Contact: Ian Lawson, Strategic Planning Officer (01962 846350, e-mail: [email protected])

1. Summary

The following decision is sought:

1 That a Draft School Organisation Plan (2004 Review) be published for consultation with schools and other interested parties, including the School Organisation Committee.

2 That the result of these consultations be reported to the Education Policy Review Committee and Executive Member in the autumn 2004.

2. Reason

This decision supports Aims 1 (Maximising life opportunities), 4 (Building strong and safe communities) and 5 (Improving services) of the Corporate Strategy by setting a framework against which decisions can be taken to match the supply and demand for school places. Details are given in the attached report.

3. Other Options considered and rejected:

None. Publication of a review of the School Organisation Plan is recommended by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

4. Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision maker or other Executive member consulted - none

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - none

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent - not applicable

Approved by: Date:

Councillor D Allen (Portfolio holder)

Contact: Ian Lawson, Strategic Planning Officer (01962 846350, e-mail: [email protected])

1 Summary

1.1 It is recommended that a review of the current School Organisation Plan be published, for consultation with schools and other interested parties, with a view to the reviewed plan being adopted in the autumn of 2004.

2 School Organisation Plan

2.1 It is a requirement of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 that the LEA should produce a School Organisation Plan (SOP). Hitherto, this has been an annual requirement, but regulations made by parliament in 2003 have changed that, so that it is now only a statutory requirement to publish a SOP every three years, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances. In due course, the requirement to publish a SOP will be subsumed within a single education plan for the authority.

2.2 As well as being a position statement on policies guiding the provision of school places, the SOP is a valuable planning tool to respond to new development and the need to review surplus places. Consequently, authorities are encouraged to update the SOP each year so that it can continue to be used in this way.

3 2004 Review

3.1 The current SOP, covering the period 2003/04 - 2007/08, was approved by the School Organisation Committee on 16 December 2003. Copies of the approved plan were circulated to all county councillors and members of the Education Policy Review Committee, district councils and adjoining LEAs and placed on deposit in all public libraries in the county. Head teachers and chairs of governors were notified and the plan is available on the County Council's web-site.

3.2 The data and factual statements in the approved SOP are now being been updated. No alterations need to be made to the policy sections, so there is no requirement for publication of a new SOP.

3.3 The formal process for a new SOP requires a period for representations and for the plan to be submitted to the School Organisation Committee (SOC) for approval. Whilst there is no statutory requirement for the SOC to take part in the interim review of a plan, that body does provide a focussed forum to debate issues raised, and will be expected to have regard to the reviewed plan when making decisions on statutory proposals for changes to the organisation of individual schools. It is felt, therefore, that the SOC should be invited to comment on the reviewed plan during the consultation period.

3.4 In the light of this, it is proposed that the draft reviewed plan should be published and that those parties normally consulted when a new SOP is prepared, including the School Organisation Committee, should be invited to submit comments. This consultation will include all county councillors and district and borough councils. These comments would then be reported to the Education Policy Review Committee and Executive Member in the autumn, so that the reviewed plan can be formally adopted by the LEA.

Recommendations

1. That a Draft School Organisation Plan (2004 Review) be published for consultation with schools and other interested parties, including the School Organisation Committee.

2. That the result of these consultations be reported to the Education Policy Review Committee and Executive Member in the autumn 2004.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB The list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE

Guidance on preparing and agreeing a School Organisation Plan (DfES, May 2003)