Arguments over whether there was a real need for the temporary ARK Academy infant school will be fuelled by figures given out at the Scrutiny Committee on April 29th.
The figures showed that there was a total of 98 reception class vacancies in local schools as of April 27th, including 4 in the Academy itself. This included 15 at Wembley Primary and 17 at Preston Park which are both near the Academy, as well as 8 in Stonebridge, 12 at St Marys RC and 16 at st Mary's C of E. The figures bear out the claim by objectors to the Academy that it would damage local community primary schools.
The Casual Admission figures (children applying for school places during the school year outside the usual admissions process) January 2006-December 2008 provided to the Planning Committee do not make it clear whether these are net of those leaving the borough. If leavers have not been deducted the figures are meaningless. There were similar problems last year when Council publicity over a shortage of spaces did not take account of children moving out of the borough.
WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
Monday 4 May 2009
WHAT ABOUT THE WIDER CURRICULUM BOB?
Cllr Bob Wharton, Brent's lead member for Children, Families and Schools, laments the neglect of the wider curriculum and the damaging impact of the SATs system which 'only relate to numeracy and English' in his interview with Alex Wellman in the Willesden and Brent Times this week. I hope this means he supports the boycott of the SATs proposed by the NAHT and NUT. The ending of SATs will be a real liberation for pupils and teachers and enable them to concentrate on the real business of learning.
However Cllr Wharton's stance is contradicted by his support for the Wembley ARK Academy which boasts in its brochure that the infant school will have four literacy lessons and three numeracy classes a day - little room for much else I would have thought.
However Cllr Wharton's stance is contradicted by his support for the Wembley ARK Academy which boasts in its brochure that the infant school will have four literacy lessons and three numeracy classes a day - little room for much else I would have thought.
IS THERE A SECONDARY SCHOOL SITE IN THE SOUTH AFTER ALL?
Copyright R.Sones Reusable under Creative Commons LicenceOne of Brent Council's claims in promoting the Wembley Academy has been that there is no suitable site in the south of the borough. This means that the 50% of secondary pupils expected to come from the Stonebridge/Harlesden area would have to commute by at least two buses.
It now appears that the independent Swaminarayan School opposite the Neasden Temple in Brentfield Road, NW10 might be interested in moving their school to the north of the borough or Harrow, where most of their pupils come from, or in converting the school to a state funded academy. A sensible move when the recession makes private education less affordable. Previously the Council has rejected the neighbouring Gwynneth Rickus Building (the CSD) as a possible site but had not considered the combined Swaminarayan and CSD sites.
Swaminarayan acquired the site in 1992 after Brent council closed down Sladebrook High School. Since then local pupils have had to make their way across the North Circular to Wembley to attend a community secondary school. Although transport links to the school and the CSD are poor, it would be within comfortable walking distance for children from Stonebridge, Brentfield, Harlesden, Neasden and the St Raphaels Estate. This would reduce pupil journeys by car and public transport while the Wembley Park proposal would increase them. Map
As the centre of gravity of the borough shifts towards the north with the regeneration of Wembley and the replacing of many locally-sited council buildings by the Civic Centre, a school in the south of Brent would help enhance and enrich the area, providing additional facilities in terms of education, sports and culture. There is already parental pressure for a community secondary school in the south of the borough; a school on the site merits serious consideration by councillors.
Thursday 30 April 2009
BLACKMAN ON THE ACADEMY
One of the interesting aspects of the Academy debate has been the position of the Brent Conservatives. At the public meeting on the Academy held at the Torch pub in Wembley I shared a platform with Bob Blackman, leader of Brent Tories and Hank Roberts of the NUT. As well as saying that he was opposed to an Academy on the site of Wembley Playing Fields, Cllr Blackman went further and said that in his personal opinion there was no place for private sponsors in publicly funded schools and that he favoured local democratic accountability through the local authority.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting in the week that the Tories had suggested turning primary schools into academies, Cllr Blackman kept his comments to site issues. He argued that the temporary primary academy was already having a detrimental impact on the rolls of Preston Park and Wembley Primary schools and that Wembley Primary was considering going down to three forms of entry from four. An amazing decision considering that Wembley has just been rebuilt at the cost of millions of pounds to house a four form entry school.
He suggested that two new primary schools could have been provided in the Wembley Masterplan area to serve new housing as well as a secondary school in the south of the regeneration area. He said that the bus routes from the Stonebridge/Harlesden area to Wembley are already congested and that pupils would have to take at least 2 buses to get to Wembley Park. The route from Harlesden/Stonebridge was on the Bakerloo line but Wembley Park was on the Jubilee.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting in the week that the Tories had suggested turning primary schools into academies, Cllr Blackman kept his comments to site issues. He argued that the temporary primary academy was already having a detrimental impact on the rolls of Preston Park and Wembley Primary schools and that Wembley Primary was considering going down to three forms of entry from four. An amazing decision considering that Wembley has just been rebuilt at the cost of millions of pounds to house a four form entry school.
He suggested that two new primary schools could have been provided in the Wembley Masterplan area to serve new housing as well as a secondary school in the south of the regeneration area. He said that the bus routes from the Stonebridge/Harlesden area to Wembley are already congested and that pupils would have to take at least 2 buses to get to Wembley Park. The route from Harlesden/Stonebridge was on the Bakerloo line but Wembley Park was on the Jubilee.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
ARK PLAN APPROVED
The plan for a city academy at Wembley Park sponsored by a hedge fund millionaire, was approved tonight when two Labour councillors supported the Liberal Democrat's proposals.
The Lib Dem's Conservative coalition partners and a Democratic Conservative councillor opposed the plans. They were joined by Cllr. Habhajan Singh (Labour, Welsh Harp) who had earlier unsuccessfully moved for deferral on the grounds that the council should produce an Environmental Impact Assessment and provide fuller detail on traffic issues. The Brent Green Party had made the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment for such a major project a major plank of its objection to the planning application.
It was heartening to see a councillor willing to step out of the party line to make a stand for the environment. However the actions of fellow Labour councillors James Powney and Ruth Moher means that an unofficial Lib Dem-Labour coalition exists on the city academy issue, despite the overall council being run by a Lib Dem-Conservative coalition.
The chair refused to call me to speak on the Green Party's submission on the curious basis that I represented a political party and that this was not a 'party political issue'! He also refused to call Hank Roberts of the Wembley Park Action Group and would only allow Jean Roberts to speak despite her protests that she had submitted both names. She made an excellent speech and cogent arguments were also made by local residents.
The application will now be referred to the London Mayor's Office and the battle will move on to that ground.
Brent Green Party's submission can be found on its website.
The Lib Dem's Conservative coalition partners and a Democratic Conservative councillor opposed the plans. They were joined by Cllr. Habhajan Singh (Labour, Welsh Harp) who had earlier unsuccessfully moved for deferral on the grounds that the council should produce an Environmental Impact Assessment and provide fuller detail on traffic issues. The Brent Green Party had made the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment for such a major project a major plank of its objection to the planning application.
It was heartening to see a councillor willing to step out of the party line to make a stand for the environment. However the actions of fellow Labour councillors James Powney and Ruth Moher means that an unofficial Lib Dem-Labour coalition exists on the city academy issue, despite the overall council being run by a Lib Dem-Conservative coalition.
The chair refused to call me to speak on the Green Party's submission on the curious basis that I represented a political party and that this was not a 'party political issue'! He also refused to call Hank Roberts of the Wembley Park Action Group and would only allow Jean Roberts to speak despite her protests that she had submitted both names. She made an excellent speech and cogent arguments were also made by local residents.
The application will now be referred to the London Mayor's Office and the battle will move on to that ground.
Brent Green Party's submission can be found on its website.
Brent Council Explain What's Happening
Chris Whyte, Head of Environmental Management at Brent Council, has responded to the story below with this statement:
"Compaction vehicles support the recycling collection vehicles by relieving them of bulky mixed cans and plastic bottles. This frees up space so the vehicles can continue with their rounds without returning to the depot. The bottles and cans are collected mixed and are separated at a MRF. This is standard practice and has been agreed with the council. It is a measure of the amount of waste that we collect for recycling. No waste is landfilled."
"Compaction vehicles support the recycling collection vehicles by relieving them of bulky mixed cans and plastic bottles. This frees up space so the vehicles can continue with their rounds without returning to the depot. The bottles and cans are collected mixed and are separated at a MRF. This is standard practice and has been agreed with the council. It is a measure of the amount of waste that we collect for recycling. No waste is landfilled."
Friday 24 April 2009
ARK WILL SINK OR SWIM ON TUESDAY
The next episode in the Wembley ARK Academy story will take place at Brent Town Hall at 7pm on Tuesday 28th April. The Planning Committee will meet to consider the planning application for a permanent academy on the Wembley Playing Fields site.
Opponents of the scheme, including local residents associations, the Wembley Park Action Group and the Brent Green Party will hope to derail the controversial scheme. Their arguments will centre on a less than democratic planning process, poor and faulty documentation, increased traffic congestion, loss of playing fields to the community and the need for a new school in the south of the borough rather than the north.
ARK recruited to their primary school before formal planning position for a temporary building had been granted and has advertised secondary places before the approval of this application. They were reduced to giving out recruitment material at the nearby ASDA supermaket and attempting to sign up parents as if they were selling double glazing. Brent residents have never been fully and openly consulted on the principle of privately sponsored academies but firmly rejected such provision when they were consulted about school places provision.
Tuesday 14 April 2009
MARK THOMAS ENDORSES THE GREEN PARTY
Follow this link to hear Mark Thomas make the case for the Green Party
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