Jenny Jones investigates Brent cycling issues

Jenny Jones and Shahrar Ali listen to Brent Cyclists' concerns

Jenny Jones, the Green Party's candidate for London Mayor, visited Brent today as part of her fact-finding tour of London boroughs regarding cycling facilities.  Members of the Brent Cyclists' Group and Brent Green Party told her about some of the local issues and took her on a ride from Wembley Park down to Neasden Shopping Centre and Gladstone Park.

One of the central issues was the problems cyclists face in crossing the North Circular at Neasden. The North Circular splits Neasden in half and travelling south the cyclists has the choice between 'Death Canyon'  where the main road goes under the North Circular at the Neasden Stonehenge roundabout and joins another roundabout at the top of Neasden Lane, or the pedestrian underpass to the Neasden shopping centre which is shared with pedestrians. Many users have worries about safety in the pedestrian underpass.  Travelling from south to the north there are even more problems with cyclists having to negotiate fast-moving traffic from a slip road which joins the main road from the left.

Pointing out the dangers at Neasden roundabout

Jenny promised to look into the possibility of a road level crossing at the North Circular for north-south transit and any interim improvements that could be made. I told her that this had been cited as a possible route for children cycling from the south of Brent to the Ark Academy and remarked that this seemed to be a way of reducing the pupil population of Brent!

Other issues covered included the lack of cycling routes in the north of the borough and the intensive use of cars in that part of Brent, the impact of the Brent Cross Regeneration on cyclists and concerns about the changes being suggested for Staples Corner.

Link to Brent Cyclists blog HERE

Challenging 'A' Level stereotypes

From  today's Guardian

It was good to see the Guardian's front page story on A level results avoided the usual images of teenage girls (usually blonde) jumping up and down with excitement clutching their results.

Without taking away from the girls' achievements, with national concerns over the performance of black boys, and all the stereotypes flying around in the wake of the riots, it was encouraging to see a positive image of black male youth's educational achievements displayed so prominently.

Incidentally it is easy to blame the media for falling for the blonde girl stereotype but a journalist revealed on the Radio 4 Today programme this week that schools and colleges ring local newspapers up and say things like, "We have some exceptionally beautiful girls this year" in order to tempt their photographers along.

Meanwhile as results trickle in it looks like a good year for Brent schools so congratulations to all the students and their teachers, teaching assistants and parents.

Highlighting some issues on the primary expansion strategy

An 'urban style' school in Westminster

I attended last night's Brent Executive meeting to hear the discussion on the Primary Places Strategy and was able to make a short presentation on some of the issues that arise.  These are the notes of my contribution:

1.   Recognise the difficulty regarding the shortage of school places and welcome development of a longer term strategy.

2.   Agree need for intensive lobbying of government with similarly affected boroughs – not just a local issue. This should include funding for new 2FE schools in areas of need.

3.   The consultation paper left out fact of submissions from at least two governing bodies – impression they were all headteacher or individuals. In fact a long and passionate discussion involving staff and parent governors took place.

4.   Proposals mean demise of one form entry schools that have their own strengths, particularly in terms of helping vulnerable children in an intimate and safe setting. (Return to that later)

5.    Draw attention to some issues that arise from the suggested strategy – the impact of all-through schools on neighbouring primaries – long-term residents will choose all-through school at 4 because it guarantees a place in the secondary school. May destabilise stand-alone primaries with disproportionate number of new arrivals and high turn-over.

6.   All through schools will reduce the number of secondary places available for pupils from stand-alone primaries. If Alperton and Wembley as proposed become all-through, this with Ark and Preston Manor would reduce Year 7 places available in North Brent by 300.

7.   This would impact on children from the South as they would lose out on the distance criterion. Raises equality issues.

8.   Need clarification of what is meant by ‘urban style’* school mentioned in 3.3 but not followed up.

9.   Need to have strategy on how to maintain ‘primary ethos and character’ in all through provision. Perhaps have a separate governing body to that for the secondary phase or additional governors experienced in early years/primary education.

10.  Possible alienation of small children in large 5 form entry schools (six proposed). Need to research also how to preserve the family-centred ethos through options such as ‘small schools’ within larger ones.

11. In the context of the recent disturbances need to think carefully about the form of our schools so as to reduce the possibility of alienation and disaffection of young people. If one of the ‘causes’ is lack of family support then schools need to be able to provide the safe, supportive structure sometimes missing from children’s own families. Is this better provided in smaller schools? Links with present consultation on  Breaking the Child Poverty Cycle. 

12. As Brent schools become larger ‘free schools’ may step in to provide the small, friendly, family-centred schools –‘where everyone knows your name and you can’t get away with anything’ that many parents prefer. There are signs that free school providers are already homing in on this.

* An officer  said that 'urban style' schools mean schools on 'constrained sites' such as some in Westminster. I take it that means schools with very little space in an urban environment.Soho Parish C of E School for example limits classes to 20 because of space constraints. Quite a few of the older buildings have roof playgrounds to maximise the small amount of play space they have.

In response Cllr Mary Arnold, lead member for Children and Families, said that the Council realised this was a serious issue and that was why they went out to consultation. She welcomed the feedback on the consultation and said that important points had been made, including those about 'small school' solutions within larger units and separate governing bodies for the primary phase of all-through schools. Cllr Lesley Jones echoed concerns about the impact of all-through schools on stand-alone primaries and said this issue had been worrying primary schools in her area. Cllr Ann John, following up comments about the riots and child poverty, said that Cllr Helga Gladbaum had chaired a group looking at an Early Intervention Strategy and that their proposals would be published soon.

Former Lib Dem to stand for Greens in Camden by-election

In a surprise move, which is likely to send shockwaves across Camden politics, the Green Party has chosen former Liberal Democrat councillor and Camden Eco Champion, Alexis Rowell, as their candidate for the Highgate by-election on Thursday 15th September.

Alexis was a leading Lib Dem councillor in Camden from 2006 to 2010, and is widely credited with having significantly raised the profile of environmental issues in the council and across the borough.
But, shortly after winning a national Sustainability Councillor of the Year award, he stood down at the May 2010 elections saying he'd done 80% of what he'd set out to do.

After his selection on Tuesday night by the Camden Greens, Alexis said: "I have been growing increasingly disillusioned with the Lib Dems since the party joined the coalition government. My principal reason for leaving was Chris Huhne's support for nuclear power, but I have also been completely unimpressed with the coalition's overall environmental record and appalled by what their policies and cuts are doing to the social fabric."

Alexis formally resigned from the Lib Dems on Monday, paving the way for his selection by the Greens on Tuesday night.

In his resignation letter to Nick Clegg, he said:

I recognise that any government would have had to make difficult decisions, but I'm still shocked by the fact that you signed the foreword to the bill to privatise the NHS, by the draconian frontloaded cuts to local government, by the free schools policy, by the virtual abandonment of state-funded higher education, by the lack of any action on banker bonuses and exorbitant pay in general, by the decision to fully privatise the Royal Mail, and by a host of other free market or libertarian policies which I didn't vote for and which I can't support.

 The Greens currently have one councillor in Camden, Highgate's Cllr Maya de Souza. In the past the Greens held all three seats in Highgate and are widely seen as the principal challengers to Labour in this by-election.
Cllr de Souza said: "We are delighted to have such an experienced and energetic candidate standing for us in Highgate. It is largely thanks to the work Alexis did last time he was a councillor that sustainability is such a key concern at Camden Council. But he's also got a great track record as a ward councillor responding to residents' concerns. His energy, enthusiasm and hard work will be a great asset to Highgate."

The Chair of the Camden Green Party, Natalie Bennett, said: "At a time when the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are creating havoc nationally, and Camden Council's Labour administration is closing libraries and playgroups, Alexis is a strong candidate for anyone who cares about the environment and progressive issues generally."

The leader of the national Green Party, Caroline Lucas MP, said: "Alexis's move from the Lib Dems to the Greens shows that it is the Greens who are leading the way on progressive and environmental politics in the UK. I encourage all Lib Dems to take a long hard look at what the coalition is doing and to ask themselves whether they really support what's happening."

Summer holiday decision on the future of primary education in Brent

Map showing unplaced primary children  in Brent 

Click on image to enlarge

Tonight the Brent Council Executive will consider a report setting out plans for future primary provision in the borough as a result of the burgeoning child population. The Council expect to be short of 46 reception class places in September after taking into account places at expanded schools and in bulge classes. However overall they expect as many as 513 Year 1 to Year 4 children to be without a school place in September.  Numbers are expected to rise 'dramatically' in 2012-13 with a record shortage of places of 1778 by 2014-15 if nothing is done.

The report proposes a three-pronged approach to the problem:

A robust lobbying campaign to central government, clearly demonstrating the size of the challenge the Council faces and the inadequacy of the available resources. At the time of writing the government has made no firm proposals or commitments to provide additional capital funding to support the provision of additional school  places. The problems are particularly acute within London, and the Council should actively consider collaborative lobbying with other likeminded Boroughs. On 19 July 2011, the Secretary of State announced that the government will provide an additional £500m to fund more new school places for September 2012 in those areas of greatest need. It is Brent Council's priority to make its case towards this allocation as part of our lobbying efforts.

A medium term approach linked directly to the Council’s emerging property strategy, which considers more radical ways of addressing the challenges associated by providing school places and delivering a ‘fit for purpose’ school portfolio. This will involve a review of the entire education portfolio and  consideration of new models for schools, including five form entry primary schools, all through schools and ‘urban’ style schools. The Council’s approach is in line with the government's latest announcement to conduct a full survey of the school estate for a fairer funding model. Such a strategy will take a number of years to come to fruition and will have little or no impact on the existing pressures. However, clearly the cycle of inadequate extensions and bulge classes needs to be broken at some point. The government has announced a new privately-financed school building programme to address the schools in the worst condition wherever they are in the country. The programme is expected to cover between 100 and 300 schools with the first of these open in September 2014 and is expected to be worth around £2 billion in up front construction costs.

A costed short term strategy to maximise the capacity of the existing school portfolio, involving a combination of extensions, expansions and bulge classes, in order to help meet immediate pressure for additional primary school places. This strategy is currently unfunded, and there is currently no government grant available for this. The report sets out the costs associated with the delivery of the short term strategy and suggests possible sources of finance in order to minimise the unsupported borrowing burden to the Council.

The report summarises the result of the consultation on future primary provision which was carried out in July and extended after protests that insufficient time had been made available for detailed consideration of the options.  They say 29 responses were received of which five were from headteachers, nineteen from individual school governors, and the remainder from 'others'. In fact I know that two responses were made from governing bodies but this isn't mentioned.14 (48%) were in favour of expanding existing primary schools as their first choice and 7 (24%) were in favour of creating bulge classes and 4 (13%) expressed a preference for all-through (4-19 years) schools.4 (13%) said that building new schools should have been considered an option and 6 (21%) suggested that the Gwyneth Rickus Building in Brentfield Road (currently the borough's Centre for Staff Development) become a primary school. (This may be an option if the CSD transfers to the new Civic Centre in 2012)


The strategy put forward in the document is not entirely in line with the consultation findings:

Diversity in the size of primary schools in Brent ranging from 2 FE to 5FE. In future, the minimum size of primary schools in Brent should be 2FE. (2 forms of entry is 420 pupils plus nursery and 5 forms of entry 1050 plus nursery))

Continue the move away from separate infant and junior schools and support the amalgamation of existing infant and junior schools.

Develop all through primary/secondary schools as an option within a diverse range of provision but maintain the primary ethos and character within all through provision.

Support the co-location of special schools and mainstream schools.

Within the overall system, maintain the flexibility to commission or decommission school places in response to fluctuations in demand

The move to all-through schools and the establishment of large 5 form entry schools are  both likely to be controversial. The short-list for possible expansion includes the conversion of Wembley High, Alperton and Capital City into 'all-through' schools with twoor three forms of entry in the  primary phase.The separate Roe Green Infant and Junior schools and Lyon Park Infant and Junior are ear-marked for expansion to five forms of entry, along with Barham and Braintcroft.  Byron Court and Preston Park are considered for expansion to 4FE. The 'short-list' is actually quite long with Wykeham, Fryent, Elsley, Chalkhill, Mitchell Brook, Leopold, Malorees Infants, Malorees Junior, St Andews and St Francis and Furness on the list for possible expansion to 3FE.

The report signals the end of one form entry primary schools which I personally find very sad as they can be quite magical places that are amazingly responsive to children and their families.

These are clearly important long-term decisions so it is a pity that the Executive is making them in the middle of the Summer holidays when many people concerned about such matters are away.

Slight setback for free schools

'Free schools' got off to a faltering in  start in February  when the DFE announced that of the 323 proposals received only 41 were approved to move to business case and planning stage or beyond with one proposal subsequently withdrawn. Eight proposer groups were invited to apply through a new application process. The results for all applications submitted since or resubmitted will be announced in September.

A further slight setback for Michael Gove in his rush to get as many built as possible was announced today. The government published new rules for planning which although they say councils should have a 'presumption' in favour of state-funded schools (free schools are funded directly by the state rather than via local government), councils will still be able to veto the new schools on planning grounds. This followed a hostile public reaction in consultation to proposals that free schools could be set up in disused shops, offices, churches and other venues with no requirements regarding play space etc and with no need to apply for 'change of use'.

This will probably just mean delaying free schools, rather than defeating proposals, as far as local authorities opposed to them are concerned. According to the Guardian 'sources close to Michael Gove' said that the government would still be able to be over-turned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and campaigners fear councils will be put off as they may have to pay costs if they lose on appeal.

However delay will give local campaigners more time to assemble the case against free schools when the next tranche are announced in September. It will also give councils more time to find other uses for buildings that free schools were hoping to occupy.

Calling all Brent cyclists - meet Jenny Jones and tell her about local issues

Jenny Jones, Green Party candidate for the London mayoral elections,  will be coming to Brent on Friday to meet cyclists and investigate with them how cycling could be improved.

Her visit will start at Wembley Park station at 10am on Friday August 19th where anyone interested should come and meet her. She will then be able to cycle to any spots in the borough which give cyclists particular difficulties.

Could everybody who decides to come respond to Collette.Bird@london.gov.uk with their telephone number in case of any emergencies or delays.

Brent Council seeks views on tackling child poverty

The high number of children in  most deprived wards

Click image to enlarge

Brent Council yesterday launched a consultation on its draft child poverty strategy. The Government requires each local authority to have such a strategy in place in 2011. The Council is keen to have feedback on any gaps in  the information they provide which will enable them to refine the final strategy. The consultation is aimed at council staff, community groups and young people.

Some key facts:

• Brent has become more deprived. It was the 35th most deprived borough in 2010 compared with 53rd previously.
• The highest rates of child poverty are in Stonebridge ward, Harlesden and South Kilburn. There are pockets of deprivation in other parts of the borough including in the south of Welsh Harp ward which was not deemed as deprived four years ago.
• Overall there  are up to 23,000 children (34.1%) in Brent living in poverty according the the Child Wellbeing Index.
• The numbers of children eligible for Free School Meals is a good indicator of poverty. The national average is 15.9% but Stonebridge 44.2%, Harlesden 38.7%, Dollis Hill 33.4%, Kilburn 33.2%, Dudden Hill 31% were much higher compared with Kenton at 11.6%.
• 72% of homeless cases have children or are pregnant. (This is likely to get worse when the housing benefit cap is fully implemented early next year). There has been a recent increase in the number of young Somali people who are homeless.
• There is lower educational attainment in early years and schools compared with London and national averages and lower attainment evident in some Black African and African Caribbean children.
• The highest number of lone parents is highest in Harlesden (570) and Stonebridge (560) compared with 95 in Northwick Park and 60 in Kenton
• Unemployment is highest in the most deprived areas with a Brent average of 9.3% compared with 8.7% in London and 7.7% nationally
• 7.6% of Jobseekers Allowance claimants are 18-24 years old compared with 6.7% in London and 6.9% nationally
• The Tellus Survey showed that lack of aspiration and fears about future prospects including jobs, further education and money are concerns amongst most young people and parents.

The consultation report says that Brent Council is responding to this situation by:

• Completing a child poverty needs assessment
• Drafting a strategy
• Consulting on the strategy

The Council gives its child poverty vision as:

For no children or young people to be disadvantaged by poverty by 2021 in Brent. Over the next decade we will ensure that each child has the best possible start in life and not be disadvantaged by family circumstance or background by breaking the cycle of deprivation

The problem is of course in achieving this vision against the back of Coalition policies whose overall impact, despite innovations such as the pupil premium, are increasing child poverty through reducing benefits, the housing benefit cap, and reducing the number of public sector jobs. The Council's own scope for initiative is clearly limited by the cuts in local authority funding and some of the cuts and higher charges they have made as a result will also impact on families and educational provision.

Faced with the statistics and the reality of  Coalition policies the objectives outlined in the consultation document  seem well-meaning but lacking in establishing a clear, practical policy direction. 'But how?' keeps coming into your mind:

Our objectives for 2021

1. To provide a safe and secure environment where all children are respected and cared for so that they grow into successful and responsible people.

2. To ensure all children have a happy life and life style to be able to progress and thrive.

3. To provide children with the best possible education in an environment where they can thrive; socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually.  

4. To ensure all children are happy, confident and ambitious capable to aim high and achieve what ever they aspire to.

The officers concerned hope that by establishing an over-arching framework they will enable different Council departments to produce more detailed plans. The consultation will be longer than usual and will involve 15 face to face meetings with various stakeholders covering the full range of provision.

The diagram below shows the framework:

Click on image to enlarge

The consultation itself is qualitative and asks open-ended questions including What are the causes of poverty? and In a ideal world what actions could be take to a. prevent children from living in poverty and b. deal with those who are already in poverty? There are 13 questions in all so whoever writes this up will have an enormous job to do as some of the questions invite mini-essays in response!

The consultation website is HERE and a PDF of the consultation document is HERE
The consultation closes on September 26th and comments should be sent to andrea.lagos@brent.gov.uk