7:30am Saturday 20th March 2010
By Joe Ware
Governors at county primary schools are fighting plans to close their special needs learning centres.
Malmesbury Primary School and Longleaze Primary School in Wootton Bassett each take 12 pupils at their specialist centres.
These are separate classes within mainstream schools for children with specific or moderate learning difficulties. Pupils attend from just one morning a week to much longer, spending the rest of the time in their own school.
The centres in Malmesbury and Wootton Bassett are among six centres which Wiltshire Council wants to close.
On Friday MP James Gray visited Malmesbury School to see the learning centre.
He said: “I have three children myself with dyslexia so I know how useful extra help can be.”
He said the centre helps both the special needs children and the others.
“Without it I can see those that need the extra help risk not receiving it and being held back,” he said.
“Teachers in the other classrooms would be diverted by the extra workload and so it could have a negative affect on the other children.”
Under the proposals, children would go to a specialist centre or into a mainstream classroom alongside pupils with non special needs.
Malmesbury School chair of governors Tristan Cork said the council is playing a cruel trick on vulnerable children.
He hopes a meeting planned with Lionel Grundy, the Wiltshire Council cabinet member responsible for schools, will bring results.
“We are hopeful that once he sees just what a bad idea it is to close our specialist learning centre, the plan will be dropped as soon as possible,” said Mr Cork.
“It is a poor decision from every single angle and will leave no provision for children with special needs north of the M4 and every parent in this area should be very worried about that.”
Longleaze headteacher Peter Cousins said: “We have some children who come for a morning and others for much longer.
“If these children have to go to a different learning centre, the closest will be Calne or Chippenham.”
Longleaze takes children from 12 schools in the area from Ashton Keynes to Lyneham, Wootton Bassett and Purton.
Longleaze was due to hold a meeting last night for parents, governors and teachers to discuss the plans.
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