Letter: Sorry episode

I read with interest in last week's Crawley Observer an article entitled '˜MP calls on Ministers to give failing school a second chance'.
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As one of the Councillors responsible for the area the school is sited I feel I must comment.

This is a sorry episode and I and many others hope that for the parents and children left in limbo it is settled as soon as possible.

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I must take issue with some of the breathtaking comments by Henry Smith MP reported in your paper.

He is quoted as saying that had the school been under the wing of the Education Authority it would have been given more support.

Are you for real Henry?

YOU wanted the school free from the standards required by other schools in Crawley, YOU stood up in Parliament and celebrated and welcomed the New Discovery Free School. One of the Government’s central policies for Free Schools is to be independent of the Local Authority, control over the curriculum and much more and you want the Local Authority to help now it has all gone wrong?

You can’t have it both ways Henry.

Free Schools should have Local Authority oversight, Free Schools should employ properly trained teachers and should be monitored to maintain standards and that is what the Labour Party is proposing.

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On the one hand celebrating Free School independence from Local Authority and Government control then asking for help when it fails smacks of hypocrisy to me or is it desperation?

Broadfield parents and children deserve better than this.

Cllr Colin Moffatt, Crawley Borough Council (Lab, Broadfield South)