Lib Dem candidate MP, Jess Brown-Fuller joins campaign to save Jessie Younghusband School

Dismayed JYS parents met this week with Jess Brown-Fuller, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Chichester constituency and Dr Kate O’Kelly, Liberal Democrat West Sussex County Councillor to discuss how best to ensure that the consultation process is fully transparent before, during and after its conclusion. JYS parents want to see the information that has been considered by WSCC to date – beyond the evident cost-savings driving this proposal.

Dr Kate O’Kelly immediately reached out to the WSCC’s Director of Children, Young People and Learning to strongly encourage her to meet with JYS parents urgently. Dr O’Kelly flagged the need to share with JYS parents the construction timeline of the new Minerva Heights school (MHS), the future catchment area assumptions affecting both JYS and MHS, the nature of other options considered and how exactly they have been fully explored, the active travel and safety implications of all the options with associated environmental impacts, and the nature and timing of scrutiny of any decision by WSCC.

After meeting with JYS parents and hearing their concerns, JESS said: “Jessie is a highly rated and popular community school, where most parents walk their children in. Moving location means that most parents will have to drive. That will add to the already significant traffic issues and associated environmental damage in Chichester. And there isn’t even parking provision at the new school, so there are safety issues that I’d like to be assured that WSCC has considered alongside the other factors listed by the parents. There is a legitimate fear that this JYS school relocation decision by WSCC is driven purely by cost considerations. I’m fully supportive of the school’s parents’ requests to be given all the data and information considered so far by WSCC in reaching this proposal. The consultation process has not been transparent, and I don’t think it is helpful or democratic to withhold information from parents who just want to understand how the County Council came to this decision. The school’s community need to be in the loop and understand the narrative of how WSCC got to where they are”.

At their meeting at Chichester Liberal Democrats’ offices; JYS parents, Alexandra Robertson and Mike Callis, asked if Jess and Kate could help get a meeting arranged with the Director of Children’s at WSCC as soon as possible – and certainly before the consultation closes. Alex said: “It’s so important that all the parents can be fully informed, and we can all understand the situation from all angles. We just want the process to be fully transparent from the start. This popular school is at the heart of our community and plays such a big role in our lives, and those of our children. We’d like to thank both Jess and Kate for making time to meet with us so quickly, and for immediately taking action to help our campaign. We are now feeling really positive and ready to continue our efforts to save our school!”

Campaign to Save Jessie Younghusband School: https://www.savejessie.co.uk/

Petition to Save Jessie Younghusband School https://www.change.org/p/halt-the-proposed-relocation-of-jessie-younghusband-school

Jess Brown-Fuller, candidate MP for Chichester constituency https://www.chichesterlibdems.co.uk

A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council said: “We are currently consulting on a proposal to relocate Jessie Younghusband Primary School to the primary school site identified at the Minerva Heights development and the expansion of St Anthony’s Special School in Chichester.

“If approved, the relocation would allow St Anthony’s Special School to expand into the building vacated by Jessie Younghusband, creating more than 50 special educational need places.

“The public consultation, which was launched last month, is designed to capture the views, feedback and ideas from the community that will then influence the ongoing planning process.

“We knew there were concerns about some aspects of the proposals, including those from parents concerned about accessing the proposed new site, hence the need to hear from a wide-range of people through the consultation.

“If the proposal progresses, every effort will be made to support the school in continuing to encourage parents and carers to safely access the new site on foot or by bicycle and limit the number of vehicle journeys.

“We value the available green and open space on the current site. Consideration was given to expanding St Anthony’s School on its current site but the proposal of relocating Jessie Younghusband School has many additional benefits.

“If approved, feasibility work to determine the extent of adaptations to the existing Jessie Younghusband School buildings will be needed before any specific costs can be estimated and building work can commence.

“We will continue to keep parents updated on the progress of the proposals over the coming weeks and months.

“You can take part in the public consultation on the county council’s website before it closes on 31 January.”