Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 69 (12 December 2017), the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement presented an update report in respect of the various school expansion and improvement projects aimed at addressing the current and future demand for places in the Borough, as well as the latest funding issues.

The Cabinet Member referred to the projected pupil numbers at primary and secondary level and confirmed that there was expected to be a slight surplus of places in Reception Year 2018/19 and 2019/20 as a result of the slowing of the birth rate in the Borough around 2014.  The longer-term plans for new school provision included three new primary schools, 1 secondary school and two special schools and those projects would be brought forward only when the demand for new places was confirmed. 

The Cabinet Member outlined the latest funding announcements to support investment in the Borough’s schools, which included a £369,673 allocation via the Healthy Schools initiative for capital works at Local Authority Maintained schools in the Borough.  The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration welcomed the funding but criticised the Government’s ‘command and control’ approach to how funding from the Healthy Schools initiative must be spent by Local Authorities who were much better placed to understand the priorities for their area. 

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement also referred to the need for funding to support Special Educational Need (SEN) provision in the Borough, particularly revenue funding, and welcomed the support of Jon Cruddas MP who was expected to raise a question on the issue in Parliament.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the strategy for Ensuring Sufficient School Places and School Modernisation to 2027, and the Future Planning Programme to meet Basic Need (including SEN places) 2017 to 2027 (amended June 2018) as set out in section 9 and Appendices 1 and 2 of the report;

(ii)  Approve the inclusion in the Capital Programme of the DfE grant allocations for 2018/19 as detailed in section 3 of the report;

(iii)  Approve the inclusion in the Capital Programme of the DfE grant allocated to support the provision of new school places as set out in section 4 of the report.

(iv)  Approve the various projects and associated changes to the Capital Programme as set out in section 6 and summarised in Section 7 of the report;

(v)  Delegate authority to the Procurement Board in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules subject to the Director of People and Resilience approving the final procurement strategies for each project; and

(vi)  Delegate authority to the Director of People and Resilience, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Law and Governance, to award the respective project contracts.