Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)      Petitions: to receive any petitions presented to the full council or at the meeting itself;

          (i) Objection to PAN Proposal Benfield Primary School

Submitted by Ms H Keilthy

(ii) Save Hertford Nursery School

          Submitted by Ms H Griffiths

Referred from Full Council held on 17 December 2020

(iii) Reduce the costs of secondary school uniforms in Brighton &

Hove

Submitted by Ms E Daniel

(b)      Written Questions: to receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 5 January 2021;

(c)      Deputations: to receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 5 January 2021.

55(a) Petitions

(i)             Objection to PAN Proposal Benfield Primary School

55.1    Mr S Theobald presented a petition on ‘Objection to PAN Proposal Benfield Primary School’. The wording of the petition was:

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to reject the proposal to reduce the number of pupil places, based on a number of arguments already submitted to the council, through both consultation and follow up correspondence.

We strongly object to the proposal, we have already petitioned (successfully) against this in 2017 and we want to reiterate as before, that Benfield primary, which is stronger now than ever, is a child centric, well run, successful school that provides the diversity and choice that we need in this area.

55.2    The Chair gave the following response:

There is already a report on this matter on the agenda today - Item 61 – School Admission Arrangement 2022/23and I therefore suggest that this petition is noted.

55.3    RESOLVED:  That the Petition be noted.

(ii)           Closure of Hertford Infant Nursery

55.4    Ms G Lain and Ms G Austen presented a petition on ‘Closure of Hertford Nursery’. The wording of the petition was:

Reconsider the closure of Hertford Infants Nursery Provision in September 2021.

Why is this important?

The nursery is an integral part of a child’s education and means that each child in the local area can attend the same site when they start nursery age 3 through to when they transfer to junior school. Transition becomes easier as friendships span through from the nursery setting into the infants. The nursery also offers the option of 15 free hours over term time, ensuring parents and carers can avoid additional costs which private settings often incur.

There are also plenty of families ready and waiting to use the existing provision and also those that would be happy to consider nursery and reception children coming together in their education setting if this helps keep the nursery open

55.5    The Chair gave the following response:

There is already a report on this matter on the agenda today - Item 60 - Hertford Infant and Nursery School: Raising Lower Age Range of School from Three to Four Years and Closure of the Nursery Class and I therefore suggest that this petition is noted.

55.6    RESOLVED: that the Petition be noted

(iii)         Reduce the Costs of Secondary School Uniform in Brighton & Hove.

55.7    This petition had been presented by Ms E Daniels at Full Council held on 17 December 2020 and referred to this Committee. The wording of the petition was:

  In our city, we already had some areas with high levels of child poverty.

  The economic impacts of the COVID crisis have made this situation

  even worse. 33,000 people were furloughed in our city and by June

  2019 the numbers of households on Universal Credit had risen from

  5,860 in February 2019 to 14,180 in May 2019. 

Secondary schools in Brighton and Hove have branded items which you can only source from a single supplier. My daughter's school have branded PE socks at £7 a pair, white polo neck shirts with a tiny logo at £8.95 (available for £4 on the high street without the logo). Without the branding you can save nearly £40. In addition, people need to have multiple items such as 2 or 3 polo necks to send their kids to school clean and smart. 

We challenge the heads to reduce the number of items with branding on to save hard pressed families money. No new uniform should cost more than £55 for mandatory items. Poverty means that every penny spent on uniform is taken from something else that child needs. Providing discounts using pupil premium helps, but that could be spent on enrichment such as free school trips.

        Please listen to the city's families and act. 

55.8    The Chair gave the following response:

An officer report will be provided for the next CYPS Committee in March 2021 as agreed at Full Council, and I therefore suggest that the Petition be noted.

55.9    RESOLVED: That the Petition be noted.

55(b)  Written Questions

55.10  There were none.

55(c) Deputations

55.11 There were no Deputations.