I am extremely delighted to confirm that PS7 will be a Swindon Borough Council Community School.
This was a victory for common sense and for the local community who have fought so long and hard to secure this school.
I have led this campaign from the front. For the benefit of the confused Labour MP, this included organising the 500+ letters of feedback, making sure the public meeting was packed and we had a co-ordinated series of questions, attending the private meetings and making sure all local residents were kept informed. Perhaps if Labour had bothered to take an interest they would have seen this. Even the two Labour Councillors sent to the public meeting refused to support our campaign. Roll on the General Election hey?!
Lets consider the facts:
1 - Conservatives asked for the competition process to be cancelled, Labour ignored this.
2 - Conservatives asked for the Faith School bid to be withdrawn, Labour did not.
3 - Conservative Councillors supported the Swindon Borough Council bid, the two Labour Councillors present at the public meeting refused to do so.
4 - Conservative Councillors helped pack the public meeting, provided notes and spoke. The Labour MP did not attend.
5 - Conservatives organised 500 letters of feedback to be passed onto the School Adjudicator.
6 - Conservatives kept local residents informed through leaflets and e-newsletters.
Throughout the School Adjudicator's report below we can see that we clearly got across our positive campaign.
A big thank you to every single resident who helped send in feedback (the School Adjudicator did read them all), attended the public meeting and supported the campaign.
Cllr Justin Tomlinson
School Adjudicator Report In Full...
DETERMINATION
Local Authority:
Competition: To establish a new primary school
Commissioner:
Date: 6 February 2009
Determination:
Under the powers conferred on us by schedule 2 to the Education and Inspections Act 2006, we hereby determinethat the proposed new primary school in the Oakhurst area of Swindon shall be a
Referral
1. Swindon Borough Council (the Council) has referred to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) the details of two proposals from organisations competing to provide a new primary school to serve the Oakhurst area of the Borough in accordance with a specification published by the Council.
2. Since one of the proposers is the Council itself, the matter has been referred to the Adjudicator as required under 10(a) (ii) of Schedule 2 to the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (the Act).
Jurisdiction
3. On 10 July 2008 the Council, as the commissioner of the new school, announced its intention to establish the school and sought proposals from organisations interested in opening and operating the school. The notice was in the form required by Section 7(5) of the Act.
4. Within four months of the publication of this notice, the commissioner received two proposals. The commissioner published a second statutory notice incorporating a summary of the two proposals on 17 November 2008. On 25 November 2008 both bidders presented their proposals to a public meeting. They answered questions and took comments from those present at the meeting. These arrangements for consultation were as required by The School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) (
5. Following the period required for the submission of representations, the Council referred the matter to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. The case was assigned to us: Andrew Baxter, Lead Adjudicator and Elizabeth Passmore, Adjudicator. We considered the case together. We first reviewed the preliminary steps set out above and concluded that we had jurisdiction to determine the matter.
Context
6.
7. Much of the new housing in the Oakhurst area is already complete and occupied, and there is significant demand for school places. For the time being pupils have been accommodated in schools in neighbouring areas, but the Council has wisely concluded that there is a need for dedicated provision serving the local community.
The Commission
8. The statutory notice published by the Council in its role as commissioner gave details of the specification for the proposed new school. The specification set out the broad policy context within which the school was to operate with particular regard to matters of teaching and learning, leadership, the nature of the learning environment required, community engagement, the provision of extended services and the involvement of parents and carers. The notice gave the required details of the site, financial considerations, and school capacity and admission numbers.
The Proposals
9. Two proposals were submitted by the deadline. They were from the Al-Habib Islamic Educational and Cultural Centre,
Procedures
10. We have considered the proposals made by the Council and the Al-Habib Centre together with the background documents and records of consultative meetings submitted to us by the Council.
11. On 28 January 2008 we held two meetings, each attended by representatives of one of the bidder organisations. The proposers who then answered our questions on a range of matters arising from the commission and the proposals made presentations to us. The topics covered were broadly the same for both groups, and included the characteristics of the schools proposed, the potential effect on standards, the views of parents, the provision of extended services, admissions and special educational needs.
12. We have received a large number of additional written representations, principally from parents and other local residents. We have taken those representations into account in our decision.
Consideration
13. In considering the proposals, we referred to the Act and Regulations drawn up under it. We have also had regard to the Human Rights Act 1998, and, as required by Schedule 5 to the 1998 Act, to the relevant provision of The Sex Discrimination Act 1975; The Race Relations Act 1976; The Disability Discrimination Act 1995. We had before us the statutory guidance for decision makers issued by the Secretary of State in 2007. In reaching our decision we had regard to all the relevant matters including those set out in the following summary of particular factors.
Effect on standards and contribution to school improvement
14. Both proposals gave high priority to the central issues of raising standards and school improvement. Equally both acknowledged that the key determinants of success in these areas would be the governors and head teacher of the school. The Council stressed its own track record in opening new successful schools and the substantial improvements which had been secured across the Borough. Its representatives expressed confidence that the systems and expertise which the Council would make available would enable the schools leadership to secure effective teaching and learning from the outset, and to participate in a range of school improvement initiatives available to all schools in the area. Representatives of the Al-Habib Centre stressed the breadth of experience which its members had in the management and leadership of other organisations and the support which they would be able to bring to the work of the school. They had a clear understanding of the areas of work in which they would require additional support and expertise, and expressed willingness to secure this from appropriate specialist agencies, including from the Borough Council where this was the most appropriate.
15. We have concluded that with appropriate specialist advice the Al-Habib Centre could develop the capacity to support a new school in ways which would contribute to improvements in school standards. However, the approaches proposed by the Council, together with its experience and growing strength in this area of work make its proposals significantly stronger in this regard.
Types of Schools
16. The guidance provided by the Secretary of State requires us to consider the implications of approving different categories of school. The Councils proposal is for a
17. Voluntary Aided schools fall into a wider group of schools which the Secretary of State describes as self-governing. The guidance highlights the view that self-governing schools, such as Voluntary Aided schools, benefit from external partners who can bring energy, expertise and innovation to strengthen governance and help raise standards. The guidance requires adjudicators to take into account the Governments views of the benefits of self-governance.
18. A strength of the Al-Habib Centre s proposal is that it is for a self-governing school and that the Centre intends to provide the sort of external support to which the guidance refers. On this consideration, therefore, the Al-Habib proposal is the stronger.
19. This aspect of the guidance covers school size, proposed admission arrangements, the curriculum including proposed specialisms, extended school provision, federation proposals and equal opportunities. In the following paragraphs (20 24) we consider the respective strengths and weaknesses of the bid in these respects.
20. We have been impressed by the commitment to equal opportunities expressed by both bidders. Both were clear that boys and girls would follow the same curriculum and be educated together, that the ethnic background and religious affiliation of pupils would be equally respected and that the needs of children with special needs for whom the school is considered appropriate would be met. This issue is important, especially in the context of a faith school. But, since the proposals are equally strong in this respect, it is not determinative in this case.
Extended School Services
21. The Al-Habib Centre expressed strong support for the principle of schools providing a range of extended services. This was equally true of the Councils representatives who were also able to provide a fuller list of practical examples of the provision they would make, subject to the support of the head teacher and governing body.
Federation
22. Both proposals are for schools which will play a full and active part in the local community of schools. The Al-Habib Centre proposal includes an intention that this collaboration should be achieved through a formal soft federation involving a number of other schools. This idea has merit and could have a positive effect on provision in the area. But there has been no discussion with the head teachers and governors of the local schools potentially involved, so we cannot judge how viable this proposal is. The Council was able to refer to existing good practice in the Borough and to the specialist support it provides to promote collaboration. They were not, however, proposing that the school be part of a formal federation. Whilst the Al-Habib Centres proposal has real potential, in the circumstances it cannot be regarded as a substantive consideration for the purposes of this decision.
23. The Councils proposal is for a
24. The Al-Habib Centre proposes that priority for half of the places in each year group will be given to the children of Muslim families. Priority for the remaining places would be in accordance with criteria identical to the Councils. Clearly such an arrangement is necessary to ensure that the school serves the Muslim community as envisaged and admission arrangements could be prepared which are compliant with the Code and meet the Centres objectives. However, the Centre has not yet produced draft admission arrangements for their proposed school, so we have not been able to assess these. This is a significant weakness of their proposal.
Need for places - number of places, parental demand and diversity
25. There is a clear and urgent need for the additional school places to serve the new community of Oakhurst. One disadvantage of the Al-Habib Centre proposal is that, should the school prove popular with Muslim families, the schools capacity to meet local demand will be reduced by 50%.
26. The consultations have demonstrated strong demand from parents living in the immediate area of the school for it to be a
27. We are advised that there are currently fewer than 200 Muslim children in primary schools in
28. The Al-Habib Centre proposal is designed to develop the range of provision in the Borough as a whole so that it better reflects its ethnic and cultural mix, whilst ensuring that the opportunities created are open to all. The guidance makes clear that this is an important consideration. This is a strength of their proposal in so far as the range of provision for the Borough as a whole is concerned.
29. The Council does not argue that there is no case for developing provision for Muslim families, but argues that in this case their proposal reflects the ethnic and cultural mix of the locality where the school is to be built and that their admission arrangements secure equal opportunities for families living in that more immediate area.
30. In the circumstances we consider that it is right to focus on the needs of the local community and have concluded that considerations relating to the local need for places and the wishes of parents strongly support the Councils bid.
Impact on the Community and Travel
Community Cohesion and Race Equality
31. The bidders are equally persuasive on the importance of the school promoting community cohesion, inclusion of all social groups and collaboration. The Al-Habib Centres vision for the school is clearly one in which Muslim children, children of other faiths and none would be educated in an environment which promotes mutual understanding, respect and tolerance. This would certainly contribute to community cohesion. But in view of the very clearly expressed preferences of local parents and the impact on local school capacity for non-Muslim families, there is a risk that the establishment of such a school would have an adverse effect on community cohesion at least in the short term.
Home to School Travel
32. The Al-Habib Centres proposal would lead to a significant proportion of the schools pupils having to travel to the school from other parts of the Borough and beyond. The Centre has undertaken to minimise the impact of this on local traffic by organising bus transport. Local parents point out that there would nonetheless be significant additional car journeys, as up to half the places at the school may not be available for local children and therefore a proportion of the children living in the local area would have to be driven to alternative schools. On balance home to school transport considerations favour the Councils proposals.
Special Educational Needs
33. The Council is able to point to significant experience and expertise in the field of Special Educational Needs. On the other hand the Al-Habib Centre has made clear its commitment to the principle of the schools meeting the needs of all children and its readiness to ensure that the schools governors seek appropriate expert advice when establishing their SEN policies and securing provision. We have concluded that, although the Al-Habib Centres approach is sound and appropriate in the organisations circumstances, the Councils existing expertise and capacity in this important aspect of the specification represents a significant strength of its bid.
Views of interested parties
34. The Regulations require a local authority to consult very widely with specified people and interested parties before it publishes a statutory notice inviting promoters to submit proposals for a new school. The Council has met these requirements fully. We are satisfied that those who wished to comment have had time and the opportunity to do so and we have taken into account the outcomes of those processes.
35. A very large majority of those who support in principle the establishment of a new school, especially those with children who might be expected to attend the school, express a preference for a
36. There is a clear and urgent need to open a new primary school to meet the needs of the new community of Oakhurst in
Determination
Under the powers conferred on us by schedule 2 to the Education and Inspections Act 2006, we hereby determinethat the proposed new primary school in the Oakhurst area of Swindon shall be a
Dated: 6th February 20
Signed:
School Adjudicator: Andrew Baxter