Agenda item number: 6

COMMITTEE YOUTH & EDUCATION OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE DATE THURSDAY, 14 MARCH 2002

TITLE OF PROPOSED EXPANSION OF CHATHAM GRAMAMAR SCHOOL REPORT FOR BOYS: DECISION OF SCHOOLS ADJUDICATOR

RESPONSIBLE RICHARD BARKER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SCHOOL SERVICES OFFICER

1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

1.1 To inform the Committee that the School’s Adjudicator has rejected the LEA’s proposal to enlarge Chatham for Boys by one form of entry, and to outline the implications and proposed way forward.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 Members are invited to:

a) Note the decision of the School’s Adjudicator and the implications. b) Comment on the proposals as to the way forward.

3 BACKGROUND

3.1 Education Committee on 19 September 2001 received a report on the outcome of public consultation on the proposal to enlarge Chatham Grammar School for Boys by one form of entry to five forms of entry, and for the Howard School to admit two forms of entry to its grammar stream. The Committee agreed that a public notice be issued proposing the enlargement of Chatham Grammar School for Boys from four to five forms of entry.

3.2 Objections were received to the proposal from the governors of St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School and the issue was therefore considered by the School Organisation Committee on 14 December 2001 under the procedures for statutory proposals. A copy of that report is attached as appendix A.

3.3 The School Organisation Committee could not reach a unanimous decision, and the issue was therefore referred to the School’s Adjudicator for a decision.

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3.4 The Adjudicator wrote on 1 March 2002 rejecting the Authority’s proposal. A copy of the letter is attached as Appendix B. The Adjudicator stated that he:

“has considered very carefully the current pressures on accommodation at the school. But having regard to the cost of the proposals, and availability of places generally within three miles of the school, there needs to be considerably more evidence of support for the proposal from parents of pupils currently at primary schools who will transfer to secondary schools over the next few years.”

3.5 This is clearly a very disappointing decision, and surprising in view of the popularity of the school as measured by over subscription, and its acknowledged high educational standards. There is apparently no mechanism directly to appeal and Judicial review would be the only potential method for challenge (see letter from Adjudicator attached as Appendix C). However, the Adjudicator has been asked for an explanation of the reference to “availability of secondary school places generally within three miles…..”

3.6 Schools within a three mile radius of Chatham Grammar Boys are as follows:-

The Robert Napier School Chatham Grammar School for Girls Chatham South School Greenacre School The for Girls Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School The Thomas Aveling School Upbury Manor School Walderslade Girls School Medway Community College

It will be noted that the only provision within 3 miles for boys deemed selective under the Medway selection procedure is the Rochester Mathematical School and this is full.

3.7 The decision also seems to fly in the face of government policy. The recent White Paper “Schools achieving success” (paragraph 5.20) states that:-

“we also want to enable successful and popular schools to expand more easily. We will amend our statutory guidance to School Organisation Committees and Adjudicators to favour the expansion of schools that provide an excellent standard of education. We will give successful schools a right to appeal to the Adjudicator if their proposals to expand are rejected by the School Organisation Committee, even though they have the resources to implement the proposals. We will also streamline the decision making process so that it operates as effectively as possible and C:\Documents and Settings\mary.ryder\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK7\Agenda Item 61.doc 2

proposals can be dealt with as quickly as possible, while retaining local consultation.”

4 IMPLICATIONS OF DECISION

Building Project

4.1 A Building Project has been planned on the assumption of a favourable outcome of the statutory process, to provide accommodation appropriate to a school of five form entry. It is now necessary to reassess the specification of the building work with a view to establishing what work can be undertaken within the terms of the Adjudicator’s decision. This would include for example, the replication of temporary accommodation already at the school and addressing suitability problems identified in the Medway Asset Management Plan – for example provision of a common room.

4.2 The school governors at their meeting on 6 March 2002 appealed to the LEA “to provide adequate accommodation for the school in light of the growing sixth form, the three mobile classrooms and criticism made by the Ofsted inspectors”. During the recent Ofsted inspection of the school, the inspectors criticised the quality of the learning environment in respect of Art, Humanities, the temporary classroom block, the physical education facilities and the size of the library.

Admissions to the School for September 2002

4.3 The timing of the Adjudicator’s decision is particularly difficult, given the need to take decisions on allocation of places in time to inform parents on 8 March 2002. 120 places have been offered to parents, according to the published oversubscription criteria, and where parents have been refused places they will be given the opportunity to appeal to a statutory independent appeal panel, whose decisions are binding on the authority and the school.

4.4 Pupils who have not been offered places at the school will be offered places at one of the other schools in the Medway Grammar School Group.

Admissions to the School for September 2003

4.5 Under Section 93 (1) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, an admission authority may not set as an admission number, a number which is lower than the Standard Number. It may however set a higher admission number – normally known as the Published Admission Number (PAN). A PAN should be no more than 26 places above that of the Standard Number for the school. PANs are agreed on an annual basis

4.6 Before increasing an admission number, the LEA must consult all admission authorities in the relevant area and should do so through the Admissions Forum. The PAN would form part of the admissions arrangements, and as

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such other admissions authorities then have the right to make an objection to the Schools Adjudicator.

4.7 The governors of Chatham Grammar School for Boys have requested a PAN of 146 for September 2003 and it is therefore proposed to consult through the Medway Admissions Forum on this for September 2003. Subject to a decision of Cabinet on 19 March and Council on 11 April, and to any objection to the Adjudicator, this would then form part of the admission arrangements for the school for September 2003.

4.8 The Governors have also asked the LEA to re-open the question of a standard number of 150, and consideration is being given to this. There are proposals in the recent DfES consultative document on a revised national code of admissions, which indicates that Standard Numbers will be abolished and admission numbers will reflect the indicated admission number produced by the new buildings capacity assessment formula.

5 FINANCIAL & LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 Provision was made in the Programme 2002–03 for the cost of the building works associated with the planned extension to five form entry (estimated at £700k), and the costs of any reduced building project within the terms of the Adjudicator’s decision will be within this figure.

5.2 There are no specific revenue implications.

5.3 Legal implications are referred to in the body of the report.

6. BACKGROUND PAPERS: None

Contact for further details: Richard Barker, Assistant Director School Services Telephone: 01634 331115 Facsimile: 01634 331117

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