Agenda item

 – report by Mr Grahame Ward, Director, Operations)

(Mr David Hart, Operations Support Officer was present for this item)

(1)       This report provided the results of the public consultation on the proposal to amalgamate Fleetdown Infant School and Fleetdown Junior School, Dartford.  The report also provided details of the Secretary of States decision on the Council’s application to publish proposals for a new school, without running a competition as provided for in Section 10 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. 

(2)               In the course of discussion, Members of the Advisory Board raised a number of issues to which officers responded.  On the question of capital funding Mr Adams said that although it had not been possible to include this proposal in the current capital programme none the less all best efforts would be made to secure the necessary funding.  The proposed amalgamation would be eligible for support from the reorganisation fund and also some funding may be available from the Primary Capital Programme.  Officers from the Capital Strategy Unit would be meeting with the new headteacher and the interim governing body in order to better understand the schools priorities. 

(3)               Mr Adams also said that it would be the responsibility of the interim governing body to determine the staffing structure but that staff of both schools would transfer into the new school, with an alignment of posts once the new school had been established.  Mr Adams said that Paragraph 6 of the report should be amended as it was not the case that the two current deputy headteachers would be retiring.  He also placed on record an apology that in recording the fact that a minute’s silence was held at the public meeting held on the 11 February 2009 in memory of the teacher from the Junior School who had died tragically in a motor accident, the name of that teacher Mrs Barbara Du Preez had not been recorded in the notes of the public meeting. 

(4)               Following further consideration of this matter the Advisory Board agreed to the issuing of a Public Notice for the amalgamation of Fleetdown Infant & Nursery and Fleetdown Junior Schools, Dartford.