Issue - items at meetings - Proposed Expansion of West Hove Junior School: Statutory Notice

Report of the Executive Director, Children’s Services (copy attached)

RESOLVED - That the Children and Young People Committee confirms the proposal contained in the statutory notice and resolves to expand West Hove Junior School by three forms of entry in September 2014 and four forms of entry from September 2015.

27.1    The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Children’s Services the purpose of which was to report the representations and objections received during the statutory notice period, and to seek a decision from the Committee confirming the proposed expansion of West Hove Junior School.

27.2    In response to the growth in primary school numbers over recent years, the Council had already expanded West Hove Infant School on to a second site in Connaught Road in Hove. This site had opened with three forms of entry in September 2011 and had required bulge classes to be added to reception in 2012 and again in 2013. The site was to be expanded to four permanent forms of entry from September 2014 in space to be vacated, subject to consultation, by the Adult Day Care Centre on the same site.

27.3    The proposal was now to provide three forms of entry for junior age children (7-11) from September 2014, increasing to four forms of entry in September 2015 on the former Hove Police Station site in Holland Road, to complement the places at the Connaught site of West Hove Infant School. At its meeting on 16 July 2013 the Committee had considered the outcomes of consultation on the preferred option for providing these places as an expansion of West Hove Junior School on the second site at Hove Police Station and agreed to publish the required statutory notice.

27.4    Councillor Buckley commended the report. The site was in her Ward, and a lack of school places there was an issue which she had raised on a number of occasions. Some of the schools in Goldsmid Ward were church schools, which some parents did not want for their children. Because of the proposed “linked school” arrangement with the Connaught site of West Hove Infant there were no guarantees that other local children would be allocated a place at the new West Hove Junior School site.

27.5    Councillor Brown stated that she was aware that approval had been given by the Adult Social Care Committee for the Day Care Centre to be vacated. She sought clarification regarding the current status of the negotiations. It was explained that whilst agreement had been reached with Adult Social Care over sites and building works, final confirmation could only be given after consultation with the Day Centre clients had ended on October 25.

27.6    Councillor Pissaridou sought confirmation that the figures provided were reliable stating that in the case of Portslade Infant School and the proposed expansion of Stanford Infant School the data provided had been considered to be flawed. The Executive Director responded that the proposals recommended by the report were intended to address a lack of school places in that part of the City. A report dealing with school places would be brought to the Cross Party Working Group in November. Overall, the problem across the City was in seeking to provide sufficient places rather than there being too many.

27.7    RESOLVED - That the Children and Young People Committee confirms the proposal contained in the statutory notice and resolves to expand West Hove Junior School by three forms of entry in September 2014 and four forms of entry from September 2015.