Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL ORGANISATION COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on Friday 4 February 2005.

PRESENT:

Hampshire County Council

Councillors:

Mrs Felicity Hindson (Alternate Member for Councillor Don Allen)

Michael Cartwright

Mrs Anna McNair Scott (Alternate Member for Councillor Raymond Ellis)
Brian Dash

Dennis Wright (Alternate Member for Councillor Jo Kelly)

Mrs. Edith Randall

Church of England

Alex Young

Brian Hay

Peter Gilliat

Tony Blackshaw

Roman Catholic Church

Mrs. Urszula Topp

School Governors

Jim Murray

Jack Carruthers

Alan Fender

Tom Wickstead

Frank Rust (Chairman)

Mrs Bobby Smith

Apologies Received:

Councillor Don Allen - Hampshire County Council

Councillor Raymond Ellis - Hampshire County Council

Councillor Jo Kelly - Hampshire County Council

Mrs Stephanie Quant - Learning and Skills Council

Mrs Sheila Allen - Roman Catholic Church

Mrs. Veronica Roberts - Roman Catholic Church

Mrs. Sylvia Vine - School Governors

134 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 15 September 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

135. AMPFIELD CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL - PROPOSED CLOSURE

The Committee received the following deputations:-

Friends of Ampfield School - Charlie Allen and Lynne Franklin

The deputation acknowledged the need to eliminate surplus places in schools but considered that, in this case, the proposals were flawed because of special attributes at the school such as the extended family atmosphere and the school's caring and Christian ethos. The deputation made reference to the strong demand for Church of England School places in the area and to the receipt of forty-five pledges from parents to send their children to the school. (Appendix 1 refers).

St. Mark's Church, Ampfield - Reverend Roger Edwards

The deputation considered that this school made an important contribution to the local community, provided a good grounding in life for children and considered that the proposal would not bring any benefits (Appendix 2 refers).

Sandra Gidley M.P., Romsey Constituency

The deputation firstly explained that the Liberal Democrat County Councillor for the Baddesley Division (Councillor A.G. Dowden) was on holiday and therefore was unable to attend this meeting to explain the concerns about the proposal and the effect on parental choice. The deputation talked of perceived failings of the democratic processes in taking into account the views of interested parties. The deputation also put forward that school standards had significantly improved with parents and governors fully committed to the future success of the school. It was therefore put forward that the closure of the school should be delayed until at least 2007 to enable Ampfield school to recover its pupil numbers and to facilitate further improvements.

Councillor Hatley - Ward Member for Ampfield and Braishfield and Deputy Leader of Test Valley Borough Council

The deputation informed the Committee that Test Valley Borough Council was against the proposal and made the point that this had received cross-party support. Reference was made to a letter received after the closing date for objections from Claire Chidley, Corporate Director of Test Valley Borough Council re-stating the Council's objection to the proposal (Appendix 3 refers). Test Valley Borough Council's objection centred around reduced parental choice, the undermining of pre-school facilities at the Village Hall and the change in the nature of Whitenap Conservation Area. It was also considered that not all housing developments had been taken into account. Reference was made to the County Council's Structure Plan, the Borough Local Plan and in particular the brownfield site identified near the Potters' Heron Hotel. It was submitted that the closure of the school should be delayed until at least 2007 to enable the school to recover its pupil numbers.

Mr. Tony Knight, Chairman of Governors of Ampfield Church of England Primary School

The deputation supported the representations made against the proposals and outlined the background to the circumstances leading to the proposal being put before the Committee. The deputation considered that the proposed closure was seriously flawed for a number of reasons. (Appendix 4 refers).

The County Education Officer presented the Local Education Authority's (LEA's) proposal (Item 3 in the Minute Book refers) to discontinue Ampfield Church of England Primary School at Ampfield in the Borough of Test Valley, with effect from 31 August 2006. The Committee also considered the thirty-one representation letters received to the proposal following the publication of notices on 22 October 2004.

The County Education Officer reported on the background to the proposal and made reference to the LEA's statutory responsibility to keep the provision of school places under review. In particular it was pointed out that the LEA did not embark on any school re-organisation proposal without due consideration of all the relevant factors. The County Education Officer acknowledged the strength of feeling of the community at the prospect of the school closing but referred to a number of key factors resulting in the decision to publish public notices to close the school.

Firstly, it was pointed out that there were insufficient children living in Ampfield to sustain a primary school; many of the children attending the school did not live within the Ampfield area. The Committee were referred to Tables 2 and 3 on Page 173 of the Committee papers, which demonstrated that there were insufficient local children to fill the school. The Committee were also referred to Map C on Page 207 which showed the home addresses of children who attended the school. It was noted that pupils currently attending the school came from a wide area with only seven of the twenty- three children on roll in September 2004 living in the catchment area.

It was also put forward that sufficient places were available in other schools within a reasonable distance. The Committee were referred to Table 5 on Page 176 of the Committee papers which set out the number of places available at fifteen of the sixteen Church of England schools shown on Map B on page 206 between 27 - 29 September 2004. Reference was also made to Map A on Page 205 and Map C on page 207 of the Committee papers. It was noted that in the statement of case no single school had been identified as the transfer school due to the wide distances travelled by children. Reference was also made to the educational standards of the forty-four schools identified on Maps A, B and C. It was indicated that thirty-nine of the forty-four schools were of the same, or better, educational standard as Ampfield School.

Taking into account the financial considerations, the Committee were referred to Table 1 on Page 214 of the Committee papers. This set out the comparative costs of primary age pupils in schools of varying sizes in accordance with the provisions of the local management formula. It was noted that this formula allocated additional funding to smaller schools to take account of the diseconomies of scale and to help schools to deliver the full curriculum. In particular it was noted that the formula "cushioned" schools where numbers had dropped so that no budget would be less than 95% of the previous year. The fact that there was little local demand for Ampfield School meant that the unit cost per pupil was higher than in other small schools, therefore taking money away from children in other Hampshire schools.

The County Education Officer also made reference to the housing forecasts for the area and the Committee were directed to Table 5 on Page 249 of the Committee papers. It was pointed out that all new housing developments for which planning permission had been approved had been taken into account.

The County Education Officer considered that the proposals were based on sound strategic reasons and represented the most efficient use of resources, in the interests of maintaining high standards of education for children throughout Hampshire. In conclusion the County Education Officer considered, taking into account all factors, that the proposal was in the best interests of Hampshire's children.

The Committee debated the proposals and a number of questions and comments were made by Members. In particular Tony Blackshaw, Diocesan Director of Education, made a statement about the Winchester Diocesan Board of Education comments on the closure of Ampfield school (Representation letter No.23, page 109 of the Committee papers refers).

Members adjourned in their respective Groups to consider the proposals.

The Committee voted in the following manner:-

Group Name	Vote
Hampshire County Council	For
Church of England	Against
Roman Catholic Church	For
Learning and Skills Council	Absent
School Governors	For

Accordingly, as the Committee failed to reach a unanimous decision, the Committee referred these proposals to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, pursuant to Paragraph 3(6) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

RESOLVED:

That, pursuant to Paragraph 3(6) of Schedule 6 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, the Secretary to the Committee informs the Office of the Schools Adjudicator that the Committee failed to reach a unanimous decision in respect of these proposals.

136. THE SUNDRIDGE SCHOOL, COWPLAIN - ENLARGEMENT AND

TRANSFER TO NEW SITE

The County Education Officer presented the LEA proposal (Item 4 in the Minute Book refers). The Committee also considered the prescribed information to alter Sundridge School, Cowplain to a Community Special School.

It was reported that although no objections had been received in response to the public notices published on 26 January 2005, the LEA was not able to determine to implement the proposals within the statutory time limit because at the time the necessary capital had not been secured. The proposals therefore needed to be determined by the Committee.

Additional information to supplement the Statement of Case was circulated at the meeting. This supplementary information covered the following points:

_ Ongoing consultation.

_ Other schools maintained by the LEA where there was recognised

provision for children with Special Educational Needs.

_ Number of children with Special Educational Needs of each type.

_ Consequences if the proposal was rejected.

RESOLVED:

(i) That the proposals be approved on the condition that planning permission is granted.

This condition must be met by 1 September, 2006.

(ii) That the implementation date be modified to 1 September 2006

137 SCHOOL ORGANISATION BUDGET 2004/05 AND 2005/06

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council (Item 5 in the Minute Book refers) setting out the proposed budget of the Committee in respect of the financial year 2005/06. The report also detailed the Committee's expenditure to date for 2004/05.

In considering the report it was noted that in 2004/05 the budget had been set at £3,500. Actual expenditure for the year to date amounted to approximately £4,669 of which £3,079.00 related to printing (largely arising from the consideration of the Pinewood School proposals and the Ampfield proposal). The Committee therefore suggested that the budget for 2005/06 should be set at £5,000 to reflect the projected increase in expenditure anticipated from future reorganisation proposals.

RESOLVED:

That a budget of £5,000 be submitted to the County Council for approval.

138 COMPOSITION OF THE SCHOOLS GROUP

The Committee considered the joint report of the Secretary and Legal Adviser to the

Committee (Item 7 in the Minute Book refers) informing Members that the Education (School Organisation Committees) (England) Regulations 1999 ("Regulations") had been amended to provide that the composition of the Schools Group should include, where there was at least one maintained nursery in the area of the LEA, at least one Member of the governing body of a maintained nursery school. This requirement came into force on the 1 February 2005. It was noted that this amendment would be taken into consideration in the February 2005 review of the membership of the Schools Group.

The Committee expressed concerns at this change in the regulations and noted that their points had been expressed during the consultation period. The Legal Adviser reported that should the Committee be unable to fill the nursery school representative position, the DfES had advised that the Committee should run with a vacancy to avoid the risk of challenge to decisions made by a SOC with a wrongly configured Schools Group.

RESOLVED:

That the position be noted and the Secretary to the Committee be authorised to take the actions referred to in Paragraph 3 of the report.

139. PINEWOOD INFANT SCHOOL

The Committee considered the report of the LEA (Item 6 in the Minute Book refers) updating the Committee on the current situation with the proposals following the decision of the Adjudicator on 19 November 2004.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

140. JOHN HUNT OF EVEREST COMMUNITY SCHOOL - TRANSFER TO A NEW SITE

The Committee confirmed that no objections had been received in response to the Public Notices published on the 3 September 2004 and accordingly the LEA had determined to implement the proposals as set out in the notice (Item 8 in the Minute Book refers)

RESOLVED:

That the Committee note the action taken by the LEA.

141. ROMSEY INFANT AND JUNIOR SCHOOL - CLOSURE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Secretary to the Committee confirmed that no objections had been received in response to the public notices published on 22 October 2004 and accordingly the LEA had determined to implement the proposals as set out in the notice (Item 9 in the Minute Book refers).

RESOLVED:

That the Committee note the action taken by the LEA.

142. REORGANISATION OF SPECIAL SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN EAST HAMPSHIRE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF RESOURCED PROVISION AT MILL CHASE SCHOOL

The Committee were informed that these linked proposals were approved by the Committee on the 23 May 2003 conditional on the planning consent being obtained (Item 10 in the Minute Book refers). It was reported that the LEA had confirmed that planning consent for the new Special School was granted in July 2004. The County Education Officer also confirmed that planning consent was not required for the establishment of resourced provision at Mill Chase School as that would occupy existing accommodation at the school.