Parents concerns over pupils missing hot meals under temporary arrangements
There's calls for the Government to step in and make sure North Tyneside pupils are getting hot school meals - after they've had to move into an old office block for lessons
There's calls for the Government to step in and make sure North Tyneside pupils are getting hot school meals - after they've had to move into an office block for lessons.
Around 200 Year 7 pupils from Churchill Community College were being taught at Monkseaton High School while their own building was checked after the roof fell in at another school - Fordley Primary School.
With GCSE exams looming, Monkseaton now needs more space – so from 7 May Churchill pupils will be forced to move to an empty office building at Cobalt Business Exchange building with no specialist learning equipment.
North Tyneside council has also warned parents and carers children will only be provided with a ‘cold food service’.
Now there are calls for the Government to take action quickly to help the council provide hot food for the pupils while they have to learn outside of school buildings.
Craig Thompson, who is a GMB Activist - and has a child at Churchill who has been affected by the move, said:
“We know from bitter experience school dinners are the only proper meal many Churchill children get all day.
“Families can’t have that taken away from them.
"This is clearly an unusual and difficult situation for all concerned"
Paul Johnson, Headteacher at Churchill Community College, said:
“We know that face-to-face learning is vital for pupils, and we always aim to avoid remote learning wherever possible.
"The temporary move of our Year 7 pupils is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. We worked closely with the Council to find available space in our borough where children could continue to come in-person to learn.
“While we accept this isn’t the perfect solution, the challenging circumstances we’re working under mean we must prioritise pupils safety and education above all else.
“I’d like to reiterate this is a temporary solution while exams take place and the pupils will return to a local school after this period.”
Jon Ritchie, Director of Resources at North Tyneside Council, said:
“The ongoing closure of part of Churchill Community College due to safety issues with some concrete blocks has unfortunately meant changes to education provision for some children.
"The safety of pupils is our top priority, closely followed by keeping them in face-to-face learning. We’re working tirelessly to minimise disruption as much as possible.
“While we appreciate these are concerns from parents, this is a temporary measure to ensure that these children do not need to return to remote learning for around a month.
“We have made specialist adaptations to the building to make it suitable for pupils and are continuing to work with the Department for Education on longer-term solutions for pupils.”
We have reached out to the Department For Education for a comment on this story, but they have not responded.
A statement they gave us last month regarding the structural issues at several schools in North Tyneside read:
“All pupils affected remain in face to face education and we are working closely with North Tyneside council to support them.
“Investigations to date these have shown this is a historic and isolated issue, due to the construction in the 1960s.”