Election 2009: Education will be key battle ground

ASK any parent voting in next month's elections what they would like Staffordshire County Council to prioritise, and education is likely to be on the tip of their tongue.

Every family wants a decent school on their doorstep, where their children will settle in well, have access to high-quality resources and support, and achieve good academic results.

Staffordshire's track record on delivering these essential services to its 400-plus schools has generally been positive and the local authority recently earned praise from Ofsted for its "outstanding" ambition and "strong leadership".

But education has also become one of the most fiercely fought battle grounds in the current election campaign. So much so that parents in one town are even standing for six seats on the county council because they are so unhappy with proposals for reorganising their local schools.

One of these 'Hands Off Tamworth Schools' candidates is up against Carol Dean, cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, who could be among the most high-profile Labour casualties.

The ruling Labour group is desperately hoping voters will judge it on its wider education impact in recent years.

Staffordshire was recently named one of the most improved authorities in England at GCSE, with four per cent more teenagers gaining at least five A* to C grades, including English and maths, last year.

Children's achievements in primaries have also been improving at a faster rate than the national average.

But problems in Tamworth threaten to overshadow these successes and could have significant implications for schools in the rest of Staffordshire.

So why have unhappy residents turned to parent power? The answer lies with Staffordshire's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, the very same Government-funded scheme which has caused such controversy in neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent.

Altogether, £750 million has been earmarked for rebuilding or refurbishing Staffordshire's secondary schools. Changes will happen between now and 2021.

Tamworth is the first borough to be affected. Schools across the Newcastle district are next in line, followed by East Staffordshire and Stafford borough schools, and then finally Moorlands schools.

In Tamworth, the plans include replacing one high school with an academy, sponsored by Landau Forte, which is linked to hotel magnate Rocco Forte. Four other schools will also lose their individual sixth forms to make way for a new sixth form centre run by the academy.

It has triggered a wave of protests, not just from parents. Last week, teachers from the NUT and NASUWT unions also staged a one-day strike.

NASUWT spokesman Brian Cookson said: "They are giving the sixth forms lock, stock and barrel to somebody who has no experience of running this kind of provision."

Understandably, BSF features highly in election manifestos. The Conservatives say they are committed to ensuring schools across Staffordshire get their fair share of Government cash.

The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have pledged to "listen to the concerns of local people" and reconsider the best ways to improve school buildings. And the Green Party opposes academy schools.

Keele University lecturer Alannah Tomkins, from Stone, has a 12-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

The 40-year-old said: "My priorities for education would include more support for inclusion and special needs."

Jackie Griffiths, from Cheddleton, also believes the council should place greater focus on special needs provision.

Her nine-year-old daughter Tilly has spinal muscular atrophy and is confined to a wheelchair, but has flourished in mainstream education.

Mrs Griffiths, aged 48, said: "From our own experience, the support has been outstanding."

So what do young people themselves want improved? In a survey for Ofsted, Staffordshire pupils said the key things that would help them do better at school were more interesting lessons, smaller classes, more support from teachers, better classroom behaviour, and less bullying.