Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming

Officer: Interim Executive Director Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones

Key decision: yes

RESOLVED: To

School Admission

1.    agree to recommend to full Council that it determine the proposed community schools’ Admission Arrangements for the 2022/23 academic year (Appendix 1);

2.    approve the continued adoption of the proposed Pan London scheme for co-ordination of admissions to Reception and Junior schools as set out at Appendix 1a of the report; and adoption of the proposed Pan London scheme for co-ordination of admissions to secondary schools as set out at Appendix 1b of the report;

School Place Planning

3.    approve the Capital Programme Budget summary (as set out at Appendix 2 of the report);

School Maintenance and Compliance

4.    approve the proposed Schools’ Maintenance Plan (as set out at Appendix 3 of the report) for 2021/22 with an overall budget cost of £2.945m;

5.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Children, Families and Education to vary the proposed Schools’ Maintenance Plan to reflect actual prices and new urgent issues that may arise, including authorising spend against the allowance for emergency and reactive works. The Executive Director, Children, Families and Education shall report back to members in respect of any exercise of such authority;

School Place Planning

Academy conversion

6.    note the change of status of Woodcote Primary to an academy;

Early Years

7.    note the 2020 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment report as set out at  Appendix 4 of the report;

           Special Educational Needs and Disability(SEND)

8.    note that the SEND Estates strategies are contributing positively to the development of local provision maintaining some of our most challenging and vulnerable children and young people with SEND within their families and communities. For example, the:

9.    new special school – Addington Valley Academy - for severe and complex children with Autism Spectrum Conditions is underway and on schedule;

10.new school build for St. Nicholas Special School was completed and the school moved in over the last academic year;

11.Croydon College Coulsdon Pathways provision for students with SEND aged 19-25 is now in its third year and has been a great success;

12.review of the SEND estate – Red Gates / St. Giles / Priory - in terms of its quality, safeguarding and feasibility as approved by Cabinet in January 2020 is underway; and

Alternative Provision / Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)

13.note information on Alternative Provision / PRU.

The Leader informed Cabinet that the order of the agenda would be varied to:

·       Item 9/21 – Dedicated Schools Grant Schools Funding 2021/22 Formula Factors

·       Item 7/21 – General Fund Capital Programme 2020-2024

·       Item 8/21 – Proposed closure of Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School

·       Item 6/21 – Education Estates Strategy

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education, Councillor Alisa Flemming, noted that the report was the annual report to Cabinet on the education estates and was split into two sections; the first being focussed on decisions for Cabinet to make and the second being for information. It was noted that Council would be asked to determine the proposed community school admission arrangements for 2022/23. The Cabinet Member highlighted that there were no proposed changes to previously determined arrangements barring updates in relation to DfE guidance.

It was further noted by the Cabinet Member that the council was responsible for having a scheme in place for the coordination of admission arrangements for both primary and secondary schools as part of the pan-London agreement which sought to simplify the application process and ensure a fair distribution of places across London.

The Cabinet Member stated the council was committed to reducing the high needs deficit but stressed that the decision to deliver Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) places was not driven by finances but by the desire to ensure young people could access education within the borough and could live independent lives by travelling by bus to school, for example.

It was highlighted that the mainstream school supply strategy had not been included in the report on this occasion as Croydon did not plan to create additional mainstream places. Pupil forecasts indicated there was a sufficiency of places in both primary and secondary schools for the next three years. The Cabinet Member stated that there would be a need to review the strategy as a result of covid-19 as there had been an increase in number of parents choosing to home school, and whilst the numbers were low it was stressed that the forecasting and places available aligned.

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal, Councillor Stuart King, welcomed the feasibility work which was underway at Gresham Primary School to establish whether the bulge class could be made permanent as supporting popular schools was an important objective. The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal noted that there had been significant investment in the SEND programme and requested further information on how that investment would support managing the financial challenge of the delivering the service whilst not impacting the education the children received.

In response, the Cabinet Member stated that she also welcomed the feasibility studies into expanding popular schools and more details would be provided by the Interim Director of Education & Youth Engagement, Shelley Davies, outside of the meeting.

The Interim Director advised Members that the Addington Valley Free School was open on a temporary site with 25 students and from September 2021 would open on its permanent site for 80 pupils. Providing an education to those 25 young people ahead of the permanent site being open had enabled the council to provide provision within the borough and support those young people to develop their independence skills. It was stated that the school being open would have a huge impact on the high needs expenditure as a large proportion of that budget had historically been spent at independent schools or outer borough schools.

Post-19 provision was also highlighted by the Interim Director as the council had worked with both Croydon College and Coulsdon College to establish the Coulsdon College Pathway which supported young people aged between 19 and 25 with SEND to be educated within the borough. These developments, it was stated, would have really positive impacts on young people’s education and on the council’s finances.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning, Councillor Maria Gatland, stated that she welcomed the expansion of local provision for SEND pupils and highlighted the work of the Coulsdon College Pathway. It was noted that at paragraph 4.1 of the report, which focussed on school place planning, that there was a potential for higher surpluses in some schools and the Shadow Cabinet Member questioned how those surpluses were being managed and queried whether there would be pressure on some schools to deliver a full curriculum in the future. Furthermore, it was noted that the school place planning would also need to be reviewed in future years as a result of intensification of housing in some parts of the borough.

In response, the Cabinet Member stated that school place planning was projected using birth rates and there had been a consistent drop in those rates in recent years and the council sought to keep the surplus to within 5% of the forecast. The Cabinet Member confirmed that the ability to ensure a full curriculum was in place as secondary schools worked with one another to deliver a full curriculum across estates and work was ongoing to reduce the number of sixth forms.

The Cabinet Member confirmed that the supply strategy would need to be reviewed to ensure sufficient places were available, in response to both the increase in home schooling and more housing. The Interim Executive Director for Children, Families & Education, Debbie Jones, confirmed the council continued to monitor the number of surplus school places and work would need to take place to ensure there was an equitable balance of places across the borough and to capitalise on the excellent work which was taking place by the schools in delivering a broad and balanced education. It was stressed that the council would want to be planning ahead rather than reacting to changes in demand for school places.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs, Councillor Simon Hoar, noted that there were planned works for St Giles School, Red Gates School and Priory School due to the poor condition of some of the buildings at the schools. In light, of the investment at Addington Valley Free School and St Nicholas School, the Shadow Cabinet Member queried whether the future options for the three schools had been considered; whether that included expansion, merging with other schools or closure of buildings due to repair. The Cabinet Member noted that she had sent a report to approve in relation to St Giles School but recognised that the schools site was crowded. It was stated that there were ongoing discussions with the governing bodies to ensure the provision met the changing needs of the cohort attending the school. The Cabinet Member committed to keep the Shadow Cabinet Member updated on the plans in relation to those schools.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

School Admission

1.     Agree to recommend to full Council that it determine the proposed community schools’ Admission Arrangements for the 2022/23 academic year (Appendix 1);

2.     Approve the continued adoption of the proposed Pan London scheme for co-ordination of admissions to Reception and Junior schools as set out at Appendix 1a of the report; and adoption of the proposed Pan London scheme for co-ordination of admissions to secondary schools as set out at Appendix 1b of the report;

School Place Planning

3.     Approve the Capital Programme Budget summary (as set out at Appendix 2 of the report);

School Maintenance and Compliance

4.     Approve the proposed Schools’ Maintenance Plan (as set out at Appendix 3 of the report) for 2021/22 with an overall budget cost of £2.945m;

5.     Delegate authority to the Executive Director, Children, Families and Education to vary the proposed Schools’ Maintenance Plan to reflect actual prices and new urgent issues that may arise, including authorising spend against the allowance for emergency and reactive works. The Executive Director, Children, Families and Education shall report back to members in respect of any exercise of such authority;

School Place Planning

Academy conversion

6.     Note the change of status of Woodcote Primary to an academy;

Early Years

7.     Note the 2020 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment report as set out at  Appendix 4 of the report;

           Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

8.     Note that the SEND Estates strategies are contributing positively to the development of local provision maintaining some of our most challenging and vulnerable children and young people with SEND within their families and communities. For example, the:

9.     New special school – Addington Valley Academy - for severe and complex children with Autism Spectrum Conditions is underway and on schedule;

10.New school build for St. Nicholas Special School was completed and the school moved in over the last academic year;

11.Croydon College Coulsdon Pathways provision for students with SEND aged 19-25 is now in its third year and has been a great success;

12.Review of the SEND estate – Red Gates / St. Giles / Priory - in terms of its quality, safeguarding and feasibility as approved by Cabinet in January 2020 is underway; and

Alternative Provision / Pupil Referral Unit (PRU)

13.Note information on Alternative Provision / PRU.