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• Letter for Parents/Carers - Move to One Site

  Wed 06 Dec 2023

  Adapting Our Schools to Secure their Future.

  December 1st, 2023

  From: The Co-Chairs, The Governing Body

  Dear parent or carer

   

  In 2021 the Governing Body embarked on a long-term strategy to remodel how our schools can deliver better educational and developmental opportunities for the children in the area, now and in the future. In February 2023, we announced the partnership with the Moorland Federation led by Naomi Philp, now our Executive Headteacher and in May, confirmed the appointment of Carys Barnett as our permanent Head of Schools, reporting to Mrs Philp. Many of you have met Carys since she started in September.

   

  With an effective leadership team in place, with the continuing support of Somerset County and the Diocese of Bath & Wells, the next phase of this strategy will commence in the Spring Term 2024. Early next year, Dulverton Junior School and All Saints CofE Infant School will share the more modern infant school building that opened in 2000 and was designed to accommodate over 120 pupils. Whilst based primarily at the All Saints’ site, Junior School pupils will continue to have access to facilities at the old Junior School building, including the pool and the MUGA (multi-use games area). Catering staff will continue to prepare meals for pupils using the current catering facilities.

   

  In the face of increasing financial pressure, the need to meet high educational standards and the welfare of the pupils foremost, the Governing Body has had to make difficult decisions. Given the number of pupils now attending the school and forecasts of future pupil numbers, this move is essential to secure good quality primary education in Dulverton. It will ensure the children receive the best care and opportunities for their education and development. Under one roof, it will enable the development of the teaching and learning support staff, as we look to raise the quality of education across the schools, given the priorities established after recent OFSTED inspections.

   

  Dulverton’s extensive school sites and grounds were developed over the preceding decades when they supported a Middle School and far larger number of pupils. Today, the facilities and size of the grounds are no longer concordant with the number pupils in The Exmoor Federation. The priorities are to ensure the schools have a viable long-term future, and to this end we must make better use of the funding, people and resources, through a move to a single site.

   

  If you have any immediate questions or concerns, we would encourage you to direct these to Mrs Barnett, by making an appointment, through her office administrator Chantel Herbert.

   

  Discussions concerning the future of the Junior School building and grounds, which is the property of the local authority, are ongoing. The Governing Body has sought re-assurances that the local community in Dulverton and Exmoor, will be invited to participate in a consultation process as to what uses they might be put. However, the current plan includes handing responsibility for much of the site, back to Somerset County, by September 2024. Discussions continue with the local authority regarding the curtilage of the school sites, to retain access to the outdoor facilities of the pool and the MUGA area.

   

  This move is part of a clear strategy to adapt Dulverton’s schools to the current and likely future needs of the local community, to see them led and staffed by committed, passionate professionals who share the Governing Body’s single focus, to ensure pupils have the best opportunities to achieve their potential while attending its schools.

   

  Thank you.

   

  Bill Gash – Co-Chair, the Governing Body, The Exmoor Federation.

   

  Kate Northen – Co-Chair, the Governing Body, The Exmoor Federation.