PS7 SCHOOL UPDATE
Council Report & Meeting:
There is a report coming to Cabinet on the 23rd on school funding. Prior to Cabinet on the 23rd is the Open Forum, 6pm 6:30pm which local residents can ask questions / force home the urgency please use this time, it helps keep this issue a priority.
The meeting will be held at Swindon Council,
PLEASE COME ALONG AND HELP US KEEP PS7 / OAKHURST CATCHMENT A PRIORITY!
Funding:
The Government's additional funding is extremely, extremely complex and still has not been totally unravelled. However it would appear at this stage that we will have around £4m available over the next 3 years with PS7 expected to cost £7m, this leaves a big gap. (Presuming the £4m is taken for PS7 and not another school project in
However with the support of local residents, we have tasked officers to try and find a way to fund it (beyond Government funding), as a rule this will mean scrapping an alternative project (either within education itself, ie another school project, or another area of Council expenditure). In an ideal world we would have funding for all projects, but alas that is simply not the case. I can assure you, if money was available, no strings attached, it would be spent immediately, everyone supports the need for PS7.
Temporary Buildings:
Due to the complex Government rules on setting up new schools, Councils now have to invite bids from organisations who would like to run them. This can take up to 18 months as there are lengthy legal processes to follow (common sense goes out the window!) however, in the meantime, an existing primary school could be 'expanded' and manage temporary buildings on the PS7 site for a few years whilst the permanent school was being built and these legal processes were taking place. This isnt a cheap option, as whilst they are temporary buildings (mobiles) you still need to build all the infrastructure for the mobile classrooms. As a matter of urgency we have been in talks with other schools to see who would take ownership and temporarily expand onto the PS7 site. We are waiting to hear if there is still time and money to consider this for 2008.
Expanding Existing Schools:
As well as this, we have contacted every single school in the Northern Sector to see whether they are suitable to expand on their existing sites. We have seen Abbey Meads, Catherine Wayte & Haydonleigh all take additional forms. These three school all took on these extra forms from last September and St Francis is doing the same from this coming September. A number of schools physically have been unable to expand due to the size of the land they occupy. The Council on every occasion has made the funding available to do this.
Community Feeling Oakhurst Left Out:
My personal area of greatest concern is that the children in Oakhurst will be split up across a number of schools. Therefore, I have officially requested Haydon Primary School once again consider an additional form and if a deal could be struck that these places be ring fenced for Oakhurst residents.
Online Petition, Facebook & Website:
Please sign up for the online petition at- www.gopetition.com/omline/15370.html
Facebook Group- Search Oakhurst Swindon (PS7)
Updates will also be published on- http://www.abbeymeadsintouch.com/
Public Forum:
We are organising a further public forum for local parents once the admissions places have been announced mid February. I will once again be bringing the Schools Admission Team to a local school so you can discuss your individual concerns and options on a one to one basis. This will be 6:30pm, Monday 25th February 2008.