Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Amalgamation of Lady Bankes Junior School & Lady Bankes Infant and Nursery School - PART II
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Cabinet Member Decision Notice – 29 March 2021 OFFICIAL DECISION NOTICE PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES ON 29 MARCH 2021 The Cabinet Member for Families, Education and Wellbeing has made the following decision today: 1. CABINET MEMBER FOR FAMILIES, EDUCATION AND WELLBEING AMALGAMATION OF LADY BANKES JUNIOR SCHOOL & LADY BANKES INFANT AND NURSERY SCHOOL DECISION: That the Cabinet Member approves the amalgamation of Lady Bankes Junior School & Lady Bankes Infant and Nursery School and notes that the Governing Body and the Education Service are consulting on this matter with its stakeholders and are seeking approval from the Council to proceed with formal representation. REASONS FOR THE DECISION MADE The Federated Governing Body of the Lady Bankes Schools met on 2nd March 2021 to discuss the future of Lady Bankes Junior School & Lady Bankes Infant and Nursery School. Reviewing various options, the Governing Body agreed to amalgamate both schools. As they are Community Maintained schools, the Local Authority is the employer for all staff and also owns the buildings and is the decision maker. The rationale behind this decision is provided below. The benefits of becoming a Primary School 1. Greater consistency of approach to teaching and learning from ages 3 to 11. 2. Seamless monitoring of pupil progress from ages 3 to 11. 3. Increased potential for strong leadership and governance. 4. Continuity of experiences for parents / carers and children. 5. Avoidance of transfer to another school at the end of Year 2 and the impact that this can have on the children’s transition and learning. 6. Greater sharing of curriculum and other resources. 7. Economies of scale. 8. Working in partnership with the community. Following deliberation and questions, which were raised by all Governors regarding the process, Governors voted unanimously to move forward with the amalgamation of Lady Bankes Junior School & Lady Bankes Infant and Nursery School . The process would be to Dan Kennedy, Residents Services Cabinet Member Decision Notice – 29 March 2021 close the Infant School and extend the age range of the Junior School. Lady Bankes’ Primary School would open in September 2021. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED AND REJECTED Option 1 - Convert both schools to academies and join a multi - academy trust: • The two schools are not ready to convert to an academy before having an opportunity to amalgamate, in order to streamline resources and work as one school. Academisation will be considered at a later stage. Option 2 - Leave the schools in their current status: ● High cost of appointing another Headteacher and having two Headteachers. ● Difficult to appoint a high- performing Headteacher for an Infant School due to the small scale of the school. ● Parent / carer issue with transition between Year 2 and Ye ar 3 pupils. FURTHER INFORMATION The detailed report relating to this decision was declared as exempt from publication as it involves the disclosure of information in accordance with Section 100(A) and paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), in that the report contains i nformation relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. DECISION AUTHORITY & IMPLEMENTATION Where required, these decisions have been taken under The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012. These decisions, unless called in, will come into effect from 5pm on Wednesday 07 April 2021. This is the formal notice by the Council of the above decisions. If you would like more information on any of the decisions, please contact Democratic Services on 01895 250636. The right hand column indicates the name of the officer(s) responsible for implementing / following up the decision in each case. Circulation of this decisions sheet is to a variety of people including Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers, Group Secretariats and the Public.