FROM the very outset I have raised major concerns with the way Northumberland County Council is going about this process, and have tried to generate more rigour and time.

It was stated by the council at a very early meeting that the withdrawal of Bright Tribe from Haydon Bridge High is basically the reason for the consultation. Without that decision, I don’t believe we’d be where we are today, looking at such wholesale, sweeping changes.

There are some things that need to be addressed for the long-term future of education, and we should aim to work as a partnership across schools wherever possible to develop appropriate solutions that genuinely put the quality of education first and foremost.

We need to avoid falling into the trap of looking at our own schools in isolation, because our children’s education is a journey through a number of schools.

Before proposing fixes, or accepting the need for them, we need to be clear about what’s broken and what’s not.

In my view, this consultation is an attempt, and a very clumsy one at that, to lump a load of ‘issues’ into a pot and then try to solve them all with a crude and overly simplistic solution.

There is pressure on the council to address the Haydon Bridge High School issue, and I’m sure no-one would want to see those children suffer any more than they have already.

However, we must make sure that any solution is not a kneejerk reaction at the expense of the thousands of other children already in education and those who will be coming through the system for many, many years to come.

If I was preparing to invest £50m in a business and completely change the way it operated, I’d make sure I gave it much more time, resource and consideration than I see currently. That concerns me greatly.

While the west of Tyne is not entirely unique, it is highly distinctive as an area, and we need to hold the council to account to deliver a ‘unique and innovative’ solution as promised by Coun. Wayne Daley.

A blunt school closure and move to a two-tier approach seem about as far removed from ‘innovative’ and ‘unique’ as you can get, as far as I can tell.

In my view, and I have made it clear to the council, this is a rushed and ill- thought through process.

My biggest concern at the moment is that the council has not provided, and has told me it will not provide, modelling that sits behind the three options to show how each would address the issues of surplus places and financial deficits.

Yet we are being asked to judge each option on the basis of whether we believe it is a viable and sustainable model. Personally, I don’t see how this can form the basis of a credible consultation.

These are emotive issues and are affecting many people: parents, children, those involved in supporting schools, and let’s not forget all the wonderful teaching staff who do so much for our children every single day (and night in most cases).

We must not allow the council to divide and conquer. There is such a strong partnership in Hexham that has made the education system the success it is today, and we must find ways to protect what makes it a system that so many parents choose to send their children into faced with other options.

The Regional Schools Commissioner will be a key decision maker in much of what happens, and I hope the commissioner is looking long and hard at the implications and evidence being presented.

I think the only positive at the moment is the strength of the community and the passion of everyone, from teachers and governors to parents and members of the community.

Schools backed the concept of a consultation in principle, but I think you’d struggle to find one school that backs the way it’s being implemented.

I take exception at the way it’s being presented, as if we’ve got what we all agreed and asked for.

When we supported the idea of consultation, we asked for a chance to put the future of our children, our communities and our aspirations at the heart of a genuinely innovative conversation about what’s possible.

Have we got that?

*** Dom Aldred writes in a personal capacity, in the hope that as many people as possible will take part in the consultation process, which ends on April 9.

Northumberland County Council has insisted the consultation into the future of education had the backing of local schools,

The deputy leader and cabinet member with responsibility for education, Coun. Wayne Daley, said: "We recognise that this consultation has caused much debate in communities, and appreciate concerns have been raised by partners, schools and parents. We genuinely welcome how engaged all partners and schools have been so far, and many are now exploring innovative ways to continue to deliver first class education in their area.

“The majority of schools in the west of the county supported the idea to consult in this way to debate these issues, and we are committed to undertaking an open and transparent exercise.

"However, it's important to reiterate that the options outlined in the consultation are for consideration, and no decisions have been made. Indeed, through this consultation, we actively invite alternative options - nothing is set in stone.

“The decision to undertake consultation was deemed necessary as there are a number of fundamental issues affecting education in this area, which still remain.

“Bright Tribe abandoning Haydon Bridge and Hadrian Learning Trust’s stated desire to move to 11-18 school provision, which the council don’t control, means that we simply can’t ignore the fact the something needs to change.

“All options will be considered, and vitally help inform the results of the Hadrian Learning Trust consultation on 11-18 school provision, which the council has no control over.

"Please be assured that we are listening to all views expressed, all of which will help shape what happens next."