The Church Of The Holy Rood -- Wool, Dorset, U.K.
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The Church Of The Holy Rood -- Wool, Dorset, U.K.
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The Purbeck Schools Review and the Wisdom of Solomon Solomon has been much on my mind since the Purbeck Schools Review was published. 1 Kings 3 recounts an example of his great wisdom: Two women claimed to be the mother of a single baby boy. Each claimed the other woman’s child had died in the night and she had substituted one child for the other. Solomon asked for a sword and threatened to divide the boy in two, knowing the true mother would reveal herself by her reaction. She would give up her son rather than see him die. The issue facing Solomon was relatively simple concerning just two women and one child. The problems raised by the Purbeck Schools Review are much more complex. How to make best use of finite resources and reduce the amount spent maintaining an increasing number of surplus places; how to meet the differing needs of pupils, some of whom will thrive in one system of education better than another; how to offer a range of choice for parents; what buildings and sites are available and which lend themselves best to improvement and expansion. There are other factors such as the history and reputation of individual schools in the eyes of parents and the wider community; population projections and strategic planning of housing developments. I could go on, but space does not allow. This is an emotional issue for the whole area, and not least for this parish. We are blessed with four good schools, each with dedicated teaching and support staffs, each providing a supportive environment in which children and young people can be educated and develop. Any thought of closures is painful, creating uncertainty and stress for pupils, staff, parents and many others and engenders much passion. As we examine and debate the proposals, and make our responses – which I would encourage everyone to do – we will need the wisdom of Solomon. He does not give a simple way of squaring the circle but offers principles to work by. First, to keep in mind the best interests of our children and young people. Second, to seek the truth rather than fall into the trap of making judgements based on rumour rather than reality, on perceptions rather than facts, on prejudices rather than understanding, on emotion rather than calm appraisal. As we put these principles into practice, we will not only help to shape a good future for education in the area, we will also be educating our children and young people directly by modelling how we can disagree, debate and arrive at decisions in ways that build community rather than break it down.
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