Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of Schools & Children’s Services and Director of Finance, Resources & Customer Services setting out the Council’s approach and updating the Council’s strategy towards the provision of school places in Enfield.        (Report No.15A)

Members are asked to note that the updated strategy was agreed by Cabinet on 23 July 2014.  Council is only being asked to approve the changes identified in relation to the overall scheme allocation within the Capital Programme.  (Key Decision – Reference Number 3943)

Councillor Orhan moved and Councillor Stafford seconded a joint report from the Directors of Schools and Children’s Services, and Finance, Resources and Customer Services (number 15A) detailing the Council’s approach and updating the Council’s strategy towards the provision of school places in Enfield.

NOTED

1.         The updated strategy detailed within the report had been approved by Cabinet on 23 July 2014, with Council being asked to approve (as recommended by Cabinet) the resulting changes identified in relation to the overall scheme allocation within the Capital Programme.

2.         The context provided within the report for the updated strategy, which included:

a.         An outline of the 2014 annual review of population projections in terms of the expected impact on demand for school places;

b.         Updated information on the current and planned supply of mainstream school places;

c.         The identification of an increasing demand pressure on provision for children with Special Education Needs; and

d.         Details from approved construction indexes and recent market activity on costs.

3.         The increasingly challenging conditions identified in relation to the provision of school places in relation to not only demand (with specific focus on both the South West and North Central areas of the borough) but also recent changes in market conditions for the construction sector, as detailed in section 4 of the report.

4.         The progress made since 2010 in managing delivery of an additional 4,410 permanent school places under Phase I of the Primary Expansion Programme.

5.         The need identified to deliver an additional nine extra forms of entry at primary level between September 2015 and September 2018, with the plans developed to address this need under Phase II of the School Expansion Programme detailed within sections 3 and 4 of the report.

6.         The need identified by the Leader of the Council to recognise the hard work and success of all involved in the delivery of the expansion programme to date, which had been led by the Cabinet Member for Education, Children’s Services & Protection.

7.         The support expressed by the Opposition Group in relation to work being undertaken to deliver school places and recognition of the challenging circumstances within which this was having to be managed.  Whilst supportive of the plans to monitor the progress of Free School & Academy provision concerns were, however, expressed in relation to:

a.         the need identified for additional capacity at primary level (given the current projections) from September 2017 to September 2018 in order to ensure a degree of parental choice was maintained;

b.         the need to recognise that the GLA school roll projections did not take account of significant local housing developments or the cross borough movement of pupils;

c.         the adequacy of forward planning in relation to the strategy being developed to address the demand for permanent provision in relation to Special Education Needs places;

d.         the limited detailed provided within the report in relation to the development of a strategy for delivery of secondary school places from 2018 onwards.

As a result of the concerns expressed in relation to secondary provision Councillor E.Hayward moved and Councillor Rye seconded an amendment to the report seeking the inclusion of the following as an additional recommendation:

“That a further report be provided for Council within the current Municipal Year relating to the strategy for the provision of Secondary School Places.”

Following a short debate, during which it was noted that secondary provision would meet projected demand up to 2017/18 with plans already being developed to address provision beyond that date, Councillor Orhan advised that she would be willing to accept the additional recommendation for consideration within the report and this was approved without a vote.

8.         In response to the concerns raised the Cabinet Member for Education, Children’s Services & Protection highlighted:

a.         the work being undertaken to ensure the necessary level of Special Education Needs provision was available within the borough;

b.         the challenges caused by Government policy in relation to the lack of consultation required with local authorities over the establishment and location of Free Schools in the planning of provision and need to ensure that the level of Basic Need Grant funding was sufficient to meet the level of need identified in relation to the delivery of school places.

c.         The need to recognise that as a result of the strategy and work undertaken to date it had been possible to ensure Enfield continued to meet its statutory requirement for the provision of school places whilst maintaining an element of parental choice.

Following a lengthy debate the recommendations (as amended) were unanimously agreed, without a vote.

AGREED

(1)     Having noted the decision taken by Cabinet on 23 July 2014, to approve the changes required to the Capital Programme in relation to the updated strategy for the School Expansion Programme, as detailed within the report.

(2)     In addition, that a further report be provided for Council within the current Municipal Year relating to the strategy for the provision of Secondary School Places.