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Delegated Decisions by Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement 4 June 2007

 

Statement of Decision

 

Consultation on the Proposed Closure of Peers School to be Replaced By an Academy

 

Present:

Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement : Councillor Michael Waine
Officers:	Kath Coldwell (Corporate Core) Shannon Moore (Children, Young People & Families)

 

Also in attendance: 

Other Members:	Councillor Olive McIntosh-Stedman (as a local member)
Public Address:	Councillor Deborah Glass Woodin (as a local member)   Mrs Brenda Williams ( Oxford Anti-Academy Alliance ) Mr Andy Gibbons (TUC)

 

Documentation considered:

Report

Consultation on the Proposed Closure of Peers School to be Replaced By an Academy

A copy is attached to the signed copy of this decision.

 

Summary of representations in person

 

Councillor Olive McIntosh-Stedman, speaking as a local member,  expressed her support for the proposal to replace Peers School with an Academy and for Academies in general. She commented that she wished for a better standard of education to be provided to the children currently attending Peers School .

 

Councillor Deborah Glass Woodin, speaking as a local member, made the following points:

 

·        She opposed Academies in both principle and actuality;

·        She expressed concern regarding the effect that a change to an Academy would have on the local community. She stated that although she recognised that Peers School needed material investment, in her view, a move to Academy status was not the best solution as the creation of an Academy would not meet the needs of the local community;

·        She asked how it would be possible to ensure that the consultation was open, honest and transparent when the intention to close the School in favour of an Academy had already been made clear;

·        She asked if all other options for improving the school had been considered and sought assurance that there was no capacity to create a Community School in place of an Academy;

·        She asked if funding would be made available and stated that there was considerable confusion regarding the consultation;

·        She also raised concern regarding Oxford Community School , commenting that it should also be provided with the same opportunities for growth.

 

Mrs Brenda Williams, speaking on behalf of the Oxford Anti-Academy Alliance, stated that she was dedicated to the needs of all children, as set out in ‘Every Child Matters’. However, she was not reassured by the proposal to change the School into an Academy. She further stated that it was significant that all three of the major teaching unions were opposed to the Academy process and that the Government should test whether Academies were beneficial before promoting them.

 

Mr Andy Gibbons, speaking on behalf of the TUC, expressed his doubt that proper, open, consultation could take place when an advert for the £100,00 a year role of Academy Principal had already appeared in national newspapers. He asked why the creation of an Academy in place of Peers School would address the educational needs of its pupils, commenting that the view of many parents was that introducing an Academy would result in a reduced quality of education. He commented that the School was still a community resource and the community needed to be involved. He expressed his concern that the issue of democratic control had not been addressed. He commented that, in his view, a move towards Academy status was a form of privatisation, adding that in his view, privatisation always led to a worse quality of service. He called for a proper debate to take place, commenting that if everyone worked together the school could be kept under the Council’s control and commented that it might be possible to ask the Government to release funding earlier.   

 

Cabinet Member’s Comments

 

I wish to make the following points in response to the speakers:

 

• All options for the School have been considered, although the range of options available are very limited;
• Oxfordshire County Council will not be receiving Schools for the Future money for about another 10 years;
• Real choice will be offered if the School becomes an Academy;
• Any confusion with regard to the proposals will have arisen as a result of word-of-mouth. The public meetings which will be held during the consultation period will lead to greater clarity;
• The consultation will be open and unbiased. For example, between 100 and 150 people attended a consultation meeting at Drayton School and they were listened to;
• The proposal to open an Academy is not a move towards privatisation and sponsors have already signed up to funding the Academy;
• The County Council’s admissions procedure has already been accepted and therefore if the School becomes an Academy it will not select certain pupils or exclude other groups of pupils; and
• The other points which have been raised by the speakers are all valid points to be raised as part of the consultation.

 

Decision

 

Having regard to the arguments and options set out in the documentation before me and the representations made to me, I confirm my decision on this matter as follows:

 

to authorise officers to consult informally in June and July on the proposal to close Peers School and open an Academy on the Peers School site and report the outcome to full Cabinet in September along with a full appraisal of the project and its risks.

 

 

Signed ......................................................................

            Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement

 

Date ………………………2007

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