[Note – This decision has been exempted from Call-In with the agreement of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.]

The Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions and officer responses were noted.

DECISION

1.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Nursery Schools/Classes in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, noting the inclusion of priority for the children of staff in Tower Hamlets community schools.

2.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Primary Schools in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

3.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Secondary Schools in 2020/21 as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

4.    To agree the schemes for co-ordinating admissions to the Reception Year and Year 7 for 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 to the report.

5.    To agree the scheme for co-ordinating ‘In-Year’ Admissions for 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 5 to the report.

6.    To agree the planned admission number for each school in Tower Hamlets in 2019/20, as set out in Appendix 6 to the report, noting the change in numbers at Elizabeth Selby Infants, Lawdale Juniors and Bow Secondary (detailed in Appendix 7 and 8 to the report).

7.    To agree the proposal to increase school places through the development of a new primary school at Millharbour.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR CHILDREN AND CULTURE (D. JONES)

(Head of Pupil Services and School Sufficiency (T. Bryan)

Councillor Danny Hassell, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report. He explained that only minor changes were proposed to the current admission arrangements and these were as summarised in the report.

The Cabinet asked that the wording of paragraph 3.35 of the report be amended as follows (additions are underlined) to more closely align this work with the Council’s emerging Local Plan:

“This recommendation is in line with the approach to schools in the emerging Local Plan and at the Examination in Public. The Plan allocates more school sites than currently required to meet projected need, and one of the consequences of this is that there may not be sufficient demand in the area when a site comes forward for delivery.  The sites at Millharbour and Alpha Square provide an example of why the Plan’s approach is necessary to ensure the LA can provide sufficient school places. A more detailed explanation is provided in the supporting documents to the emerging Local Plan.”

The Mayor thanked everyone for their comments, noted the Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions and officer responses, and agreed the recommendations as set out.

RESOLVED

1.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Nursery Schools/Classes in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, noting the inclusion of priority for the children of staff in Tower Hamlets community schools.

2.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Primary Schools in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

3.    To agree the oversubscription criteria for admission to Community Secondary Schools in 2020/21 as set out in Appendix 3 to the report.

4.    To agree the schemes for co-ordinating admissions to the Reception Year and Year 7 for 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 to the report.

5.    To agree the scheme for co-ordinating ‘In-Year’ Admissions for 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 5 to the report.

6.    To agree the planned admission number for each school in Tower Hamlets in 2019/20, as set out in Appendix 6 to the report, noting the change in numbers at Elizabeth Selby Infants, Lawdale Juniors and Bow Secondary (detailed in Appendix 7 and 8 to the report).

7.    To agree the proposal to increase school places through the development of a new primary school at Millharbour.

The Chair informed the Committee that Cabinet on 27^th February, 2019 was to agree the Local Authority’s school admission arrangements for Tower Hamlets Community Schools and those schools for whom the Local Authority acts as the admission authority. He stated that due to the urgency of the decision he had after briefing from officers had agreed to this decision being exempt from call-in.