Council choose cheapest option for special needs children

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 14th Oct 2005

Tories on the Council Executive have rejected the chance to build replacement buildings for Woodbrook School in the north of the borough. Woodbrook has been praised by Ofsted for excellent teaching, but criticism was levelled at the inadequate accommodation in the school, leading to a lack of educational facilities such as science labs, the loss of much of the playground to accommodate a greatly needed sixth form block and generally cramped and overcrowded conditions

Despite acknowledging that there 'may be planning problems', Bromley's Conservative-run Executive decided to approve 'in principle' to close Woodbrook, a successful special needs school in Beckenham, and bus all of its pupils to a school on the opposite side of the borough. The results of the consultation exercise showed fierce opposition to the plan from parents and staff at Woodbrook, local churches and mainstream schools involved in an inclusion programme for Woodbrook pupils. A petition to keep special school provision in Beckenham was signed by over 2000 local residents, but the Tories chose to totally ignore these views.

Conservative Executive members proposed to amalgamate the two schools, Woodbrook and Rectory Paddock, on the Rectory Paddock site in St Paul's Cray.

It was another blow to Beckenham residents as they lose yet another local service.

Clockhouse councillor Jane Connor

"This is going to be particularly hard for children with special needs living in the northern areas of the Borough", said Cllr Jane Connor, Liberal Democrat councillor for Clock House. "The route to Rectory Paddock can take up to an hour and a half in rush hour traffic. It will also make it nearly impossible for some parents to get to their children when they are ill, or in an emergency, or to feel part of the school. Instead of always looking for the cheapest option, it's about time the Conservative administration started to invest money in the future of children in the borough"

Fellow Lib Dem Clock House councillor, Cllr Denise Payton, raised concerns that the amalgamation of the two schools on a single site would create fresh problems. "Currently, Rectory Paddock offers superb facilities, with hydrotherapy pools, space to move and a full curriculum delivered in purpose-built surroundings. These proposals, which will nearly double the number of pupils sharing the facilities, are likely to repeat the problems currently found at Woodbrook."