Delegated Decisions by Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement
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Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement : Councillor Michael Waine
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Officers:
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Kath Coldwell (Corporate Core)
Shannon Moore (Children, Young People &
Families)
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Also in attendance:
Other Members:
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Councillor Olive
McIntosh-Stedman (as a local member)
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Public Address:
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Councillor Deborah Glass Woodin (as a local
member)
Mrs Brenda Williams (
Mr
Andy Gibbons (TUC)
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Documentation
considered:
Report
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Consultation on the Proposed Closure of Peers School to be
Replaced By an Academy
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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
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
·
She asked if funding would be made available
and stated that there was considerable confusion regarding the consultation;
·
She also raised concern regarding
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
Cabinet Member’s Comments
I wish to make the following points in response to
the speakers:
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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