THREE WEEKS ago, a letter from Chafford Hundred Headteacher, Chris Tomlinson to Thurrock MP Andrew Mackinlay was read out in a meeting of the full council by Chair of Thurrock Labour Carl Morris. The sentiment was clear. that if the school could permanently leave the LEA it would.
With the failed £80 million bid for funding in the shape of Building Schools for the Future, Chafford Hundred is clearly taking stock of where it stands.
It is clear that the school is baffled that on the one hand it has been lauded as the most improved school in the country and yet starved of funding by the Local Authority.
Speaking to many of the Heads, both on and off the record, you have the feeling that they would simply like the council to say “Sorry” over the failed bid and that the more they attempt to blame the government, the more (it seems) they alienate the senior schools.
YourThurrock caught up with Chris to assess where the school stood and it’s future.
Whilst the local government have lost out on the funding for schools the main portion of blame sits squarley with Central Government, the Labour party have cut funding to both Education and The Health Service and both sectors are now struggling to cope, the mass immigration to the UK has also hampered things with schools and hospitals unable to cope with numbers.
The head teachers at all schools are fighting a losing battle, maybe we should look at getting private investments in our schools.
So much for the Labour “Education, Education, Education” policy.