Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the CABINET of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Monday 26 January 2009.

Chairman:

p Councillor T.K. Thornber, CBE

Councillors:

Also present with the agreement of the Chairman: Councillors R. J. Baulk, M.F. Cartwright; K.G. Chapman; A.P. Collett, B.D. Dash; P.R. Edgar,

K. Evans, Mrs C.A. Leversha; Mrs A.M. McNair-Scott and Mrs P.A. West

490. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

There were no apologies for absence.

491. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter considered at the meeting declared that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, considered whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the code.

492. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 December 2009 were confirmed as a correct record.

493. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

(a) The Chairman welcomed James Binns, Youth Parliament Member for New Forest and Test Valley South and Edward Hauschild, Deputy member for Eastleigh and Winchester. They had been invited to the Cabinet to explain about the work of the UK Youth Parliament.

James and Edward gave a brief explanation of the objectives and constitutional arrangements for the UK Youth Parliament and also the regional campaign being undertaken to improve and create leisure facilities for young people. The Cabinet congratulated Edward and James on the clarity of their presentation and for the interesting way in which they had explained the UK Youth Parliament's work.

494. DEPUTATIONS

The following deputations were received in respect of item 5 on the agenda "Oak Farm Community School, Farnborough - Outcome of consultations on the proposal for closure of the school.

(a) Mr Robin Gray, Chair of Governors at Oak Farm school and

Mr Harry Ranson, Vice Chair of Governors at Oak Farm School

495. OAK FARM COMMUNITY SCHOOL, FARNBOROUGH - OUTCOME OF CONSULTATIONS ON THE PROPOSAL FOR CLOSURE

Councillor Felicity Hindson declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in her capacity as Executive Member for Adult Social Care and having recently awarded grant funding to Rushmoor Healthy Living (an organisation mentioned in the report). Councillor Adrian Collett also declared a personal, non prejudicial interest by virtue of having a nephew in attendance at Oak Farm school and relatives who taught at nearby schools that were mentioned in the report.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Children's Services (Item 5 in the Minute book). The report outlined the outcome of consultations on the proposal to close Oak Farm Community school with effect from 31 August 2011 and recommended exploring possible options for the use of the site and the buildings thereafter.

The Cabinet noted that the proposal to close the school with effect from 31 August 2011 was heavily influenced by the low number of pupils at the school (306 students in a school with a capacity of 693), with the pupil numbers forecast to decline further. Cabinet further acknowledged the relatively small numbers of children achieving five GCSE's at grade A*-C. Cabinet accepted that the Contextual Value Added (CVA) results at Oak Farm School were encouraging but the extent to which the school was carrying surplus places and the availability of places at other, nearby secondary schools was still a concern.

The percentage of schools with more than 25% surplus places was acknowledged as being an important element of the County Council's comprehensive performance assessment. The Cabinet further noted that a key component for an authority to be able to qualify for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding was the requirement to demonstrate the capacity to reduce surplus places.

Local County Councillor Rod Baulk was in attendance and advised, with regret, that he felt that closure of the school was now the most practical way forward. The Cabinet thanked Councillor Baulk for his contribution but were also mindful of the representations made in the earlier deputations by the Chair and Vice Chair of the school's governing body, in which they had sought support for the creation of an educational establishment for 14-19 year olds on the Oak Farm school site as a way of retaining educational provision and removing surplus places.

During the course of the ensuing discussion, the Cabinet thanked Councillor Baulk and the school governors for having attended the meeting to share their views. The Cabinet was mindful of the need to try and provide certainty for parents, children and all of the stakeholders with an interest in the school or the community provision provided on its site. The Cabinet also emphasised the priority that they placed upon the educational provision for children with special educational needs (SEN) and for this to be fully taken into account.

While accepting that the time had now come to make a firm decision regarding the school's future and that closure with effect from

31 August 2011 was the appropriate course of action to take, the Cabinet accepted an amendment, moved by the Chairman, confirming its commitment to educational, community and voluntary organisations continuing to use the school site. Having given careful consideration to all points of view expressed, the Cabinet therefore adopted the recommendations of the Director of Children's Services set out in the report, subject to the inclusion of the amendment agreed at the meeting.

The substantive decision record is attached to these Minutes as Appendix 1.

496. EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

Resolved:

That in relation to the following item the press and public be excluded from the meeting, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report.

497. LANDFILL ALLOWANCE TRADING SCHEMES

The Cabinet considered the exempt report of the Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute book) which sought delegated authority for the Director to enter into contracts with other local authorities to trade in Landfill Allowance Trading Schemes (LATS) from 2012/13 to 2019/20 and proposed the mechanisms by which Cabinet members would either be consulted or informed with regard to LATS trading.

After a discussion and noting the detailed comments of the Director of Environment, the Cabinet adopted the recommendations set out in the report. A copy of the non-confidential decision record is attached to these minutes as Appendix 2.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record:

1) Summary:

The following decisions were made:

1.1. That Public Notices be published in accordance with section 15(1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to discontinue Oak Farm Community School with effect from 31 August 2011.

1.2. That the Director of Children's Services further explores options for the future use of Oak Farm Community School's site and buildings with effect from 1 September 2011, in the context of Building Schools for the Future, the delivery of 14 - 19 Diplomas within the Rushmoor and Hart 14 - 19 Consortium, and continued community provision.

1.3. That Cabinet confirms its commitment to continuing use of the site for educational and community purposes and also its commitment to working with educational, voluntary and community organisations to this end, and further requests the Director of Children's Services to present a report to this effect by not later than July 2009.

2) Reasons for the decision:

These are the reasons for this decision being made, including any links to the corporate strategy:

2.1. to ensure that pupils are able to access their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum in a robust secondary school and enhance pupils' opportunities to maximise well-being

2.2. to identify options for the future use of the school site and buildings for education and community provision thereby offering scope to maximise well-being within the community

2.3. to address the educational and financial non-viability of Oak Farm Community School as a secondary school for 11-16 year olds

3) Other options considered and rejected:

3.1. Option 1: The school to remain open

a) Pupils' access to a broad and balanced curriculum would be compromised

b) The school would not be viable in educational and financial terms

c) Surplus places in the area would be at an unacceptably high level in the context of Building Schools for the Future

3.2. Option 2: To halt the consultation on the proposal for closure and open consultation on a proposal for the school to be changed from a 11-16 secondary school to a school for 11-14 year olds and a "vocational and skills centre" for 14-19 year olds

a) Pupil numbers and the history of parental preference for schools in the area indicate there will be insufficient numbers to sustain a school for 11-14 year olds

b) The recommendations within the report present the opportunity to consider the future use of the school site and buildings for 14-19 provision within the context of an overall strategy for the area with the appropriate support and endorsement of the local 14-19 strategic board

4) Conflicts of Interest:

4.1. Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision-Maker:

a) None

4.2. Conflicts of interest declared by other Executive members consulted:

a) None

5) Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee:

None

6) Any reasons for the matter being dealt with urgently:

None

7) Statement from the Decision Maker:

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Executive Decision Record: