Only excluded pupils’ centre in Warwickshire will close next summer

The county council’s cabinet committee has approved proposals to close the pupil referral unit in Pound Lane, Lillington, from next September, leaving 35 people at risk of losing their jobs.

Concerns about the unit had been raised by Ofsted, prompting the council to re-examine the way it approaches the issue of exclusion.

Headteachers and others involved had been consulted before the decision was made, but Andy Summers, president of the Warwickshire branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: “We are not critical of any organisation that tries to meet the needs of disaffected young people but we feel that nowhere near enough effort has been made to keep this in the public sector. We are very concerned that the council has gone on with a privatising agenda - a political philosophy that is not paying attention to the needs of the young people.”

Mr Summers also criticised the fact that neither councillors nor managers attended the meeting last Friday, at which the council informed staff at the Pound Lane centre of the closure.

A spokeswoman from the council said the unit’s headteacher and the council’s head of access and organisation were present.

County councillor Heather Timms, who is responsible for policy affecting young people, said: “Responses to the consultation confirm that the current arrangements are not working.

“We believe that by introducing a new approach we will be able to meet the needs of more pupils in their own school and provide personalised external support where necessary.”