Category: Blog

A special meeting of Trafford Council’s executive is meet on Monday 5th July to take the decision to close Lostock College and Stretford High School to enable the opening of an Academy at Stretford High (subject to the funding remaining in place)

Details of the meeting:

Time: 6:00pm (members of the public are advised to arrive in good time as there’s a possibility that places will be limited)

Date: Monday 5th July

Place: Trafford Town Hall (notice indicates council chamber) – Public Access is from the entrance on the Warwick Road Side of the town hall

The opportunity to speak at Executive meetings is carefully controlled by the ruling Conservatives and they apply a rule that only one speaker is allowed from each political (non Conservative) party. It’s likely they will apply a similar ruling to members of the public and restrict speakers.

This is a very important decision and will shape educational access in the Stretford area for years to come. It’s clear that in totality they will have diminished the school buildings and facilities across the two sites in favour of modern but cramped accommodation at the Stretford High site.

The argument is that within these modern but cramped conditions a better quality of education can be provided. Many parents at both schools are sceptical of this; both schools are already delivering quality according to Ofsted.

At the same time that the Stretford High site is expanding its capacity, it is having to shed school fields to Tesco. This aspect taints the whole plan and undermines any claim by the council that improving provision is at the heart of the decision. The enlarged Academy should inherit its full complement of land and facilities from the smaller Stretford High School that precedes it.

The eventual loss of the Lostock site to the greater Academy is another kick to improved provision. The performing arts studios and facilities at Lostock are the envy of most schools and the consequence of much needed investment.

So Monday’s decision will be a bitter pill to swallow and we will want to continue to fight to ensure the best possible outcomes and facilities for our area’s children.

image: author’s own

What is about industry that the Tories hate so much? Having laid to waste huge swathes of our manufacturing inheritance during their rule in the 1980s, they’re at it again. The Tories have pulled the plug on an £80m loan to Sheffield Forgemasters. Economically, this decision is stupid. It puts at risk our participation in one of the growth industries that would pull us out of recession. This is ideologically driven vindictiveness and the Tories no longer pretend otherwise. David Willetts the Tory minister for Universities was quite blatant on the BBC’s Politics show yesterday:

“Now I realise it’s tough for individuals businesses, but I do think that Sheffield Forgemasters’  role is a very important one in Sheffield manufacturing, but its role should not be determined by borrowing money from government.”

David Willetts BBC Politics Show 21st June 2010

We are on the brink of an economic depression and Willetts believes that the Government should be adopting a laissez faire approach; let the market look after things. Quite clearly the man is deluded.

“Forgemasters” by fishyfish_arcade, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

We spent a really productive morning in Urmston Town Centre petitioning for the retention of the senior parks staff. Got to speak to loads of residents from the Lostock area/Gorse Hill area, all of whom were supportive of the petition.

We, the undersigned local residents, wish to place on record our appreciation of the tremendous work of Trafford Council’s gardening staff in improving and maintaining our parks and green spaces. We believe that the Council’s proposal to replace permanent on-site staff with a mobile team fails to recognise the dedication of their staff and will lead to a deterioration of standards and more vandalism in the parks. We therefore call on the Council to withdraw these proposals and to maintain the present staffing arrangements in the parks.

You can sign an online version of the petition here: Save our Parks

img: author’s

Kate’s speech commences at 17:22 

Parliament Live

Labour’s Kate Green gave her maiden speech to Parliament this week with a call for better protection for young people and support for people getting back into work. Green was speaking as part of the Queens Speech debate on Work and Pensions. She opened with a tribute to the work of her predecessor Bev Hughes and went on to describe why she’s so proud to represent Stretford and Urmston in Parliament. Green said her constituency typifies what is best about our country; hard working, neighbourly, people who are determined to do their best for their families and for their community, down to earth, but with ambitions, hopes and dreams. She gave a nod of congratulations to Urmston resident Danielle Hope who was recently chosen as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Dorothy. She cited the presence of world class attractions in Gorse Hill of the Old Trafford stadiums and Imperial War Museum North.

Turning to the issues at hand during the Queens Speech Debate on the new Tory Lib Dem government’s plans for the Department for Work and Pensions Green highlighted the work the previous Labour Government had done to protect jobs and provide employment for young people as the recession bit.

Kate Green said: “the thousands of conversations I have had with local people, they have so often repeated the importance of young people getting the skills they need and getting into good jobs as they start out in life. And I was proud to be able to answer that, thanks to Labour’s investment in employment and skills, Unemployment in this recession has up till now been much lower than in the last two recessions, and that our Future Jobs Fund would guarantee every young person training or a job. Now I am deeply concerned that the approach of the present government – axing the Future Jobs Fund and slashing jobs in the public sector – will put millions of livelihoods at risk.”

Kate also challenged the new Government to guarantee there will be adequate support as part of their plans for welfare reform: “My challenge to the Tory Lib Dem Government if they want to ensure work pays is to lead the way in the public sector (where a quarter of low paid workers are employed) with the adoption of a Living Wage. And I challenge them to invest now for the future – cutting university places and the FJF is both short-sighted economically and a betrayal of our young people, and puts another generation at risk. Good jobs, investing in our young people, a sustainable recovery and fairness in the economy are what my constituents want. I am determined that I will always speak out for them here and I hope they will hold me to that.”

Kate Green opened her account in the Commons by championing pilots showing improved outcomes for junior school children on universal free school meals.

Will the Secretary of State confirm that he is aware of some of the successful pilots that have been attempted in recent years to provide free school meals on a universal basis in some of our primary schools? Will he confirm that the educational and health gains that have been seen as a result of those pilots will now be taken forward, and that his Government will commit to continuing the pilots that the previous Government announced?

Michael Gove (Secretary of State, Education; Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. I know that in her previous incarnation, in the Child Poverty Action Group, she was a committed fighter for the very poorest children. We are now looking to ensure that we can guarantee that those children most in need receive support with free school meals, and we are examining the evidence that has come in from the pilots that she has mentioned.

As a Gorse Hill councillor, I fully support Kate’s advocacy of improved provision for children. The pilots have shown improved takeup of school meals and I recognise how beneficial that this can be in children’s attainment.

Watch the debate: Kate’s question comes at 16:39

This sounds good. Hope to see you on Top Field.