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The committee will receive a presentation on sufficiency of school places for information and to inform future discussion. 

Members of Scrutiny Committee have requested an update on population trends affecting the provision of education services for children and young people in the county.  These trends are expected to inform a strategy to meet demand to be presented later in the year.  

The Education Scrutiny Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the presentation given and receive a further report on actions to meet the provision of Education services later in the year.   

Members of Scrutiny Committee had requested an update on population trends affecting the provision of education services for children and young people in the county.  These trends expected to inform a strategy to meet demand to be presented later in the year.  

Accordingly, the Committee received a presentation by Allyson Milward, Head of Access to Learning on sufficiency of school places for information and to inform future discussion. 

Ms Milward reported that the primary phase ‘bulge’ in pupil numbers of recent years was transferring to secondary schools from 2019/20 academic year.  The projected trends in pupil numbers in the primary phase for the next five years showed clear increases in areas of proposed housing growth but falling numbers in some areas where this is not the case.  Strategies to manage the expected changes in demand for places with primary schools in the county are being reviewed and will be the subject of further reports to this committee in due course.  When planning new schools, the whole local picture of provision will always be considered including relocations of existing schools to meet whole community needs.   There has also been a decline in the birth rate for the last 4 years, again not evenly geographically spread, and so published admission numbers for some schools may need to be reviewed and other ways to allow groups of schools to maximise the value of resources investigated.  An updated Oxfordshire Pupil Place Plan is being consulted on with Headteachers currently. Forecasts for pupil numbers had been sent off to the DfE to determine allocations, which would be fed into the pupil place plan.  The Plan will go for Cabinet approval in January. There was also an Action Plan to support sufficient and sustainable school places with a series of actions to be agreed with schools and other stakeholders.  The action plan would be presented to the Committee in due course. 

The Chairman raised concern regarding the fair access protocol.  He was aware of one school, that had blocked taking children into the school, stating that they had closed their Year Group.  He queried whether officers were aware and whether appropriate action was being taken with the Governors?   In response, Ms Milward confirmed that they were aware, and that appropriate action was being taken.

The Committee questioned what was being done around the long-term identification of growth or decline in pupil numbers and the Council’s ability to assure capacity to meet that within schools.   In relation to that, concern about children coming into schools outside the main admissions rounds and during the academic year was expressed and potential for children to be without a school place for a long period.  

Ms Milward explained that if children were coming into the area over the summer holidays, there was very little they could do about the delay.  Keeping track of changes in places available during the time when schools are not open is a particular challenge but an additional factor in delays is that the Council had no powers to accelerate the process to admit children into academies.  Academies are admissions authorities.  There is close liaison with council officers but ultimately each admissions authority needs to formally approve the offer of any place before the council can process this. 

Mr Hilliard reported that they were having termly meetings with the Regional Schools Commissioner and increasingly strong dialogue with Headteachers and the MAT Chief Executives.  There were also new governor services officers in place who could pick this issue up and add it to the questions that Governor’s should be asking Schools.

RESOLVED:to note the presentation given and receive a further report on actions to meet the provision of Education services later in the year.