To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 01 April 2014 and to note actions taken since that meeting.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25 February 2014 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest and of any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

Councillors declared the following interests in the business to be transacted:-

·         Cllr Bowater as Chair of Governors at Leighton Buzzard Middle School;

·         Cllr D Jones as Chair of Governors at Hawthorn Community Primary School;

·         Cllr Pepworth as Chair of Governors at St. Augustins school and a member of the Ashton Foundation;

·         Cllr Hollick as a governor of All Saints and a member of the Ashton Foundation;

·         Cllr Duckett as a Governor at Maulden Lower School; and

·         Mr J Reynolds as a Governor at All Saints Academy.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

The Chairman welcomed new Members to the Committee and outlined the process by which members of the public who had registered to speak would be invited to do so at the commencement of Item 9.  The Chairman also advised those in attendance that filming and recording of the meeting was not permitted.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

None.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of part A4 of the Constitution.

As previously advised the Chairman confirmed that eight members of the public and elected Members had registered to speak.  Speakers would be invited to speak at the commencement of Item 9. 

The Chairman also informed the Committee that two questions had been received from a parent relating to the criteria that would be used to make the final decision on school closures and whether the Council had any input or authority to reject a schools application for academy status.  The Chairman requested that the Executive Member respond to these questions when responding to others raised by public speakers.

To consider any decision of the Executive referred to this Committee for review in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.10 of Part D2.

None.

None.

To receive the outcomes of responses to consultations on the phased closure of three schools in order to provide a view to be considered by the Executive at their meeting on 27 May 2014.

The appendices to this report have been circulated separately (appendix pages 1 to 134)

At the commencement of this item the Chairman invited eight residents and elected Members to speak.  The speakers raised issues that in summary related to the following:-

·         Statements that reducing the number of surplus school places was not a priority.

·         Additional information that had been circulated by Streetfield Community Middle School to Members and co-opted Members of the Committee.

·         Concerns that the committee report contained inaccurate information which was misleading. 

·         The potential capacity to develop Streetfield Community Middle School as an alternative to closure.

·         The lack of faith based information within the report.

·         Concerns that several responses to the consultation had been omitted from the report

·         Whether other schools in Dunstable would continue to be financially viable if these three were closed.

·         The importance of providing children with the necessary skills to continue life-long learning outside of the classroom that included providing children with choices and the opportunity to become more confident before encountering older children.

·         The difficulty of engaging children in science and the importance of teachers with the confidence to deliver a high class education.

·         The importance of providing parents with choice over the schools that their children attend.

·         Concerns regarding the way the budget had been set based on historical attendance numbers and a suggestion that the levels of funding should be reconsidered.

·         Concerns regarding letters that had been sent to parents regarding the selection of sixth form places by a certain date, leading to confusion. 

·         The lack of funding for an identified number of students at Ashton Church of England Voluntary Aided Middle School.

·         Sustainable improvement that could be demonstrated at Brewers Hill Community Middle School over previous years, which had resulted in a good Ofsted inspection in 2013 and concerns that this would not be maintained elsewhere if the school was to close.

·         The potential capacity for growth at Brewers Hill Community Middle School, which continued to attract students at all ages despite the age range changes.

·         Changes in national government policy leading to a requirement to consider closing schools and the importance of listening to the responses received during public consultation.

·         Concerns that the proposed closures would impact on all upper, middle and lower schools in the area who might be unprepared to respond to this challenge.

·         The importance of providing appropriate support for children with special educational needs

·         The importance of giving the schools an appropriate amount of time to address the challenges and work together before the Council made any final decisions.

·         The importance of an effective education and ensuring that any decisions were taken in light of the best outcome for children and the need to provide continuity for children.

·         The impact of the rising birth rate and the impact this would have in relation to increasing pressure on schools.

The Executive Member for Children’s Services thanked the speakers and commented that he had listened to the concerns throughout the process and would continue to do so.  The Committee were reminded that a decision would be taken at the Executive on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.