and improved play areas. He felt more consultation on the matter must take place.

The governors maintain there are numerous advantages for parents and future children of Liskeard in obtaining a new infant school and nursery facility conveniently close to the new junior school. They say the new school would provide better access and parking facilities within the school grounds which do not exist on the present site, and the present site is unable to expand as it surrounded by housing. The new site would enable this in future years, and the prospect is not a far off dream, as the monies need to be spent within five years. A further advantage would be the ability for close links to be developed between the infants and junior school and shared resources and expertise enhancing the educational development of the pupils.

Mr Earl said: 'Bearing in mind how hard the Juniors had to fight to obtain county funding for a new school, it would be crazy to turn down the money now on offer. This decision will affect the primary education in Liskeard for the next 25 years and is very shortsighted.'

The head teacher at the Infants' school, Pamela Shaw, said the governors had listened to several presentations from the LEA and had formed a joint working party with other schools in the town. But the scheme would have involved a commitment over 25 years, and the areas covered by this would be in areas in which the governing body, through good housekeeping, had made considerable savings which were then used for the benefit of the children in the classrooms. She said: 'We acknowledge there are advantages of having a brand new school but the main benefits appear to be enhanced provision for staff with enlarged staffroom and office facilities. Our existing classrooms are light and spacious and we feel that retaining budget flexibility to provide good levels of teaching and non teaching staff to support children should remain our priority.'