Agenda and draft minutes

To note any changes to Membership as detailed on the agenda.

It was reported that there were the following changes in membership

          Mr Roger Highton to represent the Diocese Church of England group, replacing Mr David Thewlis.

          Annette Hill to represent Schools (Teachers) group, replacing Ms L Johnson.

          It was reported that both these nominations would be going to the City of York’s Council meeting on 29 June and that they had both been invited to attend today’s meeting.

          The Chair welcomed Roger Highton and Annette Hill to the meeting.

To note any apologies received and attendance of substitute members.

Apologies were received from: Councillor Aspden, Councillor Jones, Councillor Kind (Cllr D Scott as substitute), Mr S Brereton and Ms C Duffy.

To declare any interests in relation to the items on this agenda.

The Chair advised that any declarations of interest in relation to business on the current agenda should be made under this item.  No declarations were made.

To agree and sign the minutes of the last meeting held on 24 April 2006.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2006 be approved and signed as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is Tuesday 20 June at 10.00am.

It was reported that no members of the public had registered to speak at the meeting.

This report shows the historical trend for special school numbers in the City of York and projected rolls through to 2013.

The Chair welcomed George Gilmore, Head of Applefields, to the meeting who was attending to co-present the report with Officers.

The Committee considered a report which showed the historical trend for special school numbers in the City of York and projected rolls through to 2013. Consideration was also given to five charts which showed the following

            Chart 1 – Number on Roll in Day Special Schools

Chart 2 – Numbers on Roll in Hob Moor Oaks and Applefields by year group – May 2006

Chart 3 – Projected Roll of Applefields from existing Hob Moor Oaks intake only; assuming all Applefields pupils stay on to Year 14 and assuming no new entrants from mainstream or special

Chart 4 – Projected Roll of Applefields: including current Hob Moor Oaks intake and cumulative effect of 4 additional places per year.

            Chart 5 - Numbers of pupils in Year Groups 12-14 at Applefields

Members were reminded that the local authority closed down the 4 special schools in the city in 2004 and replaced them with 2 new schools, both of which were now fully operational and in new premises. Both schools had been built for rolls of approximately 120. Currently there were fewer than 100 pupils at Hob Moor Oaks and over 140 pupils at Applefields.

Officers confirmed that the impact of the successful implementation of the policy of inclusion now resulted in the relatively low number of children in primary special school provision. At secondary level there had not been such a significant reduction as it had proved more difficult to support children with complex disabilities in mainstream secondary schools and relatively more pupils were staying on for years 12 – 14.

Officers referred to the existing and proposed actions, set out in the report, which would impact on capacity on the Applefields site. They indicated that North Yorkshire County Council were also examining special school provision but that this was still ongoing, that a 10 place unit was to be provided in the Tadcaster area which may have some impact and that Brayton High School were proposing to set up a new autism unit. Officers confirmed that they were trying to seek some resolution to the problems at Applefields and that in the meantime, on a temporary basis, additional classrooms were to be provided from September.

George Gilmore confirmed that Applefields now had over 147 pupils, which would increase to 150 in September way beyond the schools 120 pupil capacity. He expressed concern at the charts which projected the school numbers up to 2013 especially as interest had been expressed by a number of parents in sending their children to the school in future years. He requested implementation of a clear admissions policy and for procedures putting in place to manage the numbers down to one that could be safely accommodated in the school.

Members raised the following points

• Credit should be given to both teachers and officers for the work undertaken in the special schools.
• As special school children grew  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the report of the Governors of Manor CE Secondary School regarding proposals for the enlargement and relocation of Manor Church of England Secondary School (VA).

Consideration was given to the report of the Governors of Manor CE Secondary School which sought the Committee’s approval for the development of Manor CE Secondary School.  The report outlined the reasons for the development and the three main purposes for it

·        Firstly, it is the Governors' wish to support the City of York Council's planned restructuring of education provision on the west side of the city. This has been driven by the Local Authority's need to remove surplus places where possible in order to achieve the Audit Commission's requirement of best value education consistent with raising standards.

·        Secondly, it is planned to replace the unsuitable and seriously undersized present school building, which is completely inaccessible for wheelchair users or others with mobility problems, with a new building to provide accessible education facilities for the children of York, appropriate to 21^st century education standards.

·        Thirdly, Manor School has been consistently oversubscribed for many years, with up to 50 appeals in some years.  It is hoped that the enlargement will allow those parents who wish to send their children to this popular and successful school to be able to achieve this wish, contributing to City of York Council's objective of meeting parental preference as far as reasonably possible.

The report also detailed the outcome of recent consultations, following the publication of statutory notices, outlined the statutory procedures and possible timescales to be followed in securing the new site and building accommodation and information on the funding grant from the Department of Education and Skills.

The following points were raised

·        Questioned the admissions numbers and allocation of places between Community and Foundation.

·        Confirmation that Manor did allocate places for different faith pupils to serve the local community and that the community’s perception of the school relating to admissions was changing.

·        In answer to questions it was confirmed that consultation had taken place with young people in relation to the design and what they wanted to see in a new school which unfortunately had not been reflected in the report.

RESOLVED:   i) That, in accordance with the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and following publication by the Governors of Manor School of Statutory Notices on 23 March 2006 the Committee approve the following change to school organisation in the City of York:

The enlargement of Manor CE Secondary School to a 900 place school, to be achieved by increasing its Admission number by 56 children to 180 in September 2009 from 124 in 2006.

ii)            That the Committee note the following:

·        The relocation of the school to the new site off Millfield Lane, subject to Planning Permission.

·        That no objections were received during the four week statutory “representation” period following publication of statutory notices.

·        That the strong support of the parent body.

·        That no objections were received during the local consultation period following meetings and the wide circulation of an information leaflet produced by the school and the Diocese.

RESOLVED: That Officers in liaison with the Chair arrange the date of the next meeting of the Schools Organisation Committee towards the end of 2006.