Building Schools for the Future Proposed Rossmore Academy
BOROUGH OF POOLE
CHILDREN’S SERVICES CAPITAL PROGRAMME BOARD
21 MAY 2009
BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE – PROPOSED ROSSMORE ACADEMY
PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN YES
STATUS: Service Delivery
1.PURPOSE
1.1The purpose of this report is to seek approval to publish proposals to close Rossmore Community College with effect from 31st August 2010 and to establish in its place from 1st September 2010 an Academy offering education for 1100 pupils between the ages of 12-18 (from 2013 11-18).
2.DECISION REQUIRED
2.1That the Capital Programme Board recommends the Portfolio Holder for Supporting Children and Young People to approve that statutory notices be published on the proposal to close Rossmore Community College with effect from 31st August 2010.
3.BACKGROUND
3.1In August 2008 the Programme Board recommended Cabinet to approve an Expression of Interest (EOI) to include Rossmore Community College as an Academy within the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to be submitted to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Cabinet approved the EOI on 9th September and authorised the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services to sign the EOI on behalf of the Council.
3.2The EOI was submitted to the DCSF on 10th October 2008. Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, announced on 13th October 2008 that Rossmore Community College would become an Academy, sponsored by the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury and Bournemouth University, in September 2010.
3.3Following approval of the EOI by the DCSF, the Rossmore Academy project moved into the Feasibility stage which provides an opportunity to consult on the Academy proposal and a chance to explore in detail the information and ideas set out in the EOI.
3.4Consecutively, the appointment of an experienced Academies/BSF Project Manager to the Local Authority (LA) has ensured representation for Poole at the Project Steering Group (PSG) is strengthened.
3.5The feasibility programme has been shared and linked to the BSF programme within which the process of determining the capital allocation and this work is being shared with the Rossmore Project Steering Group.
3.6The Education Vision has been formed and a strong ethos agreed. This forms the core of the school development plan, and in the coming weeks a Design User Group will translate this vision into the initial principals of physical design using the curriculum as a basis for their work.
3.7Communications have been managed through a deep consultation process, and the results of the sponsor’s consultation can be read in further detail at 4.5 and in Appendix A. The overall message from the community is of overwhelming support and while some minor reservations have been expressed it is clear from the feedback that the vast majority are in favour of the proposed new Academy.
3.8ICT as a core deliverable is progressing to a detailed planning stage and in the coming weeks further development is expected.
3.9Legal developments including the Funding Agreement, Land Transfer and Third Party Agreements are all under discussion with drafting well underway.
3.10Further progress reports will be made to the Programme Board at key milestones of the project.
4.THE STATUTORY PROCESS
4.1In order to establish the new Academy, it is necessary to formally close the existing Rossmore Community College in accordance with statutory procedures for closing a maintained mainstream school.
4.2There are five statutory stages to the process for making changes to maintained schools: consultation, publication, representations, decision and implementation.
4.3The first stage of the statutory process is to undertake a consultation with all interested parties, including parents, on options that may be available. In this case there are three options:
Option One:To close Rossmore Community College with effect from 31st August 2010 and to establish in its place an Academy offering education for 1100 pupils between the ages of 12-18 (from 2013 11-18).
Option Two:No Change
Option Three: Any other new options that may arise during the course of consultation.
4.4The six-week consultation period commenced on 23rd March 2009 and closes on 15th May 2009.
4.5Prior to the statutory consultation the sponsors engaged the community in a separate consultative process to determine support for the new proposed Academy.
4.6This process was carried out with the full support of the Borough’s members and Officers who both attended events and contributed to the development of all communication publications.
4.7The full results and conclusions from this consultation are published in Appendix A of this report but in summary offer extremely strong support for the proposals.
5.OUTCOME OF THE CONSULTATION
5.1The statutory consultation process has involved the circulation of a document to parents and carers of children at the school and all First, Middle and Combined schools within the Rossmore Community College pyramid, school staff, headteachers and governors of all Poole schools, parents of children in early years settings, diocesan authorities and neighbouring local authorities. A copy of the statutory consultation document is attached at Appendix B.
5.2A public meeting was held at the school on Tuesday 5th May 2009. The minutes of the meeting are attached at Appendix C.
5.3A summary of the statutory consultation responses received at the end of the consultation period is attached at Appendix D.
5.443 of the 46 responses received at the date of writing were in favour of the proposal to close the school in order to establish an Academy.
6. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1Finance issues arise during the transfer of a state maintained school into the status of Academy. These have been monitored during the feasibility process and include costs around HR, school maintenance and ensuring the school budget is balanced on transfer.
6.2To mitigate risk, full consideration is being given to all TUPE rules and the processes around transfer are being rigorously applied to ensure fair and equal treatment of all staff.
6.3The school finances are neutral and the school buildings agreed as fit for purpose (therefore minimal financial risk on transfer)
6.4As an integral component of the Building Schools for the Future programme, all financial impacts and considerations are additionally managed through the BSF team.
7. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1The Academy’s Funding Agreement is the framework within which all legal considerations are wrapped. It provides a site transfer to the Academy Trust, ties in all admissions criteria and summarises the terms of operation for the new Academy.
7.2 Some third party agreements will require amendment to reflect the new arrangements, including the shared facilities with the Rossmore Sports Centre and public Library.
8.RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
8.1As a key component of the Borough’s BSF strategy, the Academy shares the same high level risks.
8.2Additional specific risks exist in relation to the Funding Agreement where all elements require acceptance by parties prior to any move in status. This includes admissions code and SEN policy.
9.EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
9.1All equalities issues are included within the structure and content of the Funding Agreement.
9.2The consultation process has taken full consideration of the rights to information of all members of the community and has offered a wide variety of ways to engage in the process.
9.3School staff and union representation has been at the core of all consultation.
- CONCLUSION
10.1As, overall, the outcome of the consultation is in favour of the proposal to close the school and to establish an Academy in its place, the recommendation is to publish statutory notices in June 2009.
Report author:
Stuart Twiss
Head of Children and Young People’s Services – Strategy, Quality and Improvement
Contact officers:
Colin Payne
Project Manager for Poole for the Rossmore Academy project
07785 520620
Nicola Keynes
Senior Education Officer (Planning and Development)
01202 633691
Background reports:
Schools for the Future (January 2006)
Schools for the Future – Transforming Education in Poole (October / November 2007)
Schools for the Future – Transforming Education in Poole (Second Report) (December 2007)
Schools for the Future – Transforming Education in Poole (Third Report) (January 2008)
Building Schools for the Future (May 2008)
Proposal to include Rossmore Community College as an academy within the Building Schools for the Future Programme (August 2008)
Building Schools for the Future – Proposed Rossmore Academy (January 2009)
1