Islamia Primary move to new site and closure strongly opposed in informal consultation.

Islamia Primary School has responded to my Freedom of Information Request with some of the information requested over the proposed move of the school to another site, Strathcona, in Preston war of Brent.

The summary of informal consultation responses shows that the majority of parents and the wider community reject both Options offered in the consultation. 96 parents did not want to move to Strathcona and want Islamia to be offered the new South Kilburn building (currently ear-marked for Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Junior School) or another suitable site in the area.

Options offered in the consultation.

 

Option 1. For the school to relocate to a new site (the only one offered was Strathcona)

Option 2. For the school to close with pupils moving to other local schools with spare places.

 

I requested pupil mobility data to see how uncertainty over the future may have affected the school. There has been movement but Islamia operate a waiting list and state that the school is full at 420 pupils. 

 

 

The timetable for the move as tabled by Brent Council is now way behind and there appears to be little prospect of the school moving in time for a September 2024. The Council paper said that the Yusuf Islam Foundation had agreed an extension of the eviction to January 2025 only if there are unforseen events. The delay in the start of statutory consultation, apparently in order that mitigations for the move be agreed between the school and Brent Council, may not qualify as an unforseen event. 

 

 

The school responded to my request for copies of all correspondence with the Yusuf Islam Foundation and Brent Council regarding the eviction notice on the school and the subsequent search for alternative premises, survey/s of the Strathcona site and refurbishment/new build proposals, by saying that the request should be made to the Foundation and Brent Council.

Following the school's response I have sent another FI request:

1. Are the Governing Body going to undertake a statutory consultation on the move of Islamia to the Strathcona site (or another site)?

2. If so, what mitigations have been agreed with Brent Council?

3. If so, what is the timeline for the statutory consultation?

4. If the school is to move what is the timeline/target date for opening of the school on the new site?

5. Has a new eviction date been agreed with the Yusuf Islam Foundation?

 

A dribble of information on Islamia Primary says the Governing Body and Brent Council are considering 'mitigation measures' over move No information on what they are mitigating!

 It has proved really difficult to find out what is going on regarding the proposed move of Islamia Primary School to the Strathcona site in Preston ward. The informal consultation finished in November and there has not been a whisper about the results leaving parents and the community in the dark. I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Brent Council and as you can see the response still gives no details of the results of the consultation but does say the Islamia  Governing Board and the Council are working togather to 'consider mitigations measures'. What they are mitigating remains a secret.

The Council also fails to answer the question about the opening date of Islamia on the new site. As statutory consultation has not yet started the original date, negotiated with the Yusuf Islam Foundation looks most unlikely as either complete demolition and new build, or partial refurbishment and a new block, were proposed for the site.

This is the formal response to the FoI:

Details of the outcome of the public consultation on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School that was completed in November 2022.

The informal consultation that ran until November 2022 was managed by the Governing Board of Islamia Primary School. The responses and the concerns raised have been considered by the Governing Board and the Governing Board has been working with the local authority to consider mitigation measures. At this point in time, the Governing Board has not made a decision to proceed to statutory consultation.
 
2. Update on when the school will move and operate on its new site
(previously proposed for September 2024).

Operation of Islamia Primary School from the proposed Strathcona site will depend on the timing and outcome of the statutory process to relocate the  school and the completion of required capital investment works, should a decision be made following any statutory consultation to proceed with the relocation.

3. Update on any statutory consultation.
Statutory Consultation will be managed by the Governing Board of Islamia Primary School. 

As well as the above FoI I  submitted an additional FoI to Islamia Primary School itself on May 11th, This is due to be answered by June 9th.

Please provide the following information:

1.The outcome of the consultation on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School to the Strathcona site to open in September 2024 and copies of the breakdown of the consultation result.

2. Copies of all correspondence with the Yusuf Islam Foundation and Brent Council regarding the eviction notice on the school and the subsequent search for alternative premises, survey/s of the Strathcona site and refurbishment/new build proposals.

3. Up to date information on the current pupil numbers in the school by year group.

4. Current pupil mobility rates by year group since September 2022.

Brent Council refuses Freedom of Information request on the controversial move of Islamia Primary School from Queens Park to Preston ward

 

At the recent public meeting about the move of Islamia Primary School to Preston ward, Brent Council officers promised to be open and transparent about the move.

However, a Freedom of Information request, by a concerned Islamia parent, has been refused on the grounds that to comply would constitute an unreasonable amount of work.

This is unfortunate on such a controversial issue as it will suggest to some of those involved that the council, or other parties, have something to hide.

In this case the public interest demands a full answer from Brent Council.

The correspondence LINK

Dear Brent Borough Council,

Following the eviction of Islamia Primary school by the Yusuf Islam Foundation and the proposal by Brent Council to move the school to the Roe Green Strathcona site , l am writing to make a FOI request.

Copies of all emails exchanged relating to the matter: 

-Between Brent Council, Council members and the The Yusuf Islam Foundation.
-Emails between Brent Council officers and members regarding proposal.
-Emails between Brent Council officers and members and the Islamia Governing Board, and minutes of any meetings held between these parties. 

I would like these to go back to when the move was first suggested.

Yours faithfully,
J. Guled

 

Dear J. Guled

RE: Brent Council's proposal to move Islamia Primary school to Roe Green  Strathcona

Thank you for your FOI (Freedom of Information) received on  28/10/2022. Unfortunately, we are unable to deal with your enquiry for the  following reason:

Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 makes provision  for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the  request for information is manifestly unreasonable. In line with the  Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)  Regulations 2004 this represents the estimated cost of one person spending  18 hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information. We estimate that it  will take us in excess of 18 hours to locate all the emails requested,  review all the emails and determine whether or not the information can be  provided, giving due consideration to the data protection act and
excluding confidential information. Therefore, your request is refused.  

Further information about the Councils procedures can be found on the  Council's website: [3]https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/  
 

Alternatively, you may contact me using the contact details provided in
this correspondence.

Yours sincerely  

Shirley Parks

Director of Safeguarding, Partnerships and Strategy 

 

Dear Brent Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Brent Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Brent Council's proposal to move Islamia Primary school to Roe Green Strathcona'.

You have calculated that gathering this information will exceed the cost limit, but I believe that this is an overestimation of the resource required.

I also believe that it is not unreasonable to request clarifications on how a Local Authority has come to the conclusion that a school it maintains should move over 6 miles away from its current location making it nearly impossible for current children to continue attending. This decision contravenes in many ways the Equality Act and it clearly poses safeguarding risks for primary age children. The consultation process is still ongoing therefore it is vital that this information is disclosed. It is in the public interest to share these emails and foster a transparent approach in decision making processes that will affect so many lives.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/brent_councils_proposal_to_move#incoming-2157180

 

Yours faithfully,

J. Guled

 

 

REVEALED: Restrictive Covenant on Islamia Primary School land

 Many thanks to Philip Grant for his assitance with this article.

 

The 'elephant in the room' on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School after eviction by the Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) Foundation has been the Foundation's plans for the site - they they merely said they want to develop it.

 

Wembley Matters has purchased a copy of the Land Registry entry for 129 Salusbury Road, the current site of Islamia Primary School. 

 

The following are details of the covenants contained in the  Conveyance dated 12November 1908 referred to in the Charges Register.  They appear to restrict any future development of the site, land and buildings, by the Yusuf Islam Foundation to educational use through schools. The only way that could be changed is by the owner applying to the Court (in this case The Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal) to have that restrictive covenant removed from the land.

 

The Purchasers do hereby covenant with the Commissioners to perform and observe the several conditions and stipulations set forth in the first schedule hereto. 

 

THE FIRST SCHEDULE above referred to 

 

That neither the land hereby conveyed nor any building or buildings now or at any future time erected thereon nor any part or parts thereof shall be used for any purposes whatsoever other than purposes authorised by the Elementary Education Act 1870 and the Education Act 1902 and the Acts extending and amending the same respectively [and that no building shall without the previous consent of the Commissioners in writing under the hand of their secretary be at any time erected on any part of the land coloured blue on the said plan].' 

 

This is what is known as a "restrictive covenant", so that the "burden" of the covenant relates to the land itself, and not to the owner of the land. 

 

For this to have effect,

 

'The original parties to the covenant must have intended that the burden of the covenant would remain with, and pass with the land every time the ownership changed.'

 

That quotation comes from a useful summary of the legal position  HERE. 

 

This seems to be clear evidence that the original parties to the covenant, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England ("Church Commissioners") and the County Council of The Administrative County of Middlesex (Middlesex C.C.), did intend that the land at 129 Salusbury Road, and any buildings on that land, should always be used for educational purposes as a school.

 

You can find much of the story of the Salusbury Road school site in Part 5 of Irina Porter's "Uncovering Kilburn's History' on Wembley Matters HERE. 

 

Philip Grant has contributed some further  historical background:

 

It appears that the Church Commissioners had bought the land in 1877. This may well have been for possible use for a school, as the Church of England was afraid that "Board Schools" set up under the 1870 Education Act would not teach religion. In fact, it was not until the end of the century that a school building was erected on the land for Kilburn Grammar School, a secondary school which had been founded by the Vicar of St Paul's Church, Kilburn, in 1897.

 

The Church Commissioners continued to own the land until 1908, when it was purchased by Middlesex C.C., after they and Willesden Urban District Council had jointly taken over the running of Kilburn Grammar School the previous year. Middlesex C.C. was abolished in 1965, at the same time that Willesden and Wembley Councils merged to form the London Borough of Brent. 

 

Brent Council then owned the land, and the school became the "comprehensive" Kilburn Senior High School in 1967, then merged with the girls school in 1973 to become Brondesbury and Kilburn High School. This ceased to exist when Brent had another reorganisation of its secondary schools in 1989, and Brent then sold the land and buildings. But they were sold to the then version of Yusuf Islam's charity, specifically to be used as a school, or schools, in line with the restrictive covenant.

 

Islamia parents offered stark choice - either approve the move to Preston ward or the school closes

 Parents of children at Islamia Primary School in Queens Park have been offered a stark choice by the school's Governing Board: approve the move of the school to a site 6 miles away or it will close.

The informal consultation that opened on September 28th and closes on November 2nd will be followed by a formal consultation.

The consultation reveals that the Governing Board rejects Brent Council's favoured option of a refurbishment of present buildings on the present site and the building of a new block to accommodate a 2 forms of entry primary school.

Instead they favour demolition of all buildings on the site and the provision of a new-build two storey school. Brent Council does not think this is deliverable by July 2024 ready for a September 2024 start. The governors say they will endeavout to keep to tight deadlines to make this deliverable.

The consultation maintains the silence on the reason why the Yusuf Islam Foundation gave the school an eviction notice and merely says the Foundation intends to develop the site.

The governors appear to brush off the concerns  of parents unable to travel to the new site and state:

Muslim families who live in the north of the borough do not currently have access to Muslim faith education provision. In the future the population that the school serves may become more local to the new site.

 A parent told Wembley Matters:

This is quite unfair for current families.  Blackmailing tactics . Either approve the move or lose the school.

In reality local families will lose the school anyway.

Plus the consultation is inaccessible to many as it was sent out on the school App rather than via a paper copy.

 The consultation document can be found HERE,

 A consultation meeting for staff will be held on October 10th and there are two consultation meetings on Wednesday October 12th at the school at 9am-10am and 5pm to 6pm.

A further meeting will be held at a site to be confirmed near the Strathcona site on October 13th 6pm - 7.30pm.

 

 

 

 

Islamia Chair of Governors tells parents that final approval after consultation on school move 'should be no more than a formality'. Yusuf Islam Foundation is to redevelop the present site.

The proposed site photographed earlier this week

 Sofia Moussaoui, Chair of the Islamia Primary School Govering Board, has written to parents troday following the Brent Cabinet's approval of the report that cleared the way for consultation on the move of the school from Queens Park to the former Roe Green Strathcona site  in Preston, Wembley.

The letter reveals that the Yusuf Islam Foundation plans to redevelop the Queens Park site - a prime site in a well to do area.

In a passage that has annoyed parents, who sense a fait accompli as regards the consultation, Ms Moussaoui states:

...This approval in principle is subject to final approval upon the conclusion of the consultation process, but it should be no more than a formality.

The letter conscludes:

We would encourage you all to provide constructive suggestions as to how we can the transition easier for both teachers and parents.

No mention of children!

The text of the letter to parents and carers:

I am writing to update you on the proposed relocation of the school.

I am pleased to report that the Yusuf Islam Foundation, the GB[Governing Board] and the Local Authority have agreed terms in principle for the relocation of the School. The Yusuf Islam Foundation has agreed to withdraw the eviction notice in return for the GB committing to vacating the Salusbury Road site in July 2024 and in return for the Local Authority committing to provide an alternative site for Islamia by the same date.

The greement is yet to be signed but all 3 parties have committed to signing the document in its current agreed form. Brother Yusuf Islam is due to travel to London to sign and execute the agreement.

The Local Authority has proposed that Islamia relocate to the Strathcona Site which is located at the Roe Green Strathcona School Site, Strathcona Road, Wembley, HA9 8QW. Furthermore, the Local Authority is adamant that they have conducted extensive searches over the last couiple of years and that there are no other suitable sites within the Brent area,

The Yusuf Islam Foundation will be redeveloping its land and therefore ongoing occupation of the curent school site after the agreed July 2024 date is not an option.

The GB is aware of the 500 strong petition to relocate the School to a site in South Kilburn. This  has been raised with the Local Authority who have confirmed that the site has already been earmarked for another school and that  it will in any event not be ready for occupation for 4 years, Therefore, the site in South Kilburn is not a viable option.

The priority for the GB is to avoid the closure of Islamia, who in 2 years' time cannot continue to occupy the Salusbury Road site. Currently our only viable option to avoid closure is the relocation to the now closed Roe Green Strathcona School Site, Strathcona Road, HA9 8QW.

On Monday 12th September 2022, 5 members of the GB attended the Cabinet Meeting at Brent Civic Centre  * where Councillors voted on the proposal to fund the relocation of Islamia to the Strathcona Site. In total the costs of the relocation and rebuild ** are estimated to be circa £12million. The Councillors approved the proposal and have committed in principle to providing the funds. The approval in principle is subject to final approval upon the conclusion of the consultation process, but it should be no more than a formality.

The next step for the GB is to conduct a informal consultation process which we hope to begin within the next 1-2 weeks. The informal consultation will run for 4 weeks. Thereafter, there will also need to be a formal consultation process.

We would encourage you all to provide constructive suggestions as to how we can make the transition easier for both teachers and parents.

* Around 15 parents opposed to the plans also attended the Cabinet meeting and one made a speech presenting the 500+ signature petition.

** The plans are for the refurbishment of the existing buildings and the building of a new block. From the Cabinet Report: 

4. Retain and refurbish all buildings on the Strathcona site and build a new block to meet 2FE accommodation requirements

The journey from Islamia Primary to Strathcona - what are the options?

 

 Strathcona Road - off Carlton Avenue East

Discussion around the potential move of Islamia Primary School from its Queens Park site to one in Preston, Wembley, (not Kingsbury) has centred around the difficulty of the journey for parents who live near the current site.

Here are some journey options I researched today as well as a video (above) of a site visit I made this afternoon.

By Tube (note the long walk that is along Carlton Avenue East) 44 minutes

 

A reader suggested this (could also be Bakerloo line) 

 

By bus even longer walk at the end (1 hr 14 mins)
 

Car journey (may be longer at peak school run time) 23 or 29 minutes

Cycling routes - pretty unlikely given lack of safe cycle paths  (37 or 39 minutes)
 

Practicalities regarding cycling or buses as a mode of travel leaves driving a car during school peak times or the tube journey.  The video shows Strathcona Road and the parking on it as well as the double yellow lines near the school so car travel, discouraged anyway on environmental grounds, is problematic.

Of course parents don't all live near the present school site but it would be essential to have some kind of travel assessment as part of the consultation. There is clearly a danger that some families will be excluded from attendance at the new site by the difficulties outlined and the cost.

Sofia Moussaoui, Islamia Chair of Governors, told the Cabinet meeting that approved consultation on the move, that they would look into ways of 'how the get them (parents and children) there.'

There will need to be an Equalities Impact Assessment as part of the consultation as the danger is that less well-off families will be excluded from the school because of the cost and difficulty of the journey. This could amount to discrimination.

Neither Yusuf Islam/Cat Steven, nor the Yusuf Islam Foundation, have responded to requests for a statement giving the reason for the eveiction order on the school. 

Note: Tube and Bus rotes from the TfL Plan a Journey website