Agenda item
Tackling the School Places Gap: Pupil Place Planning and the Impact of Academies and Free Schools - Scrutiny Challenge Session
To approve the draft report and the recommendations contained in it and authorise the Service Head for Strategy & Equality to amend the draft report before submission to Cabinet, after consultation with the scrutiny review group.
Minutes:
Cllr Whitelock-Gibbs, Scrutiny Lead for Children Schools and Families presented the report. She informed the Committee that, this municipal year, it had been agreed that work would focus on school places. A challenge session had been held at which representatives from London Councils and Barking and Dagenham Council were interviewed.
The following conclusions were drawn from the investigation arising from key questions that formed the terms of reference for the challenge session:
- That the Council has a duty to provide education but no control of the location of school places
- There had been a significant increase in demand year on year, and demand was also affected by the borough's demographics
- There is insufficient capital funding from central government for school places in London
- It was not possible to influence the establishment of Free Schools and Academies which are set up outside of Local Authority control and are the government’s preferred model of education.
- Councillor Whitelock-Gibbs highlighted the importance of the fifth recommendation, namely to explore ways to actively work with Free Schools and Academies, to ensure they deliver education in line with the council’s values around admissions, curriculum and standards.
The Chair thanked Councillor Whitelock-Gibbs for her report and commended the thorough investigation undertaken. He noted that as building assets disposed of by the council could never be retrieved, it was therefore necessary to ensure that school provision was one of the council’s priorities in terms of planning benefits across the borough.
In discussion the Committee noted the following:
· there had been closer collaborative working in regard to schools planning between the directorates of Education, Social Care and Well-being and Development and Renewal
· Concerning provision of alternative accommodation in the event of an unforeseen school closure, the Committee was informed that the directorate had measures to ensure there was other unused capacity that could be drawn upon if such a situation were to occur. However there was growing pressure on school places and this would affect finite resources which, in turn, might mean that such access might not be available in future. The Committee noted the importance of this matter and asked that in future, where the Council wished to dispose of buildings, that consideration first be given to whether the intended disposal could first be used for extra school places before proceeding to sale.
· Members felt that there was a tendency for fast food shops to open near the premises of private schools and it was recommend that that the Council work with these bodies to ensure that the healthy eating agenda was promoted. The Committee was informed that healthy eating was a public health matter and the responsibility of the whole community. Members heard that the Council has no mandate in relation to independent schools, however it will explore ways in which healthy eating could be promoted to these schools.
· Concerning how decisions to fulfil the number of childcare places were made, the Committee was informed that educational premises were often unable to accommodate both school and childcare facilities therefore, in most cases, sites were usually designated for either education or for pre-school childcare.
RESOLVED
1. That the draft report and its recommendations be approved
2. That the Service Head Strategy and Equality be authorised to amend the draft report before submission to Cabinet after consultation with the Scrutiny Review Group
3. That the report be endorsed, that the report be referred to Cabinet for consideration.
Action by:
Vicky Allen (Strategy, Policy and Performance Officer)
Supporting documents:
- 6.3 Tackling the school places gap - OSC Cover report final, item 6.3 PDF 49 KB
- 6.3a Tackling the school places gap - APPENDIX 1 - report, item 6.3 PDF 718 KB