Issue - meetings

The Department for Education has now announced and confirmed funding for two new schools for Bath and North East Somerset.  To be eligible for funding the Council needs to confirm the availability of a site within B&NES to locate the two facilities.

(Note: At this point Cllrs McCabe and Wood left the meeting having declared interests in this item).

Cllr Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, introduced the report, moved the updated officer recommendation, and made the following statement:

“This proposal represents the most exciting opportunity for this council to secure delivery of two new schools for our community in Bath and to revitalise a site that has long been reserved for educational use.

We recently announced agreements with the Department for Education to fund a new school for children with special educational needs and disabilities and a new Alternative Provision school.

We now need to confirm that B&NES will make land available as soon as possible, and that is the main purpose of tonight’s decision.

As you know, the former Bath Community Academy at Culverhay has been closed for many years, following an earlier DFE decision. Since then, there has been a question mark over the future of the site, with various interim uses and potential pressure for the site to be reallocated – especially given the condition of the existing buildings on the site for conversion.

Our view has always been that this site must be used for education. Local members and I have worked tirelessly to preserve that education function. So, I am pleased – and relieved – that tonight’s report asks us to confirm in principle that the council will make the Culverhay site in part available as the location for these two new schools.

There are many advantages in co-locating the two schools on one site, including the possibility of some joint facilities and leisure facilities for shared use for the public out of school hours. This has always been an important factor for the local community, and I am glad that this door is being kept open.

I think it is clear to all colleagues that there is a great need across the country for better provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities and we are investing in other schemes across B&NES to meet those needs.

We are fortunate that we already have three excellent special schools in our area. However, we still need this extra capacity because demand has increased substantially in recent years. Some local children have had to be placed at expensive, specialist schools outside our immediate area.

The new school will provide 120 places to help fill that gap and I am pleased the established Three Ways Academy Trust has been contracted to work with us, through the DFE commissioning process.

As Cabinet Member for Children, I work closely with the Parent Carers’ Forum. It is clear that children, parents and families all feel the stress when a young person needs an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) and particularly so when it means travelling further to school.

Anything we can do to reduce that pressure for vulnerable young people having to leave our area has to be better for everyone. In addition, travelling often requires  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12