Issue - meetings
Academy Conversions - Clara Grant Primary School and Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College
Meeting: 25/07/2017 - Cabinet (Item 5)
Additional documents:
Decision:
DECISION
1. To agree to the grant of a 125-year lease to the new academy trust for Clara Grant Primary School;
2. To agree to the grant of a 125-year lease to the new academy trust for Stepney Green Maths and Computing College;
3. To authorise the Corporate Director, Place, to agree final terms and conditions for the grant of the new leases for both schools;
4. To authorise the Corporate Director, Place, to agree final terms and conditions with Poplar Harca for the lease of the Clara Grant School nursery class accommodation and sub-lease to the academy trust;
5. To approve the Council to enter into commercial and staffing transfer agreements for both schools;
6. To approve the Council to enter into all other necessary documentation to ensure the liabilities under the PFI arrangements for both schools are transferred to the academies;
7. To authorise the Corporate Director, Children’s Services, after consultation with the Corporate Director, Governance and the Corporate Director, Resources to enter into all other necessary agreements and do all that is necessary for the purposes of the conversion of the two schools;
8. To authorise the Corporate Director, Governance to execute all documentation required to implement the decisions;
9. To authorise the Corporate Director, Resources to execute the Local Government (Contract) Act 1997 Certificate required to implement the decisions
Action by:
CORPORATE DIRECTOR, CHILDREN’S SERVICES (D. JONES)
(Service Manager, Policy, Programmes and Community Insight (L. Richards)
Minutes:
Councillor Amy Whitelock-Gibbs, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services, introduced the report. She explained that there had been a lot of community discussion about the plans by these schools to convert to Academies but that the Council’s role was restricted to agreeing the technical changes set out in this report. The Council had no power to block the decisions taken by the schools.
There was a general discussion during which local residents expressed concerns about the decisions and the way the consultation processes had been handled by the schools.
The Mayor expressed sympathy for the concerns of the residents but confirmed, following consultation with officers, that the Council had no powers in respect of reviewing the decisions of the schools. He confirmed that the Council would continue to work with these schools to ensure they remained part of the wider Borough community of schools. He agreed the recommendations set out in the report.
RESOLVED
1. To agree to the grant of a 125-year lease to the new academy trust for Clara Grant Primary School;
2. To agree to the grant of a 125-year lease to the new academy trust for Stepney Green Maths and Computing College;
3. To authorise the Corporate Director, Place, to agree final terms and conditions for the grant of the new leases for both schools;
4. To authorise the Corporate Director, Place, to agree final terms and conditions with Poplar Harca for the lease of the Clara Grant School nursery class accommodation and sub-lease to the academy trust;
5. To approve the Council to enter into commercial and staffing transfer agreements for both schools;
6. To approve the Council to enter into all other necessary documentation to ensure the liabilities under the PFI arrangements for both schools are transferred to the academies;
7. To authorise the Corporate Director, Children’s Services, after consultation with the Corporate Director, Governance and the Corporate Director, Resources to enter into all other necessary agreements and do all that is necessary for the purposes of the conversion of the two schools;
8. To authorise the Corporate Director, Governance to execute all documentation required to implement the decisions;
9. To authorise the Corporate Director, Resources to execute the Local Government (Contract) Act 1997 Certificate required to implement the decisions