CONCERNS ABOUT ST FRANCIS SCHOOL, WESTBOROUGH

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 5th Sep 2005

Concerns about St. Francis School, Westborough continue with a report to the ten-person Surrey County Council Executive meeting on 13th September 2005. The report asks for permission to consult on the future of the school following difficulties with its most recent Ofsted report.

Fiona White, who was elected as County Councillor for Guildford West in May, feels that the continuing uncertainty cannot be good for the school and must be affecting the confidence of parents in choosing to send their children there. In fact, the numbers of children attending the school in recent years has fallen substantially as is shown in the report.

Fiona said "Any consultation must be carried out as widely and fairly as possible and the results must form a strong part of any final decision taken. The aim must be to obtain a real understanding of what local families want to do in relation to the school and to take into account the impact on other schools within the area".

Sue Doughty, former MP for Guildford, who has taken a close interest in the school added, "If the school is closed we must take the opportunity to extend the work of the Children's Centre in the area. Local children need excellent early years education and this would be an ideal place for an early years centre. When Shepherds Hill nursery was closed we lost vital facilities. We must ensure that local families get the support they need."