Agenda item

The Children & Young People Scrutiny Sub-Committee has asked to review the Cabinet Paper on the Education Estates Strategy to conduct Pre-Decision Scrutiny, looking particularly at the management of surplus school places, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision, and the proposed Schools’ Maintenance Plan.

The Sub-Committee considered a paper set out in the supplementary agenda, which provided a report due for consideration at Cabinet on 31 January 2024 on the Education Estates Strategy for Pre-Decision Scrutiny. The Director of Education and the Head of Service for Early Years, School Place Planning and Admissions who introduced the report. The Chair thanked officers for providing written answers to a number of the Sub-Committee’s questions on the paper in advance of the meeting.

Members asked about in-year admissions and what support was available to assist families moving into the borough with finding school places. The Director of Education explained that there had been a significant number of in-year admissions over the last couple of months. The Sub-Committee heard that the local authority received in-year admissions, but that schools, were their own admissions authority; because of this, the Council process the applications and pass these applications directly on to the schools named in the application. The Council did chase schools to respond to in-year admissions where these were outstanding and it was acknowledged that sometimes responses could take a significant period. Where Members submitted casework regarding in-year admissions, the Education department did respond directly to families and highlighted when applications were being submitted to schools with no available places. Additional support was provided to these families in identifying where there were available school places in the borough.

It was acknowledged that admissions for year 11 were more challenging, especially where students had not accessed the GCSE curriculum previously. The Director of Education explained that in response to this, the Fair Access Protocol had been looked at to separate out the ‘managed moves’ element, which had now been retitled as the ‘inclusion’ element; this had begun to yield positive results for in-year admissions. The Council was looking at what else could be done differently for year 10 and 11 in-year admissions to best work with schools, and had established a working group with head teachers to look at how best to support families moving into the borough.

The Sub-Committee asked whether the Council funded tuition or other support whilst school placements were being sought. The Director of Education explained that the Council had limited powers in this area, but could write to the Secretary of State to ensure a child was admitted to a school. There was a focus on partnership working with schools and conversations with head teachers on the in-year admissions process..

The Sub-Committee asked about modifications to schools to ensure they lost less heat, and asked if similar work was being considered to make sure schools remained cool during heatwaves. The Head of Service for Early Years, School Place Planning and Admission explained that the Education department worked closely with Capital Delivery colleagues to conduct risk assessments and ensure health and safety was paramount in all schools, with all regulations being correctly followed. Whilst ensuring schools could be properly heated was the responsibility of the local authority, overheating in schools was regulated by the DfE and was the responsibility of the schools themselves.

The Chair commented on the conversion of Saffron Valley Collegiate, and thanked officers for their response that this would not delay provision as the Service level agreement between the Council and the Management Committee of Saffron Valley Collegiate would remain in place; this would ensure that the Council continued to meet its statutory duty to provide education for young people excluded from school who are unable to access a school place. The Director of Education clarified that Saffron Valley Collegiate was Croydon’s Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and that this was split over four different locations, divided by Key Stage 3 and 4.

The Sub-Committee noted that additional spaces for the PRUs were commissioned, and asked how the demand and costs for these spaces had changed over the last year. The Director of Education explained that Saffron Valley Collegiate is a local authority school, which meant that the commissioning was based on the needs of the individual child using top-up funding, in the same way as special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision. It was acknowledged that there was increased demand from Year 1 children following the pandemic; it was inappropriate to place such young children into Saffron Valley Collegiate and alternative provision would be considered for these cases. The Director of Education explained that the Council was considering putting additional support into schools ahead of children being excluded or put on fixed term suspensions.

Members asked if it would be possible to have a list of the schools that fell under each area in Appendix 4, and for a case study or example of what prolonged surplus places could mean for a school. The Director of Education stated that this could be provided, and suggested that an example could be provided of a past situation where the Council had concerns about falling roles and the impact of this on the school.

Request for Information

The Sub-Committee requested additional information on Appendix 4 (Available Primary School Places vs SCAP 2023 Pupil Projections) explaining which schools fell under each Planning Area, and for some information on a past situation where the Council had concerns about falling roles and the impact of this on the school.

Conclusions

The Sub-Committee thanked officers and Cabinet Member for their responses and for providing written answers to their questions in advance of the meeting.

The Sub-Committee were encouraged that the Council was considering the impact of the pandemic on increased demand for alternative provision for younger children, and on PRU spaces.