Southampton Schools' future: The Council report - part 3

hnThe need to remove surplus places which represent an inefficient use of resources and which could potentially put the viability of certain schools at risk.

hnThe opportunity to create learning campuses where services for children, young people and the community could be better joined up.

hnThe need to prepare for major investment in school buildings through Building Schools for the Future.

Outline of review process 25. Extensive informal discussions with key stakeholders, including secondary headteachers and governors, took place in 2005. The school community was aware of the need for significant change to the pattern of provision, and could see that there was the prospect of several schools becoming unviable. It was also recognised that the overall organisation of schools in the city was a contributory factor to the challenge of raising attainment.

26. Elected members from all parties were briefed. There was a widespread consensus that a city wide review of secondary schools was required and that it should be prepared to consider radical options.

27. An initial phase of prestatutory consultation took place early in 2006. This led to a report to the Cabinet Member on 5th June 2006. A number of recommendations were approved. However the decision was called in by the Childrens Services and Learning Scrutiny Panel, and the Cabinet Member therefore reconsidered the decision on 19th June 2007. The revised decision led to a further phase of prestatutory consultation.

28. The next phase of prestatutory consultation took place in Autumn 2006 and led to statutory proposals being made by the Cabinet Member for Childrens Services and Learning on 27th November 2006.

29. Because these included proposals to establish new schools the provisions of the 2005 Education Act relating to new school competitions applied. Southampton 10 was only the second authority to conduct a new schools competition. This presented the challenge of piloting a new process without the benefit of significant experience in other local authority areas. In addition the statutory regulations changed twice between the initial decision and the final determination. At the start of the process the decision was assumed to rest with the School Organisation Committee. In February regulations were introduced that transferred such decisions to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator if the local authority or diocesan authorities were making proposals.

In May the power of determination transferred to the local authority, providing it was not making its own proposals. Similarly the guidance for decision makers has changed, with new guidance coming into force on 25th May 2007.

Southampton City Councils approach to the competition 30. Originally it was intended that Southampton City Council should be a competitor, with the decision being made by the Schools Adjudicator. However the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gives Local Authorities the responsibility for strategic decision making in their areas. As explained in the previous paragraph, regulations were introduced to give effect to this. It was increasingly felt by members and officers that it would be more appropriate for Southampton City Council to withdraw from the competition and instead put itself in the role of the decision maker. A decision to this effect was taken by the Cabinet Member on 25th March 2007. It was further decided to provide copies of the work done to date to all the known potential competitors, and reaffirmed that help and support would be provided to enable competitors to produce high quality proposals.

31. The public notice inviting promoters to make proposals for the two new schools was published on 6th December 2006. Seminars were held in February to stimulate interest in the competition. Throughout the four month period in which promoters could prepare their proposals assistance was given to potential promoters including facilitating visits to school sites, and the opportunity of meeting council officers both in Childrens Services and Learning and other relevant parts of the Council, such as Planning. By the deadline of 6th April 2007 three proposals had been received for new schools on the west of the city, and four for new schools on the east of the city.

Linked proposals west: closure of Millbrook and Oaklands and establishment of New School West 32. The proposals for the new school on the west of the city were: hnfrom Oasis Community Learning for an Academy hnfrom Southampton Education Trust for a Trust School hnfrom United Learning Trust for an Academy (Please refer to Appendix 11 for an explanation of the different categories of school including Academies and Trust Schools).

33. The closure of Millbrook and Oaklands is being proposed because of the number of surplus places in the area and the need to rationalise provision. Millbrook Community School in particular has a significant and growing number of surplus places. Without significant action there would be a very high likelihood of the school becoming unviable. It had been previously proposed in the report to the Cabinet Member on 5th June 2006 that Millbrook Community School be closed 11 and Oaklands Community School expanded. However following call-in it was agreed to go to further public consultation. The Cabinet Member decision on 27th November was that both schools should close and a new school be established as it was felt this would be fairer to both schools.

34. The proposal is for the New School West to be established on the Oaklands site, but with a clear intention that the feasibility be investigated of its ultimate relocation to a new site on part of the Five Acre Field (i.e. the sports field bounded by Redbridge Lane, Romsey Road and Brownhill Way). It should be stressed that the relocation to Five Acre Field is an aspiration and is not itself the subject of this decision.

35. Because the initial number on roll at the New School West will exceed the capacity of the current Oaklands site and the proposed capacity of the new school, it is intended that the Millbrook Community School site and buildings be retained as an annexe for use by the New School West until such time as the whole school can be consolidated. It was decided as part of the 29th November Cabinet Member decision that investigations would be commissioned into potential longer term community and educational uses for the Millbrook site.

36. The attention of decision makers is drawn to the full documentation provided by the promoters, which is available in Members Rooms and online, to the notes of the public meetings, to the Technical Appraisal (Appendix 1) by officers of the strengths and weaknesses of the three proposals, to the representations received during the consultation (copies in members rooms) and to the Consultation Summary (Appendix 3).

Linked proposals west: Expansion of Redbridge Community School 37. The proposal to expand Redbridge Community School is linked to the proposals for a new school to replace Millbrook and Oaklands. Redbridge serves one of the most deprived communities in Southampton. It has achieved good results in recent years, and is regularly significantly over-subscribed. At its most recent Ofsted inspection it was judged to be outstanding. It clearly makes sense to enable more pupils to benefit from the quality of provision it offers.

38. The headteacher and governors of Redbridge Community School have expressed their support for the principle of expansion. They are concerned to ensure that sufficient resources are committed by the City Council to ensure that appropriate building works are delivered. Plans are being developed between Southampton City Council, Redbridge Community School and Interserve plc (the PFI partner organisation responsible for the Redbridge site and buildings) to develop suitable plans for its expansion.

Linked proposals east: closure of Grove Park and Woolston and establishment of New School East, 39. The proposals for the new school on the east of the city were: hnfrom CfBT Education Trust for a Trust School hnfrom Oasis Community Learning for an Academy hnfrom Southampton Education Trust for a Trust School hnfrom United Learning Trust for an Academy 12 (Please refer to Appendix 11 for an explanation of the different categories of school including Academies and Trust Schools).

40. The closure of Grove Park Business and Enterprise College and Woolston School Language College is being proposed because of the number of surplus places in the area and the need to rationalise provision. Grove Park in particular has a significant and growing number of surplus places.

Without significant action there would be a very high likelihood of the school becoming unviable. It had been previously proposed in the report to the Cabinet Member on 5th June 2006 that Grove Park Business and Enterprise College be closed and Woolston School Language College expanded. However following call-in it was agreed to go to further public consultation. The Cabinet Member decision on 27th November was that both schools should close and a new school be established on the Grove Park site as it was felt this would be fairer to both schools and would make use of the better site in terms of playing fields and potential for site redevelopment.

41. Because the initial number on roll at the New School East will exceed the capacity of the current Grove Park site and the proposed capacity of the new school, it is intended that the Woolston School Language College site and buildings be retained as an annexe for use by the New School East until such time as the whole school can be consolidated.

42. The attention of decision makers is drawn to the full documentation provided by the promoters, which is available in Members Rooms and online, to the notes of the public meetings, to the Technical Appraisal (Appendix 1) by officers of the strengths and weaknesses of the three proposals, to the representations received during the consultation (copies in members rooms) and to the Consultation Summary (Appendix 3).

Linked proposals east: The Sholing Technology College 43. The proposal that The Sholing Technology College becomes mixed is linked to the proposal for New School East. Grove Park is a boys' school. Woolston has a significant gender imbalance towards boys. This means that the New School East, although technically mixed would have a very significant gender imbalance towards boys.

44. To create a truly balanced pattern of provision for the east of the city it would be necessary for TSTC to become mixed . This would be achieved by admitting boys and girls to year 7 from September 2008. A phased transition from single sex to mixed would result.

45. The earlier phase of consultation showed parental and community support for The Sholing Technology College to become mixed, particularly amongst the parents of children currently at primary school. A mixed school makes better sense if the learning campus concept is to be developed as it provides a better basis for the school to serve the whole of its community. The headteacher and governing body support the proposal that TSTC becomes mixed.

46. The proposal to expand TSTC is linked to the proposals for a new school to replace Grove Park and Woolston. It has achieved good results in recent years, and has been over-subscribed in certain years. At its most recent Ofsted inspection it was judged to be good. It is proposed that the schools current 13 capacity of 950 is increased to 1050, rounding it up to take seven forms of entry.

It clearly makes sense to enable more pupils to benefit from the quality of provision TSTC offers.

Overall approach to linked decisions for the west and east 47. There are two sets of linked decisions which are the subject of this report. The issue of how the decisions on the west and east might be treated has been posed by a number of key stakeholders. This section briefly summarises some of the differences between the two sets of proposals which need to be considered.

Whatever the decision the specific circumstances and evidence relating to each set of proposals must be given separate consideration.

48. There are some key differences between the proposals on the west and east: hnthere is an aspiration on the west that the New School relocates, if feasible, and subject to any necessary consents, to a completely new site, whereas on the east the proposal is that the New School is located on one of the existing sites hnthe proposal on the west is to bring together two mixed schools with broadly equal numbers of boys and girls whereas the proposal on the east is to bring together a boys school and mixed school where a significant majority of the pupils are boys, which will result in a school with a preponderance of boys until the gender balance equalises over time hnthe catchment area on the west is relatively straightforward and represents a well defined and understood geographical area whereas the catchment on the east is complex, and includes the separate areas of east Sholing, Woolston and the City Centre. The school on the east is also in fairly close proximity to two other secondary schools, with the consequence that the effect on parental preference is particularly hard to predict.

49. Although those promoters who have made proposals for both sides of the city have offered broadly similar proposals for both, there are differences of detail which may be significant. One promoter has only made a proposal for the east, thus requiring an additional option to be considered. Where it is considered that there are differences of approach this has been highlighted in the Technical Appraisal. (Appendix 1) 50. The views of those who have responded to the consultation differ in emphasis on the west and the east. This may also be a factor which needs to be taken into consideration.

51. Some stakeholders have specifically asked whether the same organisation should be invited to set up schools on both sides of the city. Clearly there are separate decisions to be made. To insist on the same organisation promoting both schools would be to rule out any organisation choosing to make only one proposal. This would not be reasonable. The advantages of asking one organisation to set up both schools include the economies of scale that would result for the promoter, and the creation of a small local network between the two resulting schools. The advantages of asking two organisations to set up one school each include the greater range of partners and new ideas this would bring to secondary education in the city; a greater diversity of organisations, and potentially of categories of school.

14 52. Providing any decision is clearly based on evidence, taking into account all the relevant information and not taking into account any irrelevant information it would be open to the decision maker to select different promoters for each side of the city.