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We will see more scenes like this if Brent Council does not devise a strategy in partnership with headteacher and teacher unions to manage falling pupil rolls.
This is the presentation I made as a local governor and former Brent headteacher at last night's Scrutiny Committee on the Roe Green Strathcona proposed closure.
When schools
were asked to have bulge classes or expand as a result of rising pupil numbers
some declined for various reasons often to do with school vulnerabilities or
the size of the site.
Roe Green infants,
despite the difficulties did agree and are now paying for their selflessness
and willingness to help the authority out.
They have
been treated very poorly.
Governors
from other primary schools are watching how this is dealt with very carefully. Some
have expanded with new buildings but have not filled the additional spaces,
others may be on two sites as Strathcona is and have heard the Council’s
argument that such schools are ‘too expensive.’
The vast
majority of primary schools in Brent have not academized, choosing to remain
under local authority oversight, believing as we do in democratic
accountability.
But
accountability goes two ways and the meetings I have attended about Strathcona
have undermined my trust in the democratic process.
·The
inaccuracies in the officer’s report were not addressed.
·The
arguments of parents, pupils and staff (including the headteacher) were
ignored..
·The
school’s proposal for additional provision on the site was misrepresented
and not responded to.
Instead the
Lead member just read aloud extracts from the officer’s report.
People were
left with the impression that the
closure was a result of cuts and the council need the money elsewhere , but
school funding is ring-fenced so any savings would go into the general schools
budget rather than towards other services. It would mean a tiny percentage
increase in other school’s budgets and I for one would not want that to be at
the expense of the Strathcona community.
If we still
had a committee system, with a separate education committee, I feel that this
and other proposals would have been properly debated and scrutinised. Some
councillors in Sheffield are suggesting a return to that system to ensure
better accountability -perhaps Brent should too.
The
authority’s initial response to rising school rolls was often ad hoc. We
now need a well thought out strategy to address falling rolls.
Treat Roe
Green Strathcona’s staff, pupils and parents fairly and win back their trust
and respect as well as that of others in the borough.
Cllrs Chan and Kennelly with Jenny Cooper and staff after the meeting
There was jubilation tonight when the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, after hearing representations from Cllrs Jumbo Chan and Daniel Kennelly, Jenny Cooper of the NEU, staff from the school and community supporters, decided to ask the Cabinet to reconsider its decision to close Roe Green Strathcona School and in particular to look at the proposals for additional provision at the school.
Jumbo Chan addresses school staff, union reps and supporters before the Scrutiny meeting
This does not mean that the school will definitely survive - Cabinet may decide additional provision is not required or will not be for the primary age group - but it is a significant victory for campaigners who were determined to put up a fight.
During the debate Gail Tolley, Strategic Director for Young People and Families, said that in the event of closure and because of the difficulties in recruiting teachers in the borough, she 'had no doubt we would be able to avoid compulsory redundancies.'
Opponents of the closure were infuriated when after detailed presentations by staff and supporters critiquing the evidence used by officers to justify closure rather than answering them the lead member just read from a typed manuscript prepared before the meeting. He did not answer any of their points and this repeated behaviour in other meetings where he just read from the officer's report. The chair of the school's governing body's Finance Committee gave a detailed rebuttal of some of the financial information in the Cabinet report, others focused on pupil numbers, the failure of the local authority to publicise the school on its admissions website and the Headteacher revealed that the Council's own admissions department had stymied a parent's attempt to send her children to Strathcona because it would affect the school from which they were going to be transferred budget.
Fortunately Brent CEO Carolyn Downs intervened to summarise the questions and points raised and asked the Lead member, Strategic Director and Operational Director to respond and members of the Committee followed up with their own questions. There was a considerable amount of repetition on both sides but deficiencies in the process and evidence base soon became clear.
Much will depend on the issue of Additional Provision. This is a proposal to site additional provision for primary special needs children on the Strathcona site alongside the mainstream provision. This would enable a degree of integration to take place to the benefit of both sets of pupils and enhance inclusion. Gail Tolley insisted that there was adequate provision for primary SEND children in the borough - in mainsteam schools, units attached to schools and the recently opened Avenue school which is due to expand. She said that the real need was for 16-25 year old provision and could be considered for the site. She made clear several times that such provision was completely separate from the survival of primary provision at the site.
Gail Tolley went on to reject other uses proposed by the school including a teacher training base for the borough, and a refugee resource centre. She suggested that there was not a need for a training centre as the Brent Schools Partnership already provided a service for the schools that bought into it. The borough Teachers Centre at what is now the Leopold School annex was closed some years ago and BSP training takes place at a number of venues including the Crown Hotel in Cricklewood.
Tonight staff, parents, pupils and supporters from the community will converge on Brent Civic Centre in Wembley to demonstrate solidarity with Roe Green Strathcona School's spirited fight against Brent Council's decision to close the school. There will be a demonstration outside the Civic Centre from 4.30pm and then people will attend the 6pm Scrutiny Committee which is hearing the call-in of the Cabinet's decision made by eight Labour councillors.
A broad range of speakers are expected to argue that the closure decision was based on inaccurate information with the Council failing to properly consider the strength of local feeling and the alternative proposals put forward by the school.
The closure decision is important as it sets a precedent for other potential moves to close, shrink or amalgamate schools as a result of falling pupil numbers. The National Education Union will be keen to protect their members, who now include support staff as well as teachers, from compulsory redundancy. Most Brent primary schools still come under Brent Council oversight and the Council is the ultimate employer.
The last time falling school rolls hit the primary sector was in the middle and late 1970s resulting in considerable disruption and despondency. With Brent primary schools currently performing well against national standards it is essential that parents and staff have confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the local authority.
At a national policy level falling rolls present an opportunity to reduce class sizes in the state sector to begin to match those of private schools.
44 Queens Walk on the corner of Salmon Street and Queens Walk (view from Queens Walk)
The view from Salmon Street
Neighbours of a proposed
development on a site at the junction of Salmon Street and Queens Walk in
Kingsbury are expressing consternation at plans for the development of what was
a single family house into a block of 8 flats.
Queens Walk has been seen as one
of the most handsome suburban streets in the area with a number of different
individual style houses that nonetheless blend into a pleasing whole.
Like many such streets there have been unsympathetic refurbishments and
extensions which Brent Council has allowed and of course front gardens given
over to car parks.
However, for many the latest
application is seen as a step too far and possible opening the possibility, by
establishment of precedent, to more such applications. Number 44 Queens
Walk has been empty for some time and has clearly deteriorated and was purchased
at a fairly knock-down (sorry!) price for demolition and redevelopment.
The conversion from family house to 8 flats (2 three bedroomed, five 2
bedroomed and one 1 bedroom) to be sold at market prices will yield a
considerable profit - tempting to other developers.
I see little reason to disagree
with what one of the objectors had to say about the application:
Queens Walk is typical of the
leafy suburban character of many parts of Brent. The properties in Queens Walk
are all two-storey detached or semi-detached houses, set well back from the
road and of individual yet complimentary appearance. The proposed four storey
development at number 44 would be significantly taller than any other property
in the road and the design makes no attempt to blend in with the architectural
style of Queens Walk.
One of the reasons that previous applications have been denied is that the
design, layout and appearance are out of character. The developer has come back
with a design that is even taller than the previous submission and makes even
less attempt to reflect the suburban architecture of the area. How can this be
acceptable?
The Brent Local Plan that is being consulted on at the moment promotes a vision
of "respecting the predominantly suburban low rise character of the
area" The current Core strategy states even more strongly that one of the
aims is "to protect and enhance the suburban character of Brent and to
protect it from inappropriate development."
Queens Walk has a distinctive suburban character. The building is totally out
of character with the rest of Queens Walk and is in fact an ugly building.
Whatever is put on this plot will be there for a considerable length of time.
Surely, we should be improving the environment with buildings that enhance the
surrounding area, not buildings that will spoil it?
Readers of this blog will be familiar with the travails of Brent Advocacy Concerns which is going to have to close at the end of November due to the charity being unable to meet the new high rent demanded for its small premises in Willesden. The charity has no paid workers but is still helping people with disabilities. Just this week it is providing advocacy for a parent of two autistic children as well as a range of other age groups.
Now it looks as if other local charities may also be facing closure, this time due to an unscrutinised decision by Brent Council.
The Council is requesting exemption from Scrutiny of a decision to award the 'Gateway to Support Services' contract to Age UK, Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon. This would five different services, not all of which are known to be an area of expertise for the organisation:
Care Act Advocacy
Mental Health Act Advocacy
Mental Capacity Act Advocacy
Carers Services
Social Isolation Prevention Services
These are services for some of the most vulnerable Brent residents and it is surely detrimental to their interests that the decision and contract have not been subject to rigorous scrutiny.
The reason for the failure to add the procurement to the Council's Forward Plan is attributed to 'officer oversight.'
The decision will mean that a number of Brent organisations that were not successful in the procurement process will lose what was previously funding from the Council and if, like Brent Advocacy Concerns, are unable to find alternative funding, will have to close.
Any Scrutiny would need to look at what that would mean for residents currently receiving services from those organisation and consider whether a large contract, embracing five areas, would have the risk of losing some specialist skills and expertise of value to the community.
Large, multiple area contracts, aimed at saving the Council money, are not always as responsive as small organisations. The Veolia contract covering street cleaning, waste collection, recycling, parks maintenance and more has not been an unmitigated success!
Extract from the Exemption Notice to Cllr Ketan Sheth, chair of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee
To award
the Gateway to Support Services contract to Age UK Brent, Harrow and
Hillingdon. Gateway includes five different services; Care Act Advocacy,
Mental Health Act Advocacy, Mental Capacity Act Advocacy, Carers Services and
Social Isolation Prevention Services.
Why it was not possible to provide the required notice (i.e. why the
decision or exemption was not anticipated)
The Gateway procurement originally took place in
March / April 2019. At that time it was decided not to proceed and award a
contract. When the procurement was started again in July 2019, it was not
added to the council’s Forward Plan. This was due to officer oversight. Once
this was realised the decision was added to the Forward Plan. This was done
on 16th
September. The earliest the decision could be
implemented if we followed the Forward Plan timetable would be 24th
October. The Gateway
contract is due to go-live on 2nd December.
The Gateway procurement was completed in
mid-August, but award of the contract delayed because the due diligence
process took longer than planned. The procurement of the service has been
reviewed by Internal Audit following a complaint received by the council.
This has resulted in a shorter than planned implementation and hand over
period. An exemption is sought so that the implementation period is not
reduced further.
§Why it is impractical to defer the decision to a later date to allow
the appropriate notice to be provided.
This contract provides a number of advocacy
services to vulnerable people in Brent as well as support for carers. These
services are currently delivered via multiple contracts which will end on 1st
December 2019. The
nature of the services and the complexity of ensuring a smooth handover
between a number of organisations means that it is important to maximise the
period of time available for implementation prior to the current contracts
expiring.
TUPE will apply to staff involved in delivering
services currently. In order to make sure staff transfers are managed
properly, the more time available to the organisations involved to arrange
this the better. There are also implications for the organisations who have
not been successful in this procurement. For some, the council has been their
main funder for many years. These organisations will need time to either
secure additional funding from other sources, review their operations to
manage without council funding, or close their business. Again, having the
time to properly manage this would be to their benefit.
A licensing application made by Queens Park Community School that had attracted strong opposition from some neighbouring residents as well as minority support from some concerned about education funding cuts has been withdrawn according to the Kilburn Times LINK . An application for a 3G floodlit football training pitch is going ahead. The school said it had 'heard residents concerns' about the licensing application but would use the income from lets of the pitch to the benefit of pupils.
Opponents claimed that the licensing hours of 10am to 23.30 (including 'drink up time') were unreasonable with some claiming that this amounted to a change of use from an educational premises to an entertainment venue. Noise and anti-social behaviour were cited as having a negative impact on a residential area while others questioned whether alcohol should be served when children are present on the premises.
An example of the objectors' arguments can be found HERE.
Those supporting the application included some governors and ex-governors of the school who said that the school needed to generate an additional income in an era of education cuts and that entertainment offered at the school (live entertainment, recorded music, performance of dance, film screenings) would be to the benefit of the community as well as making an offer of a large venue for weddings, celebrations etc. They claimed that the school has promised sufficient detailed safeguards to address residents' concerns. A example of a supportive comment which details the safeguards is available HERE.
There were 67 objections and 19 supportive comments.
A key aspect of any licensing application is the view of the local police. They objected to the application and listed conditions that would need to be met if it were to be approved. HERE
Queens Park Community School is not run by Brent Council. It is a Co-operative Society Academy.
The applications are symptomatic of the increasing desperation of schools to win additional income streams from their premises faced with funding cuts. Brent Council recently took action against local schools that let their playgrounds out for Event Day parking cutting off that additional income stream.
Roe Green Strathcona School will be closed for the fourth time due to
strike action on Wednesday 2nd October; NEU members are attempting to save
their school from closure. Despite giving the go-ahead to several new free
schools in the borough, Brent Council wish to close this successful local
authority run school.
Jenny Cooper, District Secretary for Brent National Education Union,
said:
We commend
our brave members and their parent supporters for their fierce, collective
campaign to try to defend this successful local authority school; our action
will be suspended as soon as the council reassures us the school will be
saved.
Eight councillors have opposed the decision to close the school as they
believe further scrutiny is needed to look at possible alternative futures for
the school.
Teachers, parents and community supporters will protest outside Brent
civic centre from 4.30pm Wednesday and following this will attend and speak at
the council meeting in a bid to save the school. This is certain to be a
contentious meeting with strong feelings expressed.
The special meeting of the Community and Well-being Scrutiny Committee will be held in the Conference Hall at Brent Civic Centre and will begin at 6pm. The call-in was made by an unusually broad group of Labour councillors: Cllrs Abdi, Afzad, Chan, Gill, Hector, Kennelly, Marquis and Pavey. (Alphabetical order).
The councillors' reasons for calling the Cabinet's closure decision in for further scrutiny are set out in the document below. Click bottom right for full size version.
Requests to speak should be made to bryony.gibbs@brent.gov.uk and will be considered by the Chair of the Committee, Cllr Ketan Sheth. All requests to speak should be received at least 24 hours before the meeting.
