Agenda and minutes

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The Cabinet Member referred to the filming at meetings notice.

RESOLVED:

The filming at meetings notice was noted

There were none.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were none

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business.

(Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item

where they appear).

There was none

There were none

The Director of Schools & Learning introduced the report and outlined the rationale for the report.

Officers explained that the school was required to utilise temporary accommodation facilities in order to continue to deliver its services, due to some classrooms being taken out of commission due to issues with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) degrading on some buildings on site and rendering them unsafe for use.

Officers explained the long-term solution to the remediation of the building, that the Department of Education would re-imburse costs and that remedial work was expected to be completed in 2028.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families, pursuant to contract standing order 0.08, to:

1. Approved, pursuant to contract standing order (CSO) 18.02.2 and CSO 2.01(d), the extension of the rental period of the temporary accommodation contract at Park View School with Portakabin Ltd by 155 weeks at a total contract value set out in Part B of the report.
   
   

Reasons for decision

Following an inspection of teaching Block A at Park View School by an external structural engineer, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) had been discovered forming part of the structural slab of the roof. On 14 April 2023, due to the risk of failure and collapse of this building element, it had been recommended that the top floor of the building, consisting of 14 classrooms and office space, be immediately vacated. It had been confirmed by the structural engineer that the other floors of the building could be safely used by students and staff. A curriculum and space analysis had been undertaken and it had been determined that the school required temporary accommodation including 13 classrooms, 1 shared office and 4 toilets until the structural issue could be remediated.

Interim teaching arrangements had initially been put in place at the school from Monday 17 April 2023. These had consisted of teaching many pupils in shared/communal spaces such as the sports gym. This had not been considered to be a sustainable solution and had been impacting the quality of teaching and learning. Additionally, the gym had been required to support GCSE exams from mid-May.

A Cabinet Member approval had been granted in May 2023 to award a contract to Portakabin Ltd to provide the required temporary accommodation by September 2023 for an 18-month hire period at Park View School.

Construction and installation of the temporary accommodation had been completed on programme in September 2023. A variation of the Cabinet approval had been granted by the Director of Schools and Learning in January 2025, which had included an extension of the rental period to June 2025 whilst a permanent solution to remediate the RAAC had been developed.

Agreement for funding of an approach for a permanent solution to remediate the RAAC had been received from the Department for Education (DfE) in May 2025, which on completion, would allow students to return to the main building. The permanent remediation solution had assumed students would continue to learn in these current temporary classrooms until the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Item 10 is likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 3, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as items contain exempt information as defined under paragraph 3, Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972

The information within the exempt report was discussed

RESOLVED:

That the exempt information was noted and considered as part of making the decision.