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ITEM CA9 -
ANNEX 1
CABINET
– 6 JUNE 2006
DRAYTON
SCHOOL, BANBURY: CREATION OF AN ACADEMY
Secondary
Education Provision in the Banbury Area
Extract
from a report by the Director for Learning & Culture to the Cabinet
on 6 December 2005
Introduction
- The Executive
in April 2004 considered a report which contained a number of possible
options for meeting secondary education needs in the Banbury area with
a specific focus on that part of the town currently served by Drayton
School. Of the six options presented, two were considered to warrant
further investigation: a merger of Drayton School and Oxford and Cherwell
[Valley] College; and the creation of an Academy on the Drayton School
campus.
- Since April 2004
there has been a series of discussions between officers, the Principal
of the Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (OCVC), the Department for
Education and Skills (DfES) and representatives of potential sponsors
of an Academy.
- This has led to
the conclusion that of the two options identified for further consideration,
only one – the creation of an Academy on the Drayton School campus –
would be viable. The creation of a school-college hybrid institution
is still beset by currently unresolved issues of governance and no secure
legal underpinning. In addition it would bring with it no guarantee
of sufficient capital investment to create a modern, state of the art
educational institution capable of making sufficient impact on the hitherto
intractable problem of raising educational standards.
Preferred
Option
- The Government’s
academies programme aims to establish some 200 institutions by 2010.
These are publicly funded schools (which do not charge fees) independent
of their host local authority. The programme provides access to significant
capital investment for either major refurbishment of existing school
buildings or new build. Combined with a contribution from a sponsor
(or sponsors) this may amount to in excess of £20m. The contribution
from the County Council consists of entering into a long-term lease
of land to the Academy sponsor (typically 125 years) and officer time.
- ‘Media and Communication’
has been identified as the Academy’s specialism. This would complement
those already available in the local area (Technology at The Warriner,
Sport at Blessed George Napier, Art & Design at OCVC and Humanities
proposed for Banbury School), enhancing the range of provision accessible
to secondary age students. Raising the overall quality, range and profile
of education in the town should result in more primary age pupils transferring
to local secondary schools and contribute to improved staying on rates
post-16, including those transferring to the area sixth form at Banbury
School or to OCVC. Vociferous parental objections to the 2003 proposal
to relocate Drayton School to the Blessed George Napier site suggest
that the Academy would be unlikely to draw significant numbers of pupils
from outside the current Drayton School catchment area and the sponsors
are committed to giving preference for admission to those living closest
to the Academy.
- Through the DfES,
possible sponsors for an Academy have been identified. In discussions
(held in confidence) with potential sponsors, officers have emphasized
the principle that improvements in secondary provision in the north
of Banbury should be part of an area-wide approach to raising educational
achievement. Although attainment at Drayton School is the lowest in
the area, there remains a need to improve educational outcomes across
the whole town. Therefore joint working with Oxfordshire County Council,
neighbouring schools and other providers is regarded as essential for
success.
- Supported by the
DfES an ‘Expression of Interest’ document has been put together. It
outlines a proposal to create an 11–19 Academy to replace the current
Drayton School on the Drayton School campus. The Academy would be established
to meet the needs of the community in which it is located and would
operate an admissions policy in line with that of neighbouring local
authority schools. It would offer high quality vocational and academic
opportunities in close collaboration with OCVC and contribute to the
local 14–19 area partnership. It would also be of a capacity sufficient
to meet the increased demand for secondary school places likely to be
generated by new housing developments in Banbury and from improved transfer
rates from local primary schools.
- It is anticipated
that by the time the Cabinet considers this paper the ‘Expression of
Interest’ will have been presented to a Government minister for formal
approval for the process to move to the next stage.
Next Steps
- If the Cabinet
is minded to agree to proceeding with the intention to create an Academy
to replace Drayton School and the minister gives approval, the sequence
of events would be as follows:
- Feasibility
stage: A project team will be put together by the DfES from its ‘Project
Management Service Companies’ and architects. This will produce detailed
plans and an outline building design and carry out formal consultation
with the local community. The detailed plans will be submitted to
the Secretary of State. Depending upon the complexity of the project
this stage will last between 6 and 18 months. During this stage further
investigation into the feasibility of relocating the Frank Wise Special
School secondary provision will be undertaken.
- Formal consultation
with the County Council will be undertaken by the Secretary of State.
- A funding agreement
will be drawn up between the Secretary of State and the Academy Trust
with a binding commitment to open an Academy on a specified date.
- Implementation
stage: The Academy will come into existence as a legal entity but
in the current Drayton School buildings. This will require the formal
closure of Drayton School. During this stage some of the curriculum
innovations intended to raise achievement will be implemented whilst
at the same time new buildings will be appearing on the site.
Conclusion
- The 2003 proposal
to relocate Drayton school to the current site of Blessed George Napier
school demonstrated a very strong local commitment to continuing provision
of secondary education in north Banbury. Since then significant additional
resources, including the creation of a formal partnership with Matthew
Arnold School, have been made available to Drayton School but educational
standards remain unacceptably low. The inescapable conclusion is that
‘more of the same’ is unlikely to produce the step change in performance
that is required. In the absence of further substantial capital investment,
the current school premises are unlikely to prove capable of supporting
the significant curriculum innovation needed to more successfully meet
the full range of student needs in the Drayton catchment area.
- Having considered
a range of possible options in 2004 and narrowed these down to two with
the potential to have significant impact on educational standards, officers
have concluded that only the creation of an Academy to replace Drayton
school will (a) allow the drawing down of significant capital investment
and (b) lift the educational aspirations of students and the whole community
and (c) support the raising of educational standards.
Financial and Staffing
Implications
- Other than the
commitment of officer time there are none arising directly from this
report.
- The creation of
an Academy would require the closure of Drayton School and the transfer
of some or all of the site to the sponsor under a 125 year lease.
- Under the Transfer
of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), the staff
of Drayton School would be entitled to transfer to the Academy. The
pay and conditions of staff transferred would initially be those pertaining
at the time of transfer but would then be subject to negotiation and
variation by the sponsor (one of the freedoms enjoyed by Academies is
that they are not bound by the School Teachers Pay & Conditions
Document). It is expected that eligible employees would be able to remain
within the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
- In revenue terms
the creation of an Academy is cost neutral with its budget share being
the same as if it were a school maintained by the host local authority.
If Drayton School were not to be replaced by an Academy it is likely
that in due course significant capital investment would be required.
The recent experience of the rejection of the Targeted Capital Fund
bid to rebuild Harriers Ground School and enhance the building stock
of Banbury School confirms that there is no guarantee of this funding
stream meeting the cost of capital works. The creation of an Academy
therefore removes this element of risk from the County Council as all
capital work is met directly by the DfES.
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