Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 120 (19 April 2016), the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement presented a report on the revised position of the Governors of Robert Clack School of Science who now supported the Council’s desire to expand the School by providing two additional forms of entry on the existing site together with the development of a three-form entry primary facility and a sixth-form entry at secondary age at the Lymington Fields site.

The Cabinet Member referred to the funding aspects of the project and concurred with the sentiments of her Cabinet colleagues that the much needed new school places in the area would be provided significantly quicker via Robert Clack School, as opposed to any other arrangement such as a Free School.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the proposed expansion of Robert Clack School of Science as detailed in paragraph 2.4 of the report, subject to the approval of the Department for Education following formal consultation;

(ii)  Approve the inclusion in the Capital Programme of the following sums to support the expansion of Robert Clack School, as detailed in section 3 of the report:

(a)  £17m DfE Basic Need Grant for 2017/18;

(b)  £10m DfE Basic Need Grant previously allocated for new school provision in central Barking;

(c)  £1.75m of S106 funding secured to support the development of school provision on the Lymington Fields site.

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to procure and award the respective project contracts following the approval of the Corporate Procurement Board to the final procurement strategy.