Sent: 09 March 2022 08:18
To: schoolorganisation <schoolorganisation@northyorks.gov.uk>
Subject: Amalgamation of woodfield school.

Good Morning,

As a long term parent of woodfield school I have to say I feel very let down with what is being planned for woodfield school after all the hard work and dedication of staff and parents, woodfield was finally on track lacking the numbers but on track. When all the problems first started after the incident that became so very public I was personally sought after by ## from nycc at the time to use my influence as a someone who has been a very hands on parent with the school for 23 years, after he heard this he knew I could persuade people to stay and help build again the frought relationships at the time between parents who were potentially removing their children. When I had a one to one meeting with him to air my own concerns he assured me the county council would do all they could to keep woodfield going I was assured my children would finish their time at this school. I even asked how bad do the numbers need to be before the school would have to be closed his response word for word was "i have a school currently with 12 pupils it is still open we are working hard with that school too, please have faith in us and stay" so rather than remove my own children at that point to save them any undue distress and heart ache down the line i stayed. At that point i had 3 children on roll there, now that my last child is in year # so close to finishing his time there it really was all lies my son cannot finish his time from nursery at this school. The impact this has had on his mental health is beyond words and no one from the county council or even our own govenors cares, no support has been offered or put in place for these children, children who have grown up together since nursery are being torn apart from all they know because the county council did not forfull its promise to do "all they could", (yet other local schools have been allowed to over subscribe not even giving woodfield a chance). The proposed school we are being offered does not even come close to the amenities woodfiled has not by a bar the only thing Grove has to offer is a better ofstesd approval. There is no green space local traffic around the school is most concerning especially when Skipton Road at that point of the school is often gridlocked at the time of day's pupils are out playing,  I'd be interested to know the pollution levels to the air around the school at the times children are outdoors. Woodfiled does not have this issue. Woodfield also has a safer surroundings high fences all around play areas and the school Grove is questionable. I have been I traffic many times and seen pupils at Grove standing on the walled area with no staff even aware the height the fences are at an adult could pull a child over that fence long before anyone was aware with many routes from this area this to me is a very high safety concern. The building itself is outdated and with the stair cases again not eqaul to woodfield being one safe newly renovated design.There is no equality in what woodfield parents are being offered at all. And no empathy for the fact we stayed through many problems and supported. The school itself has had new intakes every single term since September 2021 so this to me is evident the school is improving. For the time scale it would take to build the school up from early years to a fully functioning ks1 woodfield itself could also improve in numbers in this time scale. This side of bilton needs a full school not just a ks1 the idea of the walking bus is just ridiculous so many potential problems with safety aspects is very concerning anyone who thinks this is a good idea clearly has never spent time on a morning on the bridge, having children who attend Harrogate high and seen the injuries they have personally had over winter months when the bridge is icy is concerning younger children are being expected to endure this. Not even to mention the probles socially that happen in that area with drug deals taking place again (personally witnessed and reported to nycc and nothing is ever done about it).

I have had # children at woodfield over 2 decades now down to my last son as I've said in year #, now I am facing very difficult issues finding a school in any way the same for him to be able to manage.he has mobility issues other schools are a lot larger in size and he will struggle with having to move schools mentally and physically , the news of the closure has impacted him in a very concerning way his mental health has become so bad he's lost all motivation for school he will not be attending Grove if the amalgamation goes ahead for the safety reasons stated and the fact he will not be able to manage mobility at the sight. We are left with no school that is equal to what he has a school he can manage a school with everything woodfield has even close parking no other school has parking close enough that he would even manage the walk from car to school without causing him pain before he's even started his day! No other school is with distance that doesn't involve having to go onto a major road to get to it causing the stress of a commute stuck in traffic daily.we can't walk to a school i have to drive him. I have no other options. And no help is being given either.

The woodfield Community really have been let down so very badly there is no positive in this amalgamation for us. The promises made by nycc back in 2017 were promises for the entirity these children were at woodfield, they are still there these promises should still stand now! We stayed, we supported, its time now we were. I know many have left but many would return in a heartbeat.

Regards,

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