Agenda item

Councillor Paul Rochford (Cabinet Member for Children & Learning) introduced the report

Cabinet was advised that, by 2020, it was currently expected that there would be around 21% more primary age children than in 2010 across the country and that, by 2015, all regions in England were projected to have an increased primary-aged population compared with 2010. Projected growth ranged from 10% to 15%, the rate for London.

In Havering, the birth rate had grown substantially.  This had begun to have implications for the sufficiency of places in primary schools, especially in the first year of entry (Year R).  The report now submitted set out a strategy to address this.  In addition, while the Council retained statutory responsibility for ensuring there were sufficient school places to meet the needs of the population in the area, there is now an expectation that local authorities would introduce Free Schools and Academies as new providers in areas of demographic growth, and that the Council would therefore become a commissioner of additional places.

The report updated the Cabinet on the latest school places data and set out the proposed approach to meet that growing demand for the next five years, in the context of new national expectations about the changing role of the Local Authority, and to:

·        help the school community understand the longer term population trends and the implications for their schools

·        let parents and the wider community of Havering know what changes are planned and how their views and preferences have contributed to key planning decisions

·        outline to potential sponsors of new schools, such as Academies and Free schools, contextual information about Havering’s changing school population.

Reasons for the decision:

The decision was necessary to progress the strategy for ensuring there are sufficient school places in Havering to meet the rising pupil population.

Other options considered:

The Council could proceed with the expansion programme without an agreed CSPS in place.  However as the Council was in the leadership role for this major and long term expansion programme it needed to consult stake holders on its proposed strategy for meeting the challenge of the rising school population and in so doing reduce the risk of these plans being unsuccessful.

It was affirmed that the previous review of primary places, which had resulted in a reduction in the number of classes and places across the borough, had been undertaken on the basis of then-known demographics and trends and that the current imbalance was the result of factors which could not have been foreseen at that time. Assurance was given that the strategy relied upon re-commissioning currently out-of-use accommodation and new building, and that use of “portakabins” would be avoided.

Cabinet agreed:

1          To approve the draft Commissioning School Places Strategy 2012/13-2016/17 (CSPS)

2          To approve the circulation of the draft CSPS for consultation to all stake holders in school place planning

3          To delegate the determination of the final CSPS jointly to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and the Group Director for Children’s Services.

4          To note that a further report would be presented in September 2012, setting out the details of each expansion scheme, the consultation process and the indicative costs and funding for each scheme.