Agenda item

Mr M C Dance, Cabinet Member for Operations, Resources and Skills (CFE), and Ms C Lay, Area Children’s Services Officer (Sevenoaks), will attend the meeting from 10.15 am to 11.00 am to answer Members’ questions on this item.

The Chairman welcomed Mr M C Dance, Cabinet Member for Operations, Resources and Skills (CFE) and Ms C Lay, Area Children’s Services Officer (Sevenoaks & Tunbridge Wells), to the meeting.

The Chairman referred to the Briefing Note that had been circulated to Committee Members, as background information after the agenda had been despatched. This had been prepared for local Members at the very beginning of consideration of an academy for Sevenoaks.

In response to a question from Mr Smyth about the governance arrangements, Ms Lay explained that the Sevenoaks Academy was at a very early stage, in line with the four key stages set out in the Briefing Note. The Expression of Interest (EoI) a very first stage, had yet to gain ministerial approval. Should this be forthcoming, a Project Steering Group would be established, normally chaired by the lead sponsor and part of its task would be to establish the Academy Trust and agree governance arrangements.  KCC would be represented on the Steering Group as co-sponsor. With regard to the governance arrangements for the academy itself, Ms Lay referred to the comment in the Briefing Note about the likely composition of the Academy Trust. Mr Dance stated that it was too early to say what the process would be to select and appoint the individuals who would form the Trust, which in turn would establish the Governing Body.

Mr Horne asked about the determination of the site and whether any detailed analysis had been done in relation to the cost of transporting children to the new academy. Ms Lay stated that the EoI had to include reference to the preferred site for the academy but that, subject to the approval of the EoI, the proposals would be subject to rigorous examination. In response to a further question from Mr Horne, Ms Lay stated that the capital cost of academies was provided by central government and revenue also came directly from central government, not via KCC. Effectively, academies were regarded as independent schools within the maintained sector.

The Chairman referred to the Briefing Note, stating that academies were usually located in areas of disadvantage and he questioned whether Sevenoaks was such an area. Mr Dance stated that there were pockets of deprivation in the Sevenoaks area that would rival deprivation levels anywhere else and he supported the provision of an academy in that area.

Mr Christie stated that an academy was a way of jumping the queue for BSF resources. He also expressed concern about the governance arrangements, with particular reference to the role of parent governors and the 2 head teachers of the schools that were proposed to be replaced by the academy.

Mrs Dean stated that, because Sevenoaks did not currently have a grammar school, a large number of children who passed the 11 plus had to travel outside Sevenoaks to attend other schools. She asked whether the academy would be a grammar school by another name and sought an assurance that there would be no selectivity for the new academy. Ms Lay confirmed that there would be no selection on the ground of ability for the proposed academy and that the intention would be to provide a school of choice in the town for children of all abilities. She added that she would provide information relating to challenge and deprivation in the Sevenoaks area outside the meeting.

RESOLVED: That (1) We would ask the Cabinet Member for Operations Resources and Skills (CFE) to report back to our Committee at the appropriate time to clarify the membership of the Academy Trust, particularly in relation to the inclusion of representatives of the two schools that are proposed to be replaced by the Academy;

(2) The Area Children’s Services Officer (Sevenoaks & Tunbridge Wells) be asked to provide a guide to help our Committee’s understanding of the academy process; further information for Committee Members on the levels of social deprivation in the Sevenoaks area that justifies the submission of the Expression of Interest for an Academy in that area; and, information relating to the possible increase in travelling time/cost for students attending the Academy and the consequent impact on the environment; and

(3) We note the assurance of the Area Children’s Services Officer (Sevenoaks & Tunbridge Wells) that places at the new Academy will not be determined on the basis of selection by ability.