THANK you for your recent article on your website (link below) about the possible redundancies at Queen Elizabeth’s School in Crediton.

I have children at QE and am extremely worried about their future education should such changes happen. What the principal has proposed is nothing short of scandalous.

I accessed the governor minutes which are freely available on the school website and was horrified to learn that the school is proposing redundancies to support staff.

While the details are unclear it seems that support for the most vulnerable children in our school system is to be much diminished.

I too read the press release from the principal and it seems that what he is saying is that because the funding has changed for students with additional needs and we are in an area which pays less then the support that so many students so desperately need, the school will be subject to losing dedicated and brilliant support staff.

The essence of this is: “The money has gone for these students so they can no longer have as much support”. Are such students not a priority?

We know from the governor minutes that there are 17 students with Autism in ONE year group and the team are obviously working as hard as possible to ensure their needs are met but without the continued support from the school the children will not get the education they deserve and support they need in order to do well.

Surely any student who is struggling for whatever reason is entitled to extra support?

It not only relates to children with statements, if a child with low literacy or numeracy skills is falling behind how will the school address this?

If a child has physical or medical problems how will the school ensure their needs are met?

I see also from the governor minutes that teachers are to be teaching 45/50 lessons over two weeks.

We know that these teachers are tutors for our children and have the added burden of a split-site school and commuting through the town for lessons.

This five hours the teachers have per fortnight is to prepare all of the lessons, mark all of their books, answer parental queries, do the reports and get to know the children in their classes plus deliver all the lessons to a high standard.  Is this even possible?

I have also accessed the school website and see that there is a very large senior team of the principal, vice-principal and assorted assistant principals.

The school has (according to the governor minutes), 1,300 students. Is it really necessary to have so many people at the top?

I propose the team at the top worry about the teachers who are actually teaching and the TA’s who are supporting the teaching, because that is what we send our children to school for.

This is tantamount to having an army without soldiers but plenty of commanders or a hospital with plenty of managers but no nurses.

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