Issue - meetings

(Report by- Mr K Abbott, Director, Resources and Planning, Mr G Ward, Director, Capital and Infrastructure,  Ms  R Turner, Managing Director, Children, Families & Education Directorate and Mrs S Hohler, Cabinet Member for Children, Families & Education)

(Mr L Christie, Leader of the Labour Group was present for this Item and was given permission to speak by the Chairman)

(1)   The Committee discussed a report that gave an update on the coalition Government’s new academies and free schools proposals together with information on the emerging broader Government agenda for Schools Reform and summarised the proposals in the Academies Bill and highlighted the key implications and concerns for local authorities and schools. It also provided a preliminary outline of key elements expected to feature in the coalition Government’s second Education Bill expected around mid-October.

(2)   The Chairman asked Mr Abbott to introduce the report.  Mr Abbott advised that 16 Kent schools had formally voted to convert to academy status and on Friday, 16 July the Secretary of State agreed in principle to five of those schools converting to academy status from 1 September 2010, which were; the Hayesbrook School, Tonbridge, Fulston Manor School, Sittingbourne, Dartford Grammar School for Boys and Canterbury High School with its federated Primary School.  Other schools may be agreed this week.

Mr Abbott felt that the decision on those five schools one week before the end of term, with no legislation in place at this stage, meant that it would not be possible for the processes of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE), land, property and financial transfer issues to be completed by 1 September in line with the Department for Education (DFE) expectation.  Mr Abbott advised that he had already written to the 16 schools that wished to convert to academy status to initiate work in terms of the transition planning with them.  The schools all recognised the issue of the timing and were happy to work with the local authority in planning what would happen and when.  The position would vary school by school depending on the school’s status and the property and land issues that arose.  He explained that concerns had been raised with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Children's Services Ltd(ADCS) for many weeks but to date little had been received by way of answers from the DFE.

(3)   In response to a question by Mr Tolputt, Mr Abbott explained that there was a need to distinguish between the new academies and the free schools.  The new academies in terms of the land transfer would receive a 125 year lease and in terms of the site they would get what they were entitled to in line with statute and current regulations.  For free schools it was different, there was a process that was set out on page 102, paragraph (3), where free schools were located would be determined by the group establishing the free school, which was different to academies, and for existing maintained schools  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36