Agenda, decisions and minutes

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/074

Contact: Diane Cameron, School Organisation Officer Tel: 07795 301254

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDPHE4).

The Cabinet meeting of 4 September 2012 approved a process for the identification of sponsors for new academies to meet the needs of population growth such as this which requires a new secondary school for 2019.It was subsequently agreed in the meeting of 15^th July 2014 that the final recommendation should be a decision delegated to the cabinet member responsible for Education. 

This process has been followed and has now reached the point where a preferred provider has been identified from a group of 4 short-listed bidders which were assessed against criteria.

The cabinet member is asked to agree the recommended provider which will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Education for a final decision.

However the Department for Education has directed that the recommendation must not be made public, therefore this has to be kept confidential.

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to approve the preferred provider to be submitted to the Secretary of State for Education for final agreement.

Recommendations agreed.

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/079

Contact: Barbara Chillman, Pupil Place Planning Service Manager Tel: 07554 103418

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDPHE5).

This report seeks approval for the annual revision of Oxfordshire's Pupil Place Plan 2017-2021.

It is good practice to produce a Pupil Place Plan to clearly set out the framework for, and approach towards, the provision of places. The Plan shows local communities, and those interested in their development, how the county council expects school provision to change over the next few years. It brings together information from a range of sources and sets out the issues the county council will face in meeting its statutory duties for ensuring sufficient school places up to 2021.

The Plan is presented to the Cabinet Member for Education & Public Health for formal ratification as representing Oxfordshire County Council's position, before its publication.

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to approve the Oxfordshire 2017-2021 Pupil Place Plan.

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/074

Contact: Diane Cameron, School Organisation Officer Tel: 07795 301254

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDPHE6).

This report follows a local consultation and publication of a statutory Notice relating to the county council’s proposal to extend the age range at Hardwick Primary School. The proposal has been made with the support of the school’s Governing Body.

The proposal is to alter Hardwick Primary School’s age range from 4-11 to 2-11. This change will enable to school to continue the early years and childcare provision on the site, previously run separately by the Children’s Centre, which has closed.

The proposal is to formally establish a Nursery offering 16 part time equivalent places for 3 and 4 year olds, and 8 part time equivalent places for two year olds.

The services proposed are already being delivered. When the Children's Centre that operated from the school site was closed as part of the Local Authority's required budgetary spending reductions, from April 2017 the school stepped in to maintain this provision and ensure continuity for local families.

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to approve the proposed change of age range at Hardwick Primary School.

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/127

Contact: Diane Cameron, School Organisation Officer Tel: 07795 301254

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDPHE7).

This report follows a public consultation and statutory Notice period relating to the county council’s proposal to expand Edward Feild Primary School. The proposal was made with the support of the school’s Governing Body.

The proposal was to expand Edward Feild Primary School from its previous Planned Admission Number of 45 to one of 60 (i.e. to become a standard 2 form entry school) on a permanent basis from 1 September 2018. This would increase the total number of places per year available across the Kidlington area (including Dr South’s Primary School in Islip) from 195 to 210.

The proposal was based on pupil forecasts calculated in 2016 which showed that pupil numbers were expected to remain at a level which could result in a shortage of places in some years if Edward Field Primary School returned to its previous admission number of 45:

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to reject the proposed expansion of Edward Feild Primary School.

Forward Plan Ref: 2017/128

Contact: Diane Cameron, School Organisation Officer Tel: 07795 301254

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CMDPHE8).

The report sets out a proposal to alter Dunmore Primary School’s age range from 3-11 to 2-11 from 1 January 2018. The proposal is to formally establish provision of 24 part time equivalent places for 2 and 3 year olds, and new wraparound care provision for this age group and for 4 and 5 year olds.

The provision for 2 year-olds is currently run by the school under its community powers facilities (since September 2017), but the governors wish to formalise the arrangement by extending the school age range.  

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to approve the proposed change of age range at Dunmore Primary School.