Meeting documents
Cabinet
Wednesday, 30th June, 2004
Appendix 3
Notes of the Contributor Session
at Culverhay School
19.05.04
To be supplied by Democratic Services
61)BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET COUNCIL
EDUCATION, YOUTH, CULTURE & LEISURE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL
A REVIEW OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE SOUTH AND CENTRAL BATH AREA
Wednesday 19th May 2004
PRESENT -: Chair 2004-2005: Councillor Andy Furse
Councillors: Sarah Bevan, Sally Davis, Dine Romero, Leila Wishart , Hilary Fraser, Shirley Steel
Also in attendance: Co-opted Members and teaching unions observers: Colin Hitchin, Paul Grant, Lyn Sammons, Mike Brownbill, Chris Batten, Rob Henderson
Officers: Mike Young, Bruce Austen
Apologies: Councillors Leila Wishart, Paul Crossley and David Bellotti, Philip Pope, Tess Daly.
1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
The Chair, Councillor Andy Furse welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the Panel's role in the consultation process for this review.
2 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE
The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.
3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Romero declared a personal interest as the parent of a child attending Moorlands Junior School and as a ward councillor whose ward included Moorlands and Southdown Schools.
4 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR
There was none.
5 ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS - TO RECEIVE DEPUTATIONS, STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING
Mr Mattausch Burrows, Head of Twerton Infants School, read out a joint statement of behalf of all eight schools involved in this review.
Moorlands Infants School - Mrs Collett (Headteacher)
Panel Mrs Collett said that she and her governors were happy with the information which had been circulated about her school and invited questions from the Panel.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - Please could you clarify the issue of surplus space at the school.
Mrs Collett - The school is fortunate that the buildings are of generous proportions and does not feel it has too much space.
Panel - Whereabouts do the children at the school go to for outdoor activities?
Mrs Collett - We have 2 playgrounds and a grassed area, which is not level. The children use the junior school's field for sports days.
Panel - What about the lack of library space?
Mrs Collett - We do not have a separate library at present, but we have places to build a library and community room on one of our patios.
Panel - How do you feel about possible amalgamation?
Mrs Collett - We feel that the infant children benefit from having a school which is adapted for their size and needs. We work very closely with the local nursery and junior school.
Panel: What is your opinion on the government standards for school building sizes?
Mrs Collett - We don't feel that our clasrooms are particularly oversized for infants, though we agree that we have too many toilets. It may be possible to convert the space they take up for other uses.
Panel - How do you see your school being affected by the demographic trends towards lower birth rate?
Mrs Collett - It is difficult to say - we have been full for the last 3 years, but the numbers for the coming year are slightly down.
Panel - Moorlands Schools are set in a model housing development - how important are the schools in the community?
Mrs Collett - We are committed to the community - we have a SureStart nursery, breakfast and after-school clubs, as well as a CAB surgery.
Moorlands Junior School - Mrs Warby (Head)
Questions from the Panel
Panel - How do you feel about amalgamation?
Mrs Warby - I feel that the children benefit from being in separate schools. The children at the top of the infant school get used to having responsibility as the oldest pupils and that proves helpful when they go up to the junior school.
Panel - Would it be worth amalgamating to reduce the maintenance costs?
Mrs Warby - I don't think the costs are high enough to make it worth amalgamating
Panel - Does most of your intake come from Moorlands Infants school?
Mrs Warby - Yes, but we also take from other schools nearby.
Panel - Do the children from the SureStart nursery come to your school?
Mrs Warby - The nursery has only been open 3 weeks, so it's too early to tell. However, we are hoping they will do in the future.
Oldfield Park Infants School - Mrs Claridge (Headteacher) and the Chair of Governors
The Chair of governors read out a statement from the school which was made available to Panel members.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - How do you feel about the LEA preference for all-through primary schools?
Chair of Governors - That doesn't always accord with parental choice and in any case, where would they be sited?
Mrs Claridge - We feel the report about our school was ambiguous.
Chair of Governors - Are the Panel still going to recommend amalgamation?
Panel - We are not in favour of purely technical amalgamations, only where it would improve the schools concerned.
Panel - How do you manage the traffic problems around the school?
Mrs Claridge - It is not an easy location, but we do encourage children to walk to school and we are planning pedestrian training and walking buses.
Panel - How do you feel about the extended school issue with regard to your school?
Mrs Claridge - We have a very successful after-school club and are thinking about starting a breakfast club. We also have family learning on site.
Panel - How far apart are the infant and junior schools?
Mrs Claridge - About a 7 minute walk
Oldfield Park Junior School - Mrs George (Headteacher) and Chair of Governors
Mrs George - My personal view about amalgamation is that all-through purpose-built primary schools would be the best option. We do work very closely with the Infants School.
Chair of Governors
We have considered amalgamation before. It would have been better if an area and site for an amalgamated school had been identified before initiating all this further discussion on the issue.
Bruce Austen
If the LEA had identified a site, it would look like a fait accompli to the local schools. This way, we hope to get people on board earlier in the process.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - If a new site was found for an all-through school, would you prefer that as an option, or would you prefer more land for a playing field?
Mrs George - The land behind the school would be the best option for the Junior school. We would need to know where the new site was before deciding whether it was in a suitable location.
Bruce Austen - A very large area behind the school was reserved at the time of the last amalgamation exercise. However, the Council at the time decided not to go ahead, so the LEA removed their option on most of the land and now there is only room for a playing field.
Mrs George - We do have large playgrounds and we manage well, despite the lack of a field.
Panel - There is an all-through primary school planned for the Western Riverside development - what impact might that have on the Oldfield Park schools?
Chair of Governors - When we met with Bruce Austen, he informed us that there would be no impact.
Bruce Austen - If 900 homes are built at Western Riverside, they would generate enough children for a 1-form entry primary school. If 1600 homes are built, it would be a 2-form entry - the latter development may have an impact on the Oldfield schools, but it is difficult to judge at present.
Southdown Junior school - Mrs Janet Blake - Vice-Chair of Governors
Mrs Blake - Our governors are meeting next week and we will provide the Panel with a written response after that meeting. We are generally happy with the status quo at the school. We have a solid building with lots of space which is well-used. We have disposed of our 2 temporary classrooms, so the whole school is housed in the main building. The school and the playing field are available for community use. We have large numbers of SEN pupils so we need the extra space for small group teaching.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - How does the size of the Junior school affect the children when they move on to secondary education?
Mrs Blake - If the children have already been in separate infant and junior schools, they are used to the concept of moving school. Also, the secondary schools that most of them go to are quite small.
Panel - Do you have large buildings?
Mrs Blake - Yes and also large playgrounds and a field. We are expecting the new developments at Whiteway and Rush Hill to generate more children for our school.
Southdown Infant School - Mrs Culley (Head)
Mrs Culley - we have laid the foundations for our school to be an extended school. We have visionary governors, we run a childcare facility and our own school meals service.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - Do you think that the closure of 2 schools and opening a new school would be good for children's education in the area, given the discrepancy in the results between the infant and junior schools?
Mrs Culley - We know children who live near our school go elsewhere and we need to improve. We need to build the confidence of local families to send their children to us - the Sure Start initiative will help that process.
Chair of Governors - A new purpose-built school would be great for the area and would help the surplus numbers problem.
Panel - You seem to have a lot of space.
Mrs Culley - We do have a large canteen, but that has asbestos problems. The Southside Project and the Community Bus use the school. We feel that the children in the area deserve better.
St Michael's CE VC Primary School - Mrs El-Husseini (Head) & Dr Chris Chatfield (Chair of Governors)
Dr Chatfield gave a presentation, copies of which were circulated to Panel Members.
Mrs El-Husseini informed the Panel that all the schools in this cluster were concerned about the falling numbers and that it might mean redundancies - they were doing everything they could to encourage more children to attend their local schools. She said that if something happened to one school in the cluster, it would affect them all as they were so close.
Questions from the Panel
Panel - Is it only the falling birthrate which is causing the surplus places in your school?
Mrs El-Husseini - Some children do move away. This is especially true of some of the larger families who cannot find big enough houses near the school. There is a lot of student rented accommodation in the area as well, which does not generate children.
Panel - What do you feel about amalgamation?
Mrs El-Husseini - There are arguments for and against. We are doing well at present, but I don't know whether an amalgamation would be better for the children. We do have close contact with the Infant school.
Twerton Infants School - Mr Mattausch Burrows (Headteacher)
Mr Mattausch Burrows - We do not want one school pitted against another in this cluster. We would like open, honest consultation which will have the end result of benefiting education. If the LEA raises money from the sale of a school site, it should be shared with the other schools. We do not want schools with an allocation of 315 places and mixed age-groups. I feel we need to build a new school to remove the surplus spaces.
The Panel Chair reassured Mr Mattausch Burrows that the Panel were not comparing schools in a judgmental fashion. The information which we have asked for is to give us a picture of each school, their buildings, grounds and particular characteristics.
Panel - Does the proceeds from the sale of school land go back into the cluster or to the whole LEA?
Bruce Austen - The entire proceeds of the sale will be for use in the capital programme in that area. Any revenue savings arising from the closure are put back into the budget for the whole LEA.
Conclusions - The Chair thanking everyone for attending. He explained that the Panel would now consider the evidence which had been presented and make their recommendations to the Council Executive. These recommendations would be published in a report which would be presented to the public at a meeting on Monday June 7th at 5.30pm in the Council Chamber, Guildhall.
The meeting ended at 8.10PM
Chair
Date Confirmed and Signed