Moves to ensure a way forward for local schools and communities.
Local MP for Hodge Hill, Liam Byrne and Hodge Hill District Chair Cllr Ansar Ali Khan are going door to door to meet local families affected by the uncertainty around Birmingham’s schools. Birmingham’s Labour Councillors and MPs will be doing the same across the city.
Liam Byrne MP and other local politicians will be engaging with their local communities today and over the coming days, as the right way to face these challenges is to work together with communities, and not play politics or grandstand.
As Chair of Hodge Hill District, Cllr Ansar Ali Khan is working with parents to make sure that their views are heard. He said, “There is an acceptance that the governing bodies of Park View, Saltley and Nansen Primary School are not fit for purpose and their situation is untenable. The local communities want the governing bodies replaced and I am going to be working with the community to ensure that there are parents on the new governing bodies. We believe in locally-led community schools where the focus should always be on the education, rather than the faith, of our children.
“The decision of Ofsted to put into special measures Park View Academy, a school they previously rated as outstanding does not mean that the students are not outstanding. We need to ensure that the young people of Washwood Heath continue to have the opportunity to be outstanding and fulfil their potential.”
Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne added, “Parents are rightly concerned, but one things remains true, our children remain excellent and I will always put them first. Today, and in the coming days and weeks I’ve been meeting local people, going door to door to listen to their concerns and views going forward. From the initial conversations I’ve had the same points keep coming up; that we need to put our children first and we can’t let anyone play politics with their education. That our teachers are doing a great job, delivering outstanding results, and we can’t let anything get in the way of that.
“With any changes that may happen in the future parents need to feel like they have a voice in their children’s schools. That means that local parents need to be on the governing bodies of their children’s schools. To make this happen and to ease the tensions in our communities we will work together with local faith and interfaith groups to take the community forward as one.”