Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

The Executive Member was invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests she might have in the business on the agenda.  The Executive Member declared a personal interest in agenda item 5 – “ Proposed Admission Arrangements for Primary and Secondary Schools in York for September 2012” as a governor of Joseph Rowntree School.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session of the Executive Member for Children and Young People’s Services held on 8 March 2011.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 8 March 2011 be approved and signed by the Executive Member as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak at the meeting can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Monday 11 April 2011.

Members of the public may register to speak on:-

• An item on the agenda
• An issue within the Executive Member’s remit
• An item that has been published on the Information Log since the last Decision Session.

It was reported that there were no registrations to speak under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report:

·        Requests that term dates and holidays for the school year, 2012/2013 be formally approved.

·        Reports on action taken by the LA to align the dates with those of neighbouring authorities.

RESOLVED:That the pattern of school terms and holidays for 2012/13, as proposed at Annex 1 of the report, be approved¹.

REASON:      To provide clarity for parents, schools and pupils on term dates in City of York.

The Executive Member received a report that requested approval for the term dates and holidays for the school year 2012/2013. 

The Executive Member stated that she was pleased to note the action taken by the Local Authority to align the dates with those of neighbouring authorities wherever possible.  She expressed her thanks to officers for the work that they had carried out.

RESOLVED:That the pattern of school terms and holidays for 2012/13, as proposed at Annex 1 of the report, be approved¹.

REASON:      To provide clarity for parents, schools and pupils on term dates in City of York.

This report seeks approval of the City of York coordinated schemes and admissions policies for both primary and secondary schools for the 2012/13 academic year and approval of the proposed individual school maximum admission limits for the academic year beginning in September 2012.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That the City of York coordinated schemes and

admissions policies for primary and secondary schools for the 2012/13 academic year, as set out in Annexes C – I of the report, be approved.

                        (ii)            That the proposed individual school maximum admission

limits for the academic year beginning in September 2012, as set out in Annexes A and B of the report, be approved¹.

REASON:            To meet the statutory requirements of the School Admissions

                        Code of Practice.

The Executive Member received a report that sought approval of the City of York coordinated schemes and admissions policies for primary and secondary schools for the 2012/13 academic year.  The report also sought approval of the proposed individual school maximum admission limits for the academic year beginning in September 2012.

It was noted that the recommendations in the report had been prepared following consultation with the Local Admissions Forum. The Executive Member stated that she had been present at the meeting of the Local Admissions Forum at which consultation on the recommendations had taken place.  She supported the Forum’s recommendations, including the following:

·        Rejecting the requested increase in admission limit at Rufforth Primary School as numbers from within Rufforth catchment are low, so an increase would pull catchment pupils away from other schools and would result in children travelling across the city.

·        Supporting the proposed increase in the Year 12 admission limit at Joseph Rowntree School to bring the limit more in line with physical capacity and other post-16 providers in the city.

The Executive Member stated that she was pleased to note that 92% of parents had received their first choice preference of school for their child and that 96% had received their first or second preference.  She paid tribute to the work carried out by the admissions team.

RESOLVED:            (i)            That the City of York coordinated schemes and

admissions policies for primary and secondary schools for the 2012/13 academic year, as set out in Annexes C – I of the report, be approved.

                        (ii)            That the proposed individual school maximum admission

limits for the academic year beginning in September 2012, as set out in Annexes A and B of the report, be approved¹.

REASON:            To meet the statutory requirements of the School Admissions

                        Code of Practice.

This item is a key decision but was not included on the Forward Plan.  An urgency notice has been published.  The item has been included on this agenda as a decision needs to be taken in April to allow contracts to be awarded to enable work to begin during the school holidays.

RESOLVED:That the allocation of funding to schemes for 2011/12, as detailed in Annex A – Column A of the report, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure the effective management and monitoring of the capital programme.

The Executive Member received a report that detailed new schemes and sought approval for their addition to the 2011/12 Capital Programme.  The report also provided a brief update on schemes funded from the Targeted Capital Fund.

Officers gave details of how priorities had been determined and explained the arrangements that were in place to ensure that the Authority had a good knowledge of the conditions of its schools and could effectively target resources.   The Executive Member noted that, because of the uncertainty about the level of future funding, a large contingency fund was in place to ensure that work could be completed.

The Executive Member thanked officers for the work that they had carried out.

RESOLVED:That the allocation of funding to schemes for 2011/12, as detailed in Annex A – Column A of the report, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure the effective management and monitoring of the capital programme.