The Board of Governors has created this document for families, staff and other interested parties to provide additional guidance and points to consider when participating in the Shelley College and Kirklees consultation exercises.

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Shelley College
Proposals
Discussion Document
The Board of Governors at Thurstonland First School has created
this document for families, staff and other interested parties to
provide additional guidance and points to consider when
participating in consultation exercises being run by Shelley
College and Kirklees Council.
Thurstonland First School

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Background & Document Purpose
Shelley College is carrying out a statutory consultation exercise regarding their
proposal to admit Year 7 & 8 Pupils from September 2014.
Kirklees Council has also commenced a non-statutory consultation exercise
about the future organisation of schools in the Shelley Pyramid.
Based on the limited information currently available, the Board of Governors at
Thurstonland First School, has met to consider the potential implications for
pupils and staff and the ongoing provision of education in Thurstonland,
Stocksmoor and the Pyramid as a whole.
As such The Board of Governors has created this document for families, staff and
other interested parties to provide additional guidance and points to consider
when participating in the consultation exercises.
Thurstonland First School is keen to encourage, families, staff
members, community members and other interested parties to actively participate
in the consultation exercises in order that their views are represented.
Thurstonland First School

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Shelley Pyramid
Current Scenario
Year 11
Year 10 Shelley College
Year 9
Year 8
Year 7
Kirkburton & Scissett
Year 6 Middle Schools
Year 5
Year 4
Year 3 16 First Schools
Year 2
Year 1
Reception
Thurstonland First School

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Shelley Pyramid
Proposed Scenario
Year 11 to offer Year 7 & 8
Shelley College education from September 2014
Year 10 Points for Discussion
Year 9 As an Academy, Shelley College is not obliged to consider the
implications of its proposal on other local schools or communities as the
Year 8 proposal it seeks to submit to the Secretary of State for Education is a
Year 7 business plan with a limited scope. It remains to be seen whether these
issues are addressed within the information to be published in support of
the Shelley College’s consultation exercise (5th November – 18th
January).
Were Shelley College within the Local Authority, any such proposals
would need to take into account implications on education provision and
jobs in local schools, impact on local communities, transport and other
infrastructure.
As it is, the Local Authority and local schools are in a position where they
must react to Shelley College’s proposals and highlight potential
implications of the proposed changes to stakeholders including
staff, parents and local community members and seek views via a
separate Local Authority consultation exercise (from 8th November).
Thurstonland First School

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Shelley Pyramid
Potential Implications – Scenario 1
Middle Schools to compete with Shelley College
Shelley College
Year 11
Year 10 Points for Discussion
Year 9 Middle Schools Confusion and uncertainty for parents
and disruption for Middle Schools and
Year 8
Year 7 ? Year 8
Year 7
Year 6
children, with a likely impact on
educational standards during transition.
Do children move to Shelley after Year
6, 7 or 8?
Uncertainty of numbers challenges
viability of provision of Year 7,8
Non-Pyramid Year 5 education at the Middle Schools and at
Schools Year 4 Shelley College.
Year 3 Will Shelley guarantee places for
Year 2 Pyramid children or fill them with children
from outside the Pyramid?
Year 1
If not, how will Kirklees provide this tier of
Reception education?
Thurstonland First School First Schools

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Shelley Pyramid
Potential Implications - Scenario 2
Middle Schools close; First Schools provide Year 6 Education
Shelley College Points for Discussion
Can First Schools provide education for an
Year 11 additional year?
Year 10 Will this limit the number of children which can be
accommodated across all year groups? Will First
Year 9 Schools be able to meet community demand for
places? Impact on physical space and resources.
Year 8
Children would be leaving First School, from
Year 7 schools of 50+ to a school of 2000+.
Year 6 children lose their current access to
First Schools valuable Middle School staff and resources
(science labs, design & tech facilities, ICT, library
Year 6 and sports provision, teachers specialising in
Year 5 delivery of Years 6,7 & 8 National Curriculum).
Non-Pyramid
Schools Year 4 Will Shelley guarantee places for Pyramid
children or fill them with children from outside the
Year 3 Pyramid?
Year 2 If not, how will Kirklees provide this tier of
education?
Year 1
Reception
Thurstonland First School

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Shelley Pyramid
Potential Implications – Scenario 3
Middle Schools close; First Schools re-organise to become Infant &
Junior schools?
Points for Discussion
Shelley College
Are First Schools large enough to provide Infant
Year 11 and Junior education?
Year 10 Will they need to merge with some becoming
Infant Schools and others becoming Junior
Year 9 Schools? Will they all remain financially viable or
will some need to close whilst others expand?
Year 8 What will be the impact on rural communities
should schools need to close.
Year 7
Junior Schools Will the current Middle School buildings be
converted in to ‘Super’ Junior Schools with all
Year 6 remaining First Schools becoming Infant Schools
either on their own or by merging? If so will
Year 5 parents be comfortable about children of 7 years
of age travelling to, say, Kirkburton or Scissett
Non-Pyramid Year 4 each day?
Schools Year 3 Will Shelley guarantee places for Pyramid
children or fill them with children from outside the
Pyramid? If not, how will Kirklees provide this tier
Year 2 of education? If the middle school system is
removed, would parents be able to consider
Year 1 Holmfirth and Honley High Schools?
Reception Is there sufficient time to move to this model
under the timetable proposed by Shelley
Thurstonland First School Infant Schools College?

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Potential Implications – Scenario 4
Current Scenario retained; Relations between Shelley College &
Middle Schools restored and repaired; First Schools plan for the
future.
Shelley College The Board of Governors at Thurstonland First School believes that, based on the
information currently available* from Shelley College and the Local Authority, the
Year 11 least disruptive scenario is the current scenario, ie. Middle Schools retained, First
Schools continue to feed Middle Schools, Shelley College providing education for
Year 10 Years 9, 10 & 11.
Year 9 However, regardless of the Shelley proposals, budgetary constraints are likely to change
over the coming years which could be a challenge to many small schools. Local schools
Middle Schools may need to consider other options to accommodate these budgetary changes, e.g.
federation with other schools to share costs and retain funding.
Year 8
But… retaining the current scenario for now does mean that First Schools will be more in
Year 7 control of the timetable for potential discussion and consultation around such issues over
the forthcoming years and the position of the Middle Schools will be stabilised, thus
Year 6 retaining a single transition point for children leaving First Schools after Year 5.
First Schools
Also… the current proposal has already caused disruption with curriculum liaison
Year 5 between Shelley College and both Middle Schools currently suspended at the request of
Shelley College.
Year 4
Therefore… working relationships would need to be restored and repaired on behalf of
Year 3 staff, children and parents if Shelley’s proposal was not to be endorsed. Shelley College’s
request to suspend communication is already having an impact on current Middle School
Year 2 pupils looking to move to Shelley College in 2013.
Year 1 * This presentation will be revised or updated should relevant additional information be
published by Shelley College or the Local Authority during the consultation processes.
Reception
Thurstonland First School

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Thurstonland First School Governors and Staff to host briefings/drop-in sessions for parents and community
members.
• Friday 9th November, 3pm – 4.30pm, Thurstonland First School
• Monday 19th November, 7pm – 8.30pm, Thurstonland First School
Thurstonland First School Governors and Staff encourage parents, community members and local groups to
supply views as part of Shelley College and Kirklees Consultation exercises – attending meetings and
completing questionnaires,etc.
• Thursday 8th November, 10am – 12pm, Shelley Community Association & Village Hall
• Tuesday 13th November, 4pm – 6pm, Emley Methodist Church
• Wednesday 14th November, 6.30pm – 7.45pm, Birdsedge Village Hall
• Tuesday 20th November, 6.30 – 8.30pm, Kirkburton Highburton Community Association – Burton Village Hall
Next • Wednesday 21st November, 4pm – 6pm, Clayton West United Reformed Church
• Thursday 22nd November, 7.30pm – 9.30pm, Shepley Library & Information Centre
• Friday 23rd November, 1pm – 4pm, Denby Dale Pie Hall
Steps • Monday 26th November, 4pm – 6pm, Savoy Community Centre, Skelmanthorpe
• Wednesday 28th November, 5pm – 7pm, Stocksmoor Village Hall
Parents and community members are also encouraged to consider sharing their responses to both consultation
exercise with the following parties:
• Thurstonland First School (office.thurstonland@edukirklees.net)
• Middle School Heads
• Gary Johnson – office@kirkburtonmiddleschool.co.uk
• Helen Baxter – office@scissettmiddleschool.org.uk
• Simon Reevell MP (simon.reevell.mp@parliament.uk)
• Shelley College Principal - John McNally (consultations@shelleycollege.org)
• Shelley College Board of Governors:
• Mrs A Cooper – Chair (coopera@shelleycollege.org)
• Mr N Wilson – Vice Chair (wilsonn@shelleycollege.org)
• Mrs P Gillespie (gillespiep@shelleycollege.org)
• Dr A Brown (drbrowna@shelleycollege.org)
• Mr P Ramsden (ramsdenp@shelleycollege.org)
• Mr G Higgs (higgsg@shelleycollege.org)
• Prof D Taylor (taylord@shelleycollege.org)
• Mr M Dunstan (dunstanm@shelleycollege.org)
• Mr B South (southb@shelleycollege.org)
• Mrs A Jackson (jacksona@shelleycollege.org)
• Mrs S Berry (berrys@shelleycollege.org)
Thurstonland First School

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Overview
 Thurstonland First School is actively encouraging parents and other
interested parties to participate in the Shelley College and Kirklees
Council consultation exercises.
 The view of the Board of Governors is that the least disruptive
scenario is the current scenario, ie. Middle Schools retained, First
Schools continue to feed Middle Schools, Shelley College providing
education for Years 9, 10 & 11.
 Regardless of the Shelley proposals, budgetary constraints are likely
to change over the coming years which could be a challenge to many
small schools.
 Thurstonland First School is keen to retain the stability of the current
highly successful Pyramid structure in order to be able to plan for the
most effective ongoing provision of education for Thurstonland and
Stocksmoor.
 Please participate in the Shelley College and Kirklees Council
consultation exercises and consider sharing your views directly with
Simon Reevell MP and the Governors of Shelley College.
Thurstonland First School