Steve McCabe MP (Birmingham Selly Oak), has called out the government over figures about future demand for school places before a decision on the future of Baverstock Acadmey in Druids Heath is made.
At a meeting with Lord Nash, the Education Minister responsible for academies, Steve McCabe raised serious concerns over the Government’s figures about future demand for school places in Birmingham. The Minister told Steve that they believed there would be no increase in demand for secondary places in South Birmingham despite information from Birmingham City Council that states Baverstock Academy is needed to meet future demand and if it were to close more places would need to be created sooner.
Major questions still remain about how Baverstock was allowed to get into financial difficulty and why the Government has failed to keep their promise and rescue the school.
Consultation into closure of Baverstock Academy concluded on 7 February. The Department for Education is considering the responses and a decision is expected soon.
Steve McCabe MP said:
“The Minister is telling me that Baverstock school isn’t needed but four local primary schools have recently expanded to meet demand, where are these children going to go for Secondary school? It seems the Government is intent on busing our children around the city just to get to school.
“Before any decision can be made the Government needs to check its fact, at the moment their numbers just don’t stack up. A decision to close the school would not only be a betrayal of pupils, parents and Druids Heath but the Government could actually waste vast amounts of public money closing a school then opening a new one in a few years to meet demand.”
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