Agenda and draft minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Cabinet Member referred to the filming at meetings notice and this information was noted.

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 were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent business.

There were none.

This scheme was one of the six of the original schemes approved by Cabinet on the 6th of February 2024, each provision to be delivered within the £12.4m Safety Valve Programme Funding envelope. This paper focused on St Mary’s Infant School site, which would be operated as a satellite site by Park View Secondary School. This would enable the Council to create the 34 key stage 3/4, Social, Emotional & Mental Health (SEMH) resource provision places.

Work would be completed to modify the building, so it was less infant like. The main adaptations would be toilets, play equipment, classroom sinks, science facility on site; these could be accommodated easily.

RESOLVED

The Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families authorises the Council:

To agree and enter into the funding agreement between the Council, the London Diocesan Board for Schools and the Governing Body and/or Trustees of the St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in the agreed form annexed to Part B (exempt) of this report.

Alternative options considered:

Do Nothing – If the Council did not proceed with the capital schemes as outlined the High Needs Block would continue to come under sustained pressure. In academic years 27/28 and 28/29 the cost to the service would be approx. £2.5m.

To commence the site surrender as recommend in this document. The new provision at St Marys Church of England Primary (run by Park View) once scaled would provide an avoidance between 27/28 and 28/29 of £1.757.457. This figure had been calculated (see table one) once the Councils placement costs are deducted, and the mobilisation payment provided to Park View in the initial scaling up period. This cost avoidance alone covered the cost of the site surrender. The St Marys site has further potential for cost avoidance in future years to scale up from 34 places to 42 which provided further flexibility within the system if required.

Item XX is likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it/they 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 and 5, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as item 8 contained exempt information as defined under paragraph 3, Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The Cabinet Member considered the exempt information.