'Cost-cutting quick fix' - Parents have their say on plans to move Chichester primary school to new site

A consultation into the plans to move Jessie Younghusband School (JYS) to the Minerva Heights development west of the city ends on January 31 – and some parents have been making their concerns clear. Alexandra Robertson, who has one child at JYS, and Hannah Graydon, a psychologist, whose five-year-old daughter also attends, have been at the heart of calls for the county council to think again

Their list of concerns is long, with the safety and health of the children sitting at the top. A large portion of the 210 children at JYS either walk, cycle or scoot to school, meeting Active Travel ambitions for people to cut down on car use, get more exercise and reduce carbon emissions from traffic. But the journey to the new school would see youngsters having to make their way along the B2178 – some of which only has a narrow footpath on one side of the carriageway.

The idea of parents having to herd children, scooters, bikes and pushchairs safely along what can be a fast-moving road does not fill either mum with confidence. Hannah said she was ‘horrified they think it’s acceptable’, questioning the lack of crossing points along the route and reporting that a young girl had been knocked down trying to cross. She said: “You either get run over or take you chances along Centurion Way.”

Centurion Way is a footpath which follows the route of the old dismantled Chichester to Midhurst railway line, running from Westgate, round Bishop Luffa School and on up to Lavant.

Hannah said: “I’d feel very unsafe taking children along there. And it floods as well so sometimes it’s just impassable really in winter.”

The recent torrential rain gave power to her words, with inches of standing water leaving passers-by needing wellies to be able to get through some points with dry feet. Both Hannah and Alexandra have warned that many parents will start to drive their children to school rather than risk the new route. And others will get behind the wheel to save time – Hannah’s five-minute walk to school would be extended to 30 minutes.

Alexandra said: “It de-motivates people to actually be healthy and go on a scooter or go on a bike.”

Hannah said children’s physical and mental health was better when they were able to walk to school, and she wondered how jumping into the car each morning and after school would impact their work and development.

She said: “At the moment I feel JYS has a really good culture and I feel pupils are connected to the school.

“We know that school connectiveness means that not only are they going to achieve better academically but physically and mentally they’re going to do better – and that’s down the line.

“That shows that they’re less likely to engage in risky health behaviours, less likely to experience anxiety and depression [and] less likely to come through the NHS.

“How are we going to make sure that we take that culture that they’ve created so well at Jessie and transport it somewhere else?”

And with no pick-up or drop-off points planned for the Minerva Heights school, both predicted an increase in congestion as parents parked in nearby roads.

Should JYS move, it would allow St Anthony’s special school, which shares the site on Woodlands Lane, to expand into the vacated buildings and take on an extra 50 pupils.

But Alexandra, Hannah and other parents would prefer to see both St Anthony’s and JYS expanded onto the large fields which cover the site, with the new school catering for youngsters who move into Minerva Heights.

Alexandra pointed out that JYS was not designed specifically for children with disabilities and wondered how much it would cost to make the necessary changes.

Hannah described the proposed changes as little more than ‘a sticking plaster’ covering a much larger problem, and said the proposals felt like ‘that’ll do for now – we’ll get away with it’.

Describing provision for children with special needs as ‘woeful’, she added: “All that upheaval and all you’re managing to create is 50 extra places.

“What children with special educational needs need is a long-term plan that actually takes them into account – and this doesn’t. This is really unfair on them as well.”

A council spokesman said: “We value the available green and open space on the current site. Consideration was given to expanding St Anthony’s School on its current site but the proposal of relocating Jessie Younghusband School has many additional benefits.

“If approved, feasibility work to determine the extent of adaptations to the existing Jessie Younghusband School buildings will be needed before any specific costs can be estimated and building work can commence.”

The council’s consultation also looks into plans to redraw the catchment areas for the local schools.

The JYS catchment area would extend to include the whole of Minerva Heights, while Parklands Primary’s area would finish along the boundary line of Centurion Way, bordering Minerva Heights, with the area to the right not changing.

And the Fishbourne Primary catchment area would remain mostly unchanged with the top boundary now going around Minerva Heights.

This brought up the next concern.

With hundreds of homes being built west of Chichester, questions have been asked by parents about whether the relocated JYS would have enough space.

The school currently takes in 30 children per year – one form entry – but even if it was expanded to take in 60 per year, neither Hannah nor Alexandra felt it would be enough.

Government data estimates that every 500 homes would include 125 primary age children, meaning Minerva Heights would likely be home to 188 – more when future phases of development are complete.

Hannah said: “There are just not enough spaces to cater [for the children].”

Neither mum was impressed by what they felt was a lack of information about the council’s plans – or that they seemed to come out of the blue.

Hannah said: “It feels like a fait accompli. It feels like this decision has already been made and this is lip service.”

She added: “It just feels like a shame because there’s a lot of children in Minerva Heights who are going to need a school and a school place.

“We need schools and school places and children with SEN need schools and school places.

“I just don’t think this is the best way of doing it.”

Alexandra’s message to the council was simple: “To look at the long-term wider impacts on children and their families and the environment.

“Is this in line with what the government is trying to put into place when it comes to being carbon neutral.”

The council spokesman said: “The public consultation, which was launched last month, is designed to capture the views, feedback and ideas from the community that will then influence the ongoing planning process.

“We knew there were concerns about some aspects of the proposals, including those from parents concerned about accessing the proposed new site, hence the need to hear from a wide-range of people through the consultation.

“If the proposal progresses, every effort will be made to support the school in continuing to encourage parents and carers to safely access the new site on foot or by bicycle and limit the number of vehicle journeys.

“We will continue to keep parents updated on the progress of the proposals over the coming weeks and months.

“You can take part in the public consultation on the county council’s website before it closes on 31 January.”