MP and school leaders urge council to progress new school building works – as two Derbyshire schools left in limbo for months

Two Tibshelf schools, Town End Junior School and Tibshelf Infant & Nursery School, are in urgent need of new classrooms.

The state of the buildings has significantly deteriorated over the years with repair costs getting out of hand.

The necessary funding has been promised for several years and in February Derbyshire County Council confirmed that the money was now available.

But three months later the schools have heard very little and fear that the work has been stalled.

Bolsover MP Natalie Fleet met with the executive head of Tibshelf Schools Federation, Rachel Boswell, chair of governors, Karen Waring, and parent governor Jemma Moore to hear about the difficulties they are having in progressing the construction of the new school.

She was given a tour of both existing school sites and saw how challenging in particular the infant building is, with repairs also costing unsustainable amounts of money.

Natalie is now raising the schools’ concerns about the lack of information and progress on the new school building directly with the county council.

Natalie said: “These schools are amazing places full of happy children and staff working so hard to give them a fantastic education.

“But they are all being restricted by the poor condition of the school buildings – and a county council that is not acting quickly enough to create the learning environment they deserve.

“The lack of communication with school leaders is perplexing and I have written to Derbyshire County Council urging them to give the schools an update and do all they can to expedite this project as quickly as possible.”

Executive headteacher Rachel Boswell said: “It is so important to our school communities that this new combined school is built. We look forward to a time when our children can be educated in that new environment.”

Derbyshire County Council has confirmed that the work on the new school building is still set to take place, but the authority did not provide any timescales for when the work might start.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We recognise the importance of providing high-quality learning environments for children in Tibshelf and understand the concerns raised by school leaders and the local community.

“The council remains committed to progressing plans to improve provision in the area. We can confirm that work is ongoing to agree the most effective way forward.

“While these processes can be complex and take time to resolve, they are essential to ensuring that any future development is deliverable, represents best value, and is sustainable for the long term.

“We remain in regular contact with key stakeholders and are committed to providing updates as soon as there is further progress to report.

"In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with schools to support them in delivering high-quality education for their pupils.”