Report of the Director of Education

This report provides an update on school admissions for the academic year 2019/20 along with plans for creating additional capacity in response to forecast demand across primary and secondary schools.

The Committee is invited to comment on the report prior to its submission to the Executive on 12 February 2020.

The Executive Member for Children and Schools outlined the process that was currently taking place regarding the proposal to close Newall Green High School, advising that this was not the Council’s decision.  He informed Members that the Council had written to the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Department for Education to oppose the closure.  A copy of the letter that the Executive Member had written to the Regional Schools Commissioner was shared with the Committee. 

The Executive Member for Children and Schools advised that closing Newall Green High School was not in the interests of the children at the school and their families and that there was not capacity elsewhere within the school system to accommodate all the children if this school did close.  He informed Members that the Council had discussed with the Trust which ran the school some options to address the budget concerns which had led to their proposal to close the school. He reported that he was also awaiting a response from the Regional Schools Commissioner.

Members discussed their concerns at the proposed closure of the school, including concerns for the children and staff affected and that high schools in south Manchester were increasingly clustered around one area, with children in Wythenshawe having less local provision.  A Member advised that, although a listening period was taking place, she felt as though a decision had already been made.

In response to a Member’s question, the Executive Member for Children and Schools reported that the Council did not have any formal powers in relation to this decision but he outlined what the Council was doing to trying to influence the decision, including lobbying at the highest level and meeting with the Trust to try to identify a solution.

The Chair recommended that the Committee endorse the letter which the Executive Member for Children and Schools had sent to the Regional Schools Commissioner, opposing the closure of the school.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Education which provided an update on school admissions for the academic year 2019/20 along with plans for creating additional capacity in response to forecast demand across primary and secondary schools.  The report stated that investment in modern, energy efficient and high quality education infrastructure would drive reductions in carbon across the estate of schools.

The Committee was invited to comment on the report prior to its submission to the Executive on 12 February 2020.

Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:

• School admission applications 2019/20;
• School population forecast;
• Approach to securing sufficient school places; and
• Actions to secure sufficient school places, including proposals for a new primary school and a new secondary school and the expansion of Dean Trust Ardwick.

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• The geographical spread of schools, particularly the number of high schools in the West Didsbury and Chorlton area;
• The importance of taking into account future housing development when planning for school places;
• Whether maintained schools could still voluntarily convert to academies;
• Whether it was appropriate for International New Arrivals with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) to initially be placed in a mainstream school while they were assessed; and
• The challenge for small schools expanding from one-form entry to two- or three-form entry.

The Director of Education reported that the Council wanted to have a good geographical spread of schools across the city but that it was challenging to identify suitable, available land across the city to build new schools, particularly high schools.  She reported that her service worked with housing colleagues to understand future housing development and that this had been factored into the plans outlined in the report.  She confirmed that maintained schools could still opt to become academies but that fewer schools were now choosing to do so.  She advised that it was not always clear what level of assessment International New Arrivals with SEND had had and that sometimes once they were placed in a mainstream school, had had their needs assessed and had settled in this was the right setting for them; however, she advised that officers were reviewing arrangements for how best to quickly settle this group of children and get an understanding what their needs were.  She acknowledged that it was a challenge for small schools to expand to two- or three- form entry but advised that the Council was able to offer them support through this.

In a response to a Member’s question, the Head of Access advised that she would provide him with data on the number of school appeals and how many were successful. 

Decisions

1.            To record the Committee’s opposition to the proposed closure of Newall Green High School and to endorse the letter which the Executive Member for Children and Schools has sent to the Regional Schools Commissioner

2.            To endorse the recommendations to the Executive that they:

1.            Note the data relating to September 2019 admissions;

2.            Note the pupil forecasts submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) during summer 2019;

3.            Support the principle that Basic Need funding is used to fund the new high school and contribute towards the development of the city centre school;

4.            Agree that the Council undertakes consultation to gather views on the plans to develop a new primary school in the city centre and a new secondary school in east Manchester as a first step towards identifying a provider for the new school; and

5.            Delegate responsibility to the Director of Education in consultation with the Executive Member for Children’s Services to:

?          progress the publication of a specification for each new school and invitations to sponsor based on the outcomes of the consultation.

?              Identify a preferred sponsor for each school to be recommended to the DfE.