Cross party? They all make us cross!

Cabinet member Peter Hammond has made two concessions this week to opponents of aspects of Bristol City Council's Primary Review strategy.

He has offered to meet representatives of the group fighting proposals to expand Sefton Park Infant and Junior Schools and has also agreed to participate in a cross party working group looking at the proposed closures of three primaries.

Mr Hammond says he wants to find a way forward on both issues.

But he insists that the working group will focus only on the plans to shut St George's Church of England Primary School in the city centre, St Pius X Catholic Primary in Withywood and Stockwood Green Primary and not on the wider issues of the review's strategy.

He also points out that the Sefton Park expansion is not part of the review, but was agreed by the council last January.

Liberal Democrat leader Barbara Janke and Tory leader Richard Eddy both say there should be more cross party working with regard to children and young people's services.

The Lib Dems feel they should be consulted over big issues because they are the largest party on the council and the Conservatives hark back to the time of the shared administration when their party had the education brief in the cabinet.

But Labour, albeit in the minority, is running the council – at least until the elections – and is taking the tough decisions so it has up to now seen no need for compromise.

Scores of teachers, governors and parents have attended council, cabinet and scrutiny commission meetings over the last few months to state their case against the Primary Review proposals.

For many, it has been their first view of how local government works – and they have been shocked at what they have seen.

They cannot believe that knockabout politics, electoral concerns and short term fixes are involved in decisions that can have such a profound effect on children's futures.

They, and many others who have never been near the council chamber, would surely agree with Mr Eddy when he says: "We need a primary strategy that will survive over many decades irrespective of which political party is in power."

But how will this be achieved when attitudes are so entrenched?

All parties would do well to remember the events of the past decade, which saw the council come within a whisker of having its control of education taken away by the Government after two damning Ofsted judgments.

There has been relative stability over the past four years, but while there was consensus in 2005 when results were at rock bottom, it has dissipated considerably.

The new chief executive Jan Ormondroyd has agreed to set up the cross party working group on the closures. Many observers hope she will tell them all how cross they are making many teachers and parents.